Gods of Our Religion: Christianity in America: an Inside Conversation

By Lawrence Crawford

Gods of Our Religion is a very deliberate conversation offering a for real look at the many images of God within Americas Christian churches.

Whether you consider yourself a Christian, atheist, agnostic, Jew, Muslim, or other religious designations, Gods of Our Religion seeks to whet your appetite to know more about the inside of Christianity in America. Humanistic culture and internal competition are redefining Americas Christian church world. Even so, an authentic faith remains to be the connection that brings the heart of man to the heart of God.

Everyone believes something. If you believe in nothing, this nothing is the something in which you believe. Either way, something or nothing, one has to press into their belief system in order to overcome the contrasting winds blowing in both directions.

Americas Christian churches clearly illustrate the confusion that can occur when the cultural winds create a mixture of belief systems that supposedly have the same origin. But do they?

"Gods of Our Religion" is an very direct message based on a personal journey where the heart the imaginary. Many of the gimmicks, sermons, and methods used to promote life within the America Christian churches lend themselves to creating religious waves dressed in attractive and colorful clothes, but with a quick realization of a spiritual deficit.

There is no doubt external forces are at work against Christianity in America. But, there is a bigger internal self inflicted conflict that veils the authentic faith we are meant to possess.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490806396

Lawrence Crawford

Lawrence Crawford combines experience from most levels within the American Christian churches with a heart-driven passion for truth. Originally from Florida, he now lives in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, with his wife, Cindy. Lawrence writes from the perspective of finding an authentic faith in such an imaginary world as the Christian based religion in America.

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Copyright © 2013 Lawrence Crawford.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-0640-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0641-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0639-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915346

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/5/2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Setting the Tone

Chapter 1   Author’s Perspective and Purpose

Chapter 2   A Distinctive Period—An Epoch

Chapter 3   A Matter of the Heart

Chapter 4   To Believe or Not to Believe

Chapter 5   Prayer is for Who?

Chapter 6   Is it Really Post-modernism?

Chapter 7   Pride Comes With Success

Chapter 8   Natural Disasters

Chapter 9   Stealth Mode

Chapter 10   Are You Talking to Me?

Chapter 11   The Final Answer

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

THERE ARE SEVERAL who encouraged and rallied me through the completion of this effort, from beginning to the final draft. I’ve been very careful to protect the content from outside exposure and influence in order to preserve my original work’s authenticity.

I want to thank Cindy, my wife, the one who was my prime support system during this undertaking. She spent tireless hours reading draft, after draft, after draft, and participating in lengthy discussions. I could not have successfully completed this task without her input on the many topics, as well as the sometimes critical, but vital, commentary. She knows me better than anyone else and I totally trust her judgment. Her opinions kept me on point, or sometimes brought me back to point; Cindy’s involvement often required me to rethink my direction. Cindy, my love, I give you my thanks.

LAWRENCE CRAWFORD

Introduction

SETTING THE TONE

Conversing in simple terms is not easy. The content of these pages was derived from personal opinion and observation. The thoughts are written in a personal conversational format with hopes that you will recognize authenticity throughout.

A textbook or a how-to book, this is not. The message comes from the heart and mind, written with no pretense of creating a defense against opposing views. The following is a warm-up to set the tone and provide you with some of the basic reasoning and background behind the writing.

You will find the term religion in many places, but the definition of this word is constant; the practice of worshipping, serving, and believing in a supernatural power; a belief system setting the tone for how one will live life with the hope of something beyond the grave.

God

God Almighty or God is used quite frequently in the text. In Christianity, the term refers to the Creator of the universe, heavenly Father, the One, and the God who sent Jesus Christ to Earth as a sacrifice so we might let go of being self-serving and do something productive, like follow after the nature and intentions of the Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves.

The word "god(s)" is intentionally shown in lowercase letters and representative of the main theme throughout. The term refers to idols created or derived, physically or mentally, and are worshipped (idolized), found at the top of our priorities and receiving our utmost loyalty, controlling, and defining our lifestyles and who we are as a person serving as a substitute for a relationship with God Almighty.

Everyone is heavily influenced by a source, or sources, they rely on as these sources provide them with something to hold onto. Gods, or idols, are sometimes unknowingly created or imagined in our minds, especially if a connection with God Almighty is missing. Without a connection to God Almighty, these self created idols hinder, or prohibit, a true encounter with God. The idols of sensationalism can be extremely addictive until they cease to bring pleasure, or life takes a downturn, destructive events ensue, and they don’t work anymore. Sadly, when these idols, or gods, are viewed as not working, one of two responses will occur: either a realization that there is no substitute for God Almighty, or a perception that God Almighty is not working, so He is not real. Gods of Our Religion will address how this can happen to you.

Knowledge

Exposition of Scripture based on intellect, education, deductive reasoning, personal experience, family indoctrination, and the level to which any, or all, of these methods are used to explain, extract or establish meaning, can be condensed into one term interpretation of Scripture. Because of the complexities and lack of available information to establish fact, more times than not, questions cannot be quickly or properly answered. Many expositors who intricately studied the Bible became scholars or persons of great knowledge regarding Scripture. These scholars possess more knowledge than most because of their effort to gain the knowledge. Does this mean that scholars can reach a plateau where they hold all knowledge regarding Scripture? Of course not, but with more knowledge comes more credibility. With this credibility, an expositor of Scripture is in a position to be recognized as an authority in such matters.

The science world encompasses trial and error experiments as part of research. A continuous cycle of experiments are conducted, discoveries are made, and more knowledge is obtained. This is a perpetual progression; research leads to more research and knowledge leads to more knowledge. At the forefront of research is a line of current knowledge. Until further knowledge is obtained, we can go no further. But, with no established fact, we can only theorize or speculate based on current knowledge.

