The System & The Symptoms

It is with a heavy heart and from a place of frustration that I write this blog entry. I have included this entry under all 3 sections of the site because, honestly, it could fit in any one of them at different times.

I read an article today that was discussing yet another well known Christian who has walked away from the faith and denied the very existence of God. When I say well known I mean, Nationally acclaimed singer of a multi-awarded Christian band. That is 3 big personalities within Christianity that have walked away THIS year who actually got news coverage for it. That is a drop in the bucket compared to how many people are actively doing this every single day that aren't "important" enough to warrant an article to be written. That isn't taking into consideration the 2.2 MILLION people, who once professed the name of Jesus, who have walked away and denied Him over the past 7 years according to polling statistics.

I have heard people counter my last statement, about the 2.2 million souls lost, by saying "Yeah, but where were those polls taken, California? They didn't get those numbers from the South, the Bible Belt." Please tell me WHY does that EVEN matter? It's 2.2 MILLION SOULS no matter where the poll was taken from! The point is, organized religion, the church as a body, is losing people year after year.

We do a good job of teaching and preaching The Gospel in most cases. We hear a lot of grace, love, and forgiveness. We hear plenty of "you are more than enough," "you are more than a conqueror," "you are special"... "you're the head and not the tail..." We hear all about freedom from depression, anxiety, anger, addictions, etc. But still, tens of thousands of people leave the faith on a regular basis.

We hear story after story of pastors, youth ministers, christian performers, and the like falling away from the faith. Many get caught in adulterous affairs, some come forward with porn addictions, and sadly, many have taken their own lives. But these people LEAD others Sunday after Sunday. We hear countless stories, I know of some personally, of teens who grew up in church or are active in church becoming pregnant, struggling with drugs, addicted to porn, and sadly, committing suicide at abnormally high rates. But these are church kids. They know right from wrong ...

Maybe, just maybe, we need to start addressing the root of the symptoms they are struggling with day after day instead of just the symptoms themselves. Maybe we need to talk about why those who claim to be saved and living for Jesus feel that it is OK to listen to garbage music filled with profanity because "they don't let those word affect them" or why they feel its OK to watch things on television that promote pure sin and make sinful lifestyles look appealing because "they just like the story, they are adult enough to overlook the negative elements" or why they feel nudity is acceptable in programming because "they just don't let it get next to them, it's just pixels." I could go on and on with examples, but I think the point has been made.

Why do we feel that is OK and indulge ourselves in those things and then wonder "why we just can't beat this depression and anxiety. Why can't I kick my drug and porn addictions?" Have we considered its because the things we consume and allow ourselves to be entertained by tell us that those things are "OK" ... they are "normal." That's ONE possible answer. I think the bigger answer lies in the organizations and the systems that actually run the world behind the scenes. But here is where it gets uncomfortable. Not too many churches and people in authority want to start talking about that, because that may make them sound like a conspiracy theorist or they may lose some people who aren't wanting to hear the truth. It's easier to talk about the symptoms than it is the root even though people are still losing out every single day.

When it comes to exposing the source of all the corruption we deal with and that source's methods of delivery ... we start getting too "out there" for people to accept. The fact is, scripture points to and warns us about what is actually happening "behind the scenes" and many people such as myself have taken the time to study not only scripture but historical documents as well that tell us exactly what is going on in the world. However, the truth causes us to question too much, to actually think critically about the things we think we know, and ultimately accept that we've had a lot of stuff wrong. Then the tough part happens, we have to come to terms with what we now know to be true and, honestly, that is why a lot of people never wake up to the truth. They don't want to face the fact that they were wrong. They don't want to have to adjust their comfortable lives to combat the systems at work.

We will never see the kind of change the church world claims they desire to see until we start taking the Word of God EXACTLY as it is written. We will continue to see millions of people leave the faith every so many years until we actually wake up as a people and see the enemies playbook for what it is. If someone KNOWS they are being manipulated, most people have a strong enough will to resist that. However, if the person remains clueless that manipulation is taking place ... they will simply stay oblivious.

I've been working on a project that is close to being released that actually reveals much of I'm talking about here. It will talk about some things that are "out there" but those things will be backed with scripture and historical fact. My goal is to wake people up out of the comfortably miserable daze we've been placed into and help them to see not only what is going on in the world around us, but what's at stake if we stay blind to it.

God bless you and your family!