As you probably now realize, we have been abandoned by "our" government. The so-called COVID stimulus bill allocates more money for foreigners than for US citizens and is a veritable cornucopia of pork for large corporations. Shame on them, and shame on us for doing nothing about it.
But many of you may be unaware we also have been abandoned by "our" churches:
True belief in the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ is supposed to equip the Christian to overcome fear. Yet it has seemed to me that the reaction of much of the church to a coronavirus with an Infection Fatality Rate of around 0.2% – 0.26%, has really been no different to that of the non-Christian. What could have been a glorious time for the church to shine, with national leaders exhorting the nation to repent, exhorting people to overcome their fears by embracing the Gospel of the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, became a non-event.
But this is not the half of it. Fear of the virus has shaped the way many have responded to the most astonishing powers over churches for eight centuries. You have to go back to 1208 to see such a closure of churches, which was done by a Papal Interdict (interestingly enough on 23rd March – the same day as Lockdown began) which lasted for six years.
Not quite six years this time, but a third of a year no less! And no, the state did not close churches during the Spanish Flu, yet when a virus of less than a tenth the lethality of Spanish Flu came on the scene (and far, far less than this for under 60s), the church largely rolled over.
Source - http://www.theblogmire.com/2020-the-year-the-church-was-as-sharp-as-a-two-edged-marshmallow/
In the Book of Revelation, the seven churches are given dire warnings and admonishments, such as these (from the KJV):
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Who in the churches today has the courage to preach such things? Apparently no one, and some even are taking money from the government as they abandon the doctrines of G-d to replace them with the doctrines of men and women. Joel Osteen is a prime example, as you can read here:
Dear Joel - It doesn't matter that the money didn't benefit you personally. What should matter is that your message frequently seems to contradict what Jesus told us to do.
Not to mention the shenanigans of Jerry Falwell, Jr. and his wife, who somehow now believe they are victims of persecution:
In a way, we deserve the bad advice we're getting from our priests, ministers, and pastors. We all know that what they're telling us is wrong, but we're too cowardly to do anything about it. We should have cast them from the pulpit long ago, and unless and until we do we will NEVER get back on the right path.
For who can argue that this scripture isn't a perfect description of today's churches?
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 KJV
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