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By Chris Odinaka Nwedo
“With more and more people becoming religious and making religion a profession our societies are collapsing into the waiting hands of violence, insecurity and man’s humanity to man. It is not enough to brush aside these depraving situations as marks of end-time, but is enough to know that disingenuous folks have surreptitiously impounding our societies.”
The foundations of many religious movements and ideologies are on deliberate falsehood and deceit, and by individuals with double personalities. The peace of world and the real progress in our common humanity are robustly challenged today by the misrepresentations and negative religious ideas of these facetious folks. The indiscretions in governance and impoverished societies, particularly, in the developing worlds provided motivation and fertile grounds for breeding these treacherous folks and the mass of gullible individuals that adhere to their wiles.
With more and more people becoming religious and making religion a profession our societies are uncontrollably collapsing into the waiting hands of violence, insecurity and man’s humanity to man. This is incongruous. It is not enough to brush aside these depraving situations as marks of end-time, but is enough to know that disingenuous folks are actively and sneakily impounding our societies. These smart individuals get revenue by distorting the truths of the scriptures and fooling the gullible. They have trendy houses of worship in cities and recruit young men and women who are continuously trained on the strategies for enticing prospective members with automatic solutions to all problems.
The most outstanding of the deception is the ‘cloning’ of the followers and making them reckless and impenetrable to good counsel. They have devotees whose fruits are objectionable, sour and poisonous, devotees inclined to intolerance and fanaticism, disoriented. The charlatans are provided opportunities for havoc by the prevailing economic, soci-political and moral confusions. They are using every means to defile the people with all manners of dishonest and personal interpretations of the scriptures. Is it not surprising that a latest religious movement known as “Church of Satan” has many converts and devotees? The ‘creepy’ movement has the youths and ‘those on the fence’ as the targets of proselytization. The movement tells intending members that Satan can make them better off than God.
When Jesus warned the disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ he was ironically instructing them to be on their guard, not against yeast for making bread, but against the demonic teachings exemplified in the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The contemporary Pharisees and Sadducees are the many lions in the sheep’s dresses who are custodians of ambiguous religious movements. The movements spread nets for the credulous to devour.
And like Peter, Jesus said to the evildoers get behind me because you are the obstacles on the path of God’s mercy, love and compassion for his children. Christ is the foundation of Christianity and all through his teachings he extolled love and brotherliness, mercy and compassion, indeed, all virtues that make one God-like. He enjoined the followers to love and care for their neighbours as if they are loving and caring for themselves.
In the gospel of St. Matthew Jesus said to his followers ‘ if your uprightness does not surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven. You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, ‘you shall not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer for it before the court; anyone who calls a brother “Fool” will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and anyone who calls fellow “traitor” will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering.1
Jesus continued ‘you have heard how it was said: eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you, ‘offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away. Jesus said, you have heard how it was said, ‘you will love your neighbours and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the Gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ ‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.2
Jesus made love the substance of the true evidence of our son ship of God. If every religion is built on love, preaches and professes love and tolerance our societies will become automatically safe, convivial and inspiring. The confounding impression today is that the more religious societies seem the more malevolent they behave. Take a glance at the horrific narratives of people pauperized, dehumanized and or slaughtered without compassion they are mostly from deeply religious societies. More than ever, genuine believers are facing endlessly tiring challenges by the bourgeoning anti-theists and religious cynics to prove themselves.
In fact, St. Peter anticipated the anomaly when he enjoined believers to proclaim the Lord Jesus holy in their hearts, and always have their answer ready for people who ask them the reason for the hope they have so that those who slander their good behaviours in Christ may be ashamed of their accusations. According to him, if it is the will of God that one should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.3
It is undeniable that absence life of credible witnesses to quality Godly lives among believers gave momentum to multiplicities of atheistic establishments. The groups are no more struggling to blossom, they are swiftly gaining grounds and making more converts now. Atheism is today relevant, probably, because of the modern day religious hypocrisies. Bible has been emphatic in the warnings about the events of today. The bible predicted that not only would there be many false prophets and smart teachers, there would be many followers of them as well. By the caveats, Christians are made to avoid walking down the path of life as victims of ‘blind faith’.
Blind faith has no merit. Many are misinformed. ‘Many have been incorrectly taught that false teachers do not exist, that practically everyone is saved, that any doctrine is acceptable if sincerely believed, and that any level of morality is satisfactory. These doctrines are popular for obvious reasons. They are easy to understand, easy to like, and easy to follow. But Jesus did not bring light into the world so that we could stumble along in blind faith.’ Blind faith is choosing the darkness of false teaching. It is blind faith to follow false prophets and be led by the depraved teachers. It is absolutely not blind faith to reject, and run away from the smooth words of the promiscuous prophets and ‘men of God’ who are passionate devotees of mammon.