A good example of current knowledge is the measurement of distance. A straight line is used to measure distance. In reality, the world is round; so if the true distance between two points on the Earth is measured, it would actually need to be along an arc. If the distance is short enough, a straight line measurement is acceptable and poses little or no consequence. However, if a laser beam was projected along the surface of the Earth in an attempt to measure the straight line distance from New York City to Bangkok, Thailand, a measurement could not be taken. The laser projects a straight line which will not follow the roundness of Earth.

Mankind does not possess the knowledge to fully develop a finite scholarly or scientific conclusion about the existence of God Almighty. Tests cannot be conducted, research is limited to available sources on Earth, and knowledge will only take us so far. Beyond knowledge is our best guess; beyond knowledge is trust in the unknown through faith. If we extend ourselves beyond the limited knowledge we possess and begin to interpret or surmise, despite our good intentions, this easily places us in a position of defining God: a dangerous game to play.

We have been given knowledge, but not all knowledge. I would be throwing out a big assumption if I attempted to answer the question, Why don’t we know more than we do? Faith in God, a spiritual being, takes more than scientific or academic reasoning. It is possible to evaluate, translate, and interpret, but not beyond the limitations of Scripture.

In front of us today is so much information when it comes to the Christian world. Selective passages in Scripture are purported to support the perceptions, self-proclaimed prophecies, missed interpretations, and pre-meditated and manipulated messages of selfishly motivated preachers and self appointed prophets. At the same time, there are others who are teaching and expressing Scripture with a selfless heart and mind with only one motive—to point to God Almighty. With this contrast being conducted in the same arena, the Christian church, there is confusion that has the potential to drive hearts away from believing in a living God, only seeing a fabrication of man.

Influence

If an eagle’s-eye vantage point is taken where life can be observed on a larger scale, you may discover an obscured awareness that your life, in addition to your physical surroundings, is affected subconsciously as well. All of us are vulnerable. Therefore, there is a high risk to be heavily influenced by the knowledge, interpretations, and influences of others as a substitute for our own authentic experiences. This vulnerability can easily move in the realm of extreme spiritual hunger. Care must be taken when influenced by what may be easily accessible, but lacking authenticity. Life fills up with a lot of stuff that affects the part of who we are, our core being. Development of an internal awareness of our vulnerability is an advantage, allowing us to get beyond the daily routines of life and protect our heart as well. Our heart is a private place within us and I believe this place is where we will encounter the true presence of God Almighty.

Christian Church

Groups of people or individuals who believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, have called on His name, and devoted themselves to Him as a basis for living are defined as the Christian church. This term does not pertain to any denomination or related organization. The Christian church is made up of individuals scattered all over this planet and may be found virtually anywhere.

Grace and Faith

The grace of God; what a word. The grace of God is His favor for us; a gift to mankind that is neither earned or deserved. God has a preference for His creation. The term grace is difficult to understand as it is used by Christians for salvation and a God who performs favors. Grace is a small word needing a lot of explaining.

Belief in something that cannot be seen, though there is evidence of its existence, is faith. Scripture defines faith as the substance of hope and the evidence of the unseen (Hebrews 11:1). The Bible is by faith, the word of God. The supernatural power that faith holds causes us to move from just a belief that He exists to a faith in Him as our Creator, Father, and God Almighty.

When faith is alive in us, the connection made in our hearts becomes spiritually significant. The physical person is not the part that truly knows God, but the spiritual person within us. It’s similar to an old adage, "I am a spirit, I have a soul, and I live in a body."

The Bible (Scripture)

Most people in America are familiar with the Bible as a canon of Scripture. The books of the Bible were written over a lengthy period of time and were translated from original languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. In addition to the standard King James Version, multiple versions have been written and published. The Bible is considered to be the origin of the basic principles of the Christian church in America, providing spiritual enlightenment to the believer. As a Christian, I believe that what may appear to many as only words on a page, actually gives life to a person who possesses true faith in God Almighty.

Scripture contains many twists and turns, but a thread of life is woven throughout these pages. The Bible has been misunderstood and rejected by many, but I believe it has a greater impact on mankind than any other volume ever written. Though the Bible does not reveal all knowledge or answers to every question, it contains unquestionable, supernatural, life-giving content.

Normalcy Bias

This is an unusual term but helps to describe an attribute most of us possess. We don’t like to think that bad things will happen to us or that an event will happen if it never has before. When looking at the potential for a catastrophic event, some people enter into a mental state, known as a normalcy bias, where they underestimate both the possibility of the event and its potential effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare. The assumption made in the case of a normalcy bias is since the event has never occurred, it never will. People with a normalcy bias have difficulty reacting to something they have not previously experienced, and tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguity to infer a less serious situation. So goes the ideology of hell, heaven, and eternal life for those who have never experienced a true faith in God Almighty.

Intent

The intent of this book is not only to speak to the churched Christian people in America and the world, but the unchurched and the nonbelievers. All of us are striving in some way to cull through our feelings, intellect, life’s experiences, and questions with no absolute answers. If this writing helps one find the part of them that aches and desires to know a living God, the one who will bring satisfaction to their soul, it will be the success hoped for. Though you can emulate attributes of a faith in God, only a true personal encounter with faith will take you to the place where you will believe, without a doubt, there is a living God; the place where faith and reality merge.

CHAPTER 1

AUTHOR’S PERSPECTIVE AND PURPOSE

This paragraph was inserted last, after total completion of this book, as a personal note to you the reader. I poured just about everything I have into this writing and I am feeling quite empty. Because of the intensity of the message, I wrestled with rearranging the chapters in an order that would allow you, as close to the beginning as possible, to quickly sense my sincerity, concern, and love for the church of Jesus Christ. But, honestly, you have to read the book from the first word