Finding True Christianity: Overcoming the Deadliest Heresy

By Eric Niels Bush

This book sheds light on the greatest corruption in Christian teaching today; a teaching that most people don't even realize they are holding on to. This book describes what the heresy is and then arrives at the true Biblical teaching through a mix of history and critical analysis of what the Bible really teaches. Anyone serious about finding true faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ must take this journey and free themselves from the many non-scriptural traditions they might be clinging to. A perfect starting point for the truth seeker to begin their journey to finding the true Christianity that is within their grasp.
Part One:
Part one of this book exposes the deadliest heresy that has spread throughout the body of Christianity and yet has gone almost undetected. This covers what it is, how it came to be and what the true doctrine is.
Part Two:
This part begins with a case being made for what true God given authority consists of and concludes with what we should look for today.
Part Three:
This part looks at the overall plan for the church - where we have come from since the death of the Apostles of Christ up througth today.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is presented as the one church that has all of the truth and represents the true Christianity today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric Niels Bush
• Release date: Aug 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9780985426644

Book preview

Acknowledgements

I thank my wife who has always believed in me and my dreams. I express my love to her for her support and advice. She has helped established a home full of peace and faith in Christ for our family.

I thank my parents and Sunday school teachers who instilled in me a love for the Bible and a thirst to seek out the truth in life. From my father I inherited a desire to dig past the surface of topics and delve into areas that most do not dare to venture into. From my mother I learned to wait patiently in life and keep at a task until you know you have done your best at it.

A huge thanks goes out to Michael Grayson for his meticulous editing work. I asked him to do a quick read of the book to make sure it was on target with its content and he gave me back much more than that.

One day while scanning radio stations I came across the Through the Bible radio program of J. Vernon McGee. I am grateful for that man’s dedication in life to making the Bible plain for all to understand. His thorough verse by verse analysis of the scriptures was one of the things that lead me to likewise desire to help others understand the Bible.

Introduction

A few weeks after moving into a new home in Washington State, I got acquainted with one of my neighbors. We met one afternoon as we both walked to the center of the cul-de-sac to retrieve our mail from our mailboxes. We stopped to introduce ourselves, and I learned that he attended a local Christian Evangelical Church. I got excited inside because I love to talk to others that have a strong faith in God. I excitedly informed him that I too was a faithful Christian that read the Bible often and was attending the church just down the street.

My neighbor and I got involved in a deep discussion about the church I was attending and my understanding of core doctrines of Christianity. At that point he and I found out that we differed in what we believed about God and specifically concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. I had never understood any of the early Creeds, such as the Nicene Creed, nor did I understand the Trinity teaching that went along with it. I could not accept what did not seem scriptural to me and so our interpretation of the Bible necessarily differed.

At that point my neighbor told me that I had been deceived and had incorrectly interpreted the Bible. From that day on, whenever we would see each other out by the mailbox, he would tell me that we needed to meet some day so that we could go through the Bible together, so I could be set straight.

My neighbor had said a lot of things to me during our conversation, but the hardest thing to accept from him was when he told me that I did not even qualify to be considered a believing Christian. The reason being given was that I did not accept the Trinity teaching of the Creeds as he did.

A Chat at Starbucks

Nearly four years went by with me frequently hearing my neighbor’s request - We have to meet some time to go through the correct Bible teachings so I can show you what the Bible really teaches. I figured that he wanted to convince me that interpreting the Bible through the filter of the creeds was the correct approach.

One day during one of our brief mailbox encounters I told my neighbor that the day had finally arrived for us to meet. He excitedly suggested a time and a place to meet. A few days later, we met at the local Starbucks and found a corner spot in which to converse. My neighbor came armed with his Bible and immediately started rifling through what he was sure to be irrefutable Bible passages that would set me straight and convince me that the creeds and other doctrines he believed in were scripturally founded.

My neighbor began by mentioning that he was sure that I didn’t understand the Bible, or perhaps the real problem was that I just didn’t believe in its words. He explained how understanding Greek could help in correctly interpret anything in the Bible. He flipped with incredible speed from one verse to another, bringing up each of the points of doctrine that he felt I did not correctly understand.

