Paganism and Christianity
The gods are unpredictable, and they may bring retribution if their standards aren’t met. Order and chaos (some would say good and evil) are in a constant struggle within the bounds of fate, and fate determines the outcomes of each individual. Mankind must strive to earn the favor of the gods in the hope that they will protect and provide.
These are recognizable as pagan ideas, mostly because we use words like “god” – little “g” – and fate. Yet each one of these ideas has stealthily crept into modern Christianity, and each deserves to be exposed.
The Bible teaches that God is extremely predictable. He is always love. He is always light without any darkness. He is always good. Do you see anyone heading for destruction? He always works to see them saved. Is there anyone trusting in Him? He will always see to it that they are not disappointed. Jesus did not disappoint anyone who trusted in Him! When the sick, diseased, lame, and possessed came to Him in faith, He ended the dysfunction and solved the problem. How could anyone read the New Testament and not see these things?
The gulf between what we read about in the Bible and what we have personally experienced is just too wide for many people in our age. They don’t know anyone who has been miraculously healed. They don’t know anyone who has witnessed a bona fide miracle. They may have even cried and begged and prayed and fasted for some terrible issue to be resolved and ended up worse than before they started. So what can a person do? They can begin to explain away large portions of the Bible, and can acquire (with subtle diabolical help) reasonings and doctrines to explain these experiences in the same way that pagans used to explain things. Things like, “God’s ways are not our ways, so it must have been His will.” “It was just their time to go” or worse, “God just needed another angel in heaven!”
No wonder so many churches today are only museums to the past! They preach against New Testament faith and discourage anyone who demonstrates it. Make no mistake: when Christians exercise Bible faith, they get Bible results. Jesus said that miracles happen where faith is present, and faith can’t be present if no one is teaching it. Find Bible-believing New Testament believers and you will find miracles.
Also, if God’s will is always done (fate), why does the Bible say that “God is not willing that any should perish?” We know from other scripture that people do and will, in fact, perish. They perish for the same reason the people of Noah’s day perished: they refuse to accept the escape plan that is offered freely without cost.
Finally, does God’s grace depend on your works? The Bible speaks a resounding “no!” If our works like prayer, giving, and niceness could earn God’s favor, couldn’t someone say that they earned it? If they did enough of it, God would owe it to them. Yet the Bible says that God specifically chose not to offer forgiveness and favor that way. He made it so easy that all one must do is believe, something that can be done with only an act of the will. Righteousness is a gift that God gives by grace.
God’s people need to learn to recognize the lies when they see them. They must settle these things within their own hearts and minds and help others escape from the enemy known as “the god (little “g”) of this world!”
(James 1:13-18, John 10:10, 2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 21:6-8, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9-14, Ephesians 4:11-14, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4)