Not A Fanatic

 

fa·nat·ic  (fə-năt′ĭk) n. A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

Hi There!

For the record, I am not a religious fanatic, I simply believe in Christ. So I guess you could say I am a "Christian", but I really do not care for that sobriquet. In fact, the term "Christian" never has been intended as complimentary. In all truth, it has been a derogatory term from its inception. (See Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16) Besides, as Jesus told the woman at the well, "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). So the term 'Christian' is really a misnomer applied by those who did not know or understand why followers of 'Jesus' were actually called followers of the Way. (See John 14:6; cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 24:14,22)

At this point some of you who are reading this might be thinking, "You say you are not a religious fanatic, but you just cited a lot of scripture. In my book, that is what religious fanatics do." I used to think the same way until I started looking at who was quoting scripture and why (for what purpose). When I began to do that, and began to study the scriptures myself to see if what they were saying was true (see Acts 17:11), then I began to understand the difference between a Christian fanatic and a disciple (a true follower) of Christ.

There are many people, both individually and collectively, that are distorting [misusing] the scriptures [biblical text] for personal gain and recognition. This is nothing new. Throughout history mankind has used various religions and forms of religion as a means to persuade people to their way of thinking and thus gain a position of power and prestige. Those who claim to be "Christian" are not the only people today who are using faith-based tactics to persuade others.

Why Am I Bringing This Forward?

For some time, the Ruach ha Kodesh (Hebrew, meaning Divine Spirit or Divine Inspiration; literally "Holy Spirit") has been revealing to me false teachings and teachers, that distort and contradict the Word and Spirit of God. Some false teachings are newer than others, but many go all the way back to antiquity.

Jesus flat out proclaimed that Satan is "the Father of Lies" (John 8:44). Therefore it really should not be so surprising that our adversary (1 Peter 5:8) would pose as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14) and would mix in lies with the truth. Neither should it be surprising that people believe those lies as if they were the gospel truth.

Bottom line is this; I will continue to bring forward all the lies, distortions, deceits, and deceptions - as I discover them -  and show how they are misleading people away from "the Way, the Truth, and the Life"  (John 14:6).

Related Scriptures:

• Matthew 7:15-20
• Matthew 13:24-30
• 2 Corinthians 11:3-4;12-15
• 1 Timothy 4:1-10
• 2 Timothy 3:1-6
• 1 John 4:1-6