What my neighbor was sharing with me was nothing new. I had studied and thought about the doctrines from the Bible and just did not accept what was being taught in the majority of seminary schools and coming down from the pulpit. There are, no doubt, many compelling verses in the scriptures that seem hard to reconcile one with another. Taken alone and out of context many Bible verses can be hard to understand and interpret correctly. Many people have used the Bible to teach just about anything they wanted.

Obsessed with Finding the Truth

I desired just as much as my neighbor to understand and interpret the Bible. I had seriously worried in the past about being deceived and became obsessed with finding out the truth with respect to religion and the true Christian teachings. I probably focused more on this than I did on my regular day job at one point. I had always taken the following scripture seriously.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. - (Matt 24:24)

I worked through all that I believed in my life in order to make sure I had not been deceived. I started a complete pass through the Bible to make sure that I could interpret it all correctly. I made sure to take in several different viewpoints from different Christian faiths to see what others thought.

Part of my time was spent studying Greek and Hebrew through a Greek interlinear Bible along with a dictionary and lexicon to help with difficult passages. I purchased the audio tapes of an evangelical radio preacher named J. Vernon McGee and listened to those for many years. I attended several different Evangelical Christian denominations and asked for help in understanding the creeds and how to reconcile them with the Bible. I also purchased and read Theological books from Christian seminaries in order to make sure I really knew what the major thoughts were for understanding the Bible. I was pleased to find many fine Biblical interpretations from scholars, but still found most lacking in their basic understanding of God, all because they insisted on clinging to the early Creeds for some strange reason. Part of my quest would be to find out the origin of the Creeds and discover why their tradition has remained so strong throughout time.

At Starbucks that day I did not care to delve into the differences in interpretation between my neighbor and myself. I knew firsthand that among any given Christian denomination there are major doctrinal disputations. In fact some denominations hold yearly conventions where they debate their points of doctrine and vote on what should be their official interpretation of scripture. The voting part is what I have a hard time understanding – as if men and women have the power to tell God what He is thinking.

I politely listened and honestly considered each of his points. He did bring up a few interesting verses and Greek words that I would want to study further. We may have actually come close to agreeing upon some things. We also saw that there were other things we took opposing views on that neither was willing to see the other way. I pointed out that the reason for the differences was clearly in the interpretation of each scripture. To me, it was also a matter of taking the Bible as a whole and not relying on any single scripture to be the sole backing for a doctrine. No one should try to stretch an interpretation to be something that was not intended by the original authors and ignoring other verses that would seem counter to what they wanted to believe. We departed and agreed to keep in touch from time to time.

My Reply

This book is the summary of findings from my journey to discover which teachings of Christianity are orthodox and which have crept in as heresy. To keep the book more focused I only include the topic of the Godhead and as it pertains to the nature of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. This book is a resource to anyone that wants to know if his or her Christian beliefs are actually founded on the Bible. If you are such a person, this book is for you. You might find it painful to read, as it could put in question some things you have been taught to believe about God.

The importance of such a study cannot be understated. If you are in any way serious about finding true faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ, you must make this journey and free yourself from many of the non-scriptural traditions that you cling to.

Have you ever been disturbed by the presumptuous statement that God and the Trinity is a mystery our minds cannot understand? You definitely must read further if you have not wanted to accept that statement. Ignorance is never an acceptable excuse for not living up to what you could be experiencing. God will reward to those that seek knowledge.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matt 7:7, 8)

Many have been kept from the truth simply because they don’t know where to find it. To those people, I present this writing as an introduction from which to go on and learn further, having from here merely been pointed the direction in which to go.

This book progresses through three separate discussions. The first part of the book really focuses in on the one single deadly heresy in Christianity today and covers the history of its origin. It details the influences that were in place that crept in and became this corruption. This first part then guides you through how to overcome it with correct doctrine.

I did not feel that the book should just end there. The story of how the deadly heresy came about is also the story of how the struggle for authority in the church progressed. The second part of this book moves through time all the way up to our day to make a statement about how we need to have true authority today and where to look for it. It was the corrupted authority that locked in the false teachings in the first place. It is still a struggle in Christianity to separate the evil Tares from the Wheat. We are taught by Christ that there would be evil intermingled with good in His church (see Matthew thirteen).

The final part of the book is a discussion of the corruption of Christianity and how it was part of the plan all along. This will show you where to expect it and how you can recognize it. The full miraculous restoration of the true church is briefly summarized for you to consider and appreciate.

Begin your Search

True Christianity must be searched for with all the skill of a merchant looking for a goodly pearl as taught by the parable found in Matthew chapter thirteen. You need to search the scriptures diligently and pray fervently for guidance. The merchant searching for the goodly pearl went out into the markets day after day and traveled from town to town on his quest. He carefully picked through the selections and painstakingly examined each pearl to find the perfect size, color and shape. Then one day his diligent search paid off and he found that one prized pearl he had been searching for. Showing his dedication, he gladly purchased the pearl with his life savings.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matt 13:45,46)

Oh how priceless it is once you have found that pearl of great price. In the spirit of friendship I invite all to carefully consider and see if we can come to an understanding of the truth together.

PART I – HERESY EXPOSED

Part one of this book exposes the deadliest heresy that has spread throughout the body of Christianity as a plague and yet has gone almost undetected. I cover what it is and how it came to be.

Many denominations today consider themselves as the group that holds the truth, being the ones that are the Orthodox believers. In the next couple of pages, I will define what Orthodox means and conversely what Heresy is. It is important to accept that there can only be one true doctrine.

We will also look at how early theologians formulated their doctrines. We will see how manmade committees debated and created doctrines. The influence of Greek Philosophy on Christian doctrinal beliefs will be explained.

Most importantly, I will lay out what the true doctrine is and give pointers to use to continue with your own study to discover additional truths. During the course of the book, I will present the truth to counter the deadly heresy and bring us to a unity of belief.

A Word of Encouragement

A lot of what I state in this book may seem harsh and not give anyone a sense of the good that exists in Christianity today. To start off then, I want to state that there is much good to be found in all denominations. There are many purposes the church fulfills as established by Christ, and many of those are still being carried out for good in the world today.

There are truths being taught. Friends and families are meeting in their homes to study the Bible. Men and women are studying to know more about how they should live to be better Christians. Mothers are meeting to have prayer services to pray for guidance in rearing their children and to ask for their safety. Men are meeting to study the Bible to understand how to be better husbands and fathers.

There are souls being brought to Christ. Individuals are witnessing to others. In some cases people are expressing their faith to their friends verbally and influencing them to consider the gospel message. In many cases a silent sermon is being preached by the actions being demonstrated when a Christian lives a Christ-like life. Honesty, integrity and standing for values are being noticed.

There are acts of service being rendered. Christians are ministering to the needs of the poor and the sick. Visits are being made to the lonely and elderly. Organized Christian denominations are giving time, money and goods to populations around that world that have been devastated by earthquakes, famine, war, etc.

There are other purposes the church fulfills besides those just mentioned above. The church as established by Christ also has a prime directive to teach correct doctrines and administer saving ordinances.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:15, 16)

It is in that area that this book will focus and set out to make course corrections. This is not an attack on the individual person that is honestly studying the Bible and doing their best to understand it and follow it. My goal is to help people get more truth out of the Bible and to be prepared to receive the saving ordinances that the Church was directed to provide.

Orthodoxy verses Heresy

You may have heard the term Orthodox used in the context of someone describing a religious group. There are groups that label themselves as The Orthodox Religion. The Greek root word means correct believing. Anyone using this as a label is telling the world that they alone have the foundational truth; everybody else being an offshoot from them and not as pure.

Who can truly claim for themselves the title of possessing the single true original Orthodox Christianity? There can only be one truth on a particular theological teaching.

"[There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:4,5)

Now that we understand the word Orthodox, let’s define the word Heresy. The original Greek word means to think differently. The English language today has taken on a stronger meaning for the word Heresy. It now carries with it the connotation of being completely wrong to the point