Many Paths to God: Lies Christians accept to make others Comfortable

I don't know about you all, but I am done with being the type of Christian that tells others things that make them comfortable. Before I really delve in to my topic, I want folks to know that I am not judging anyone. However, the scripture that will come up 99.9% of the time in the conversations about this has already been written about. 

Over the past few weeks, I have been watching different people state their Christian beliefs online, then as soon as someone offers to read their "cards" they jump on board with Tarot. While I understand the tarot is a pack of playing cards, used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini, French tarot and Austrian Königrufen, many of which are still played today. In the late 18th century, some tarot decks began to be used for divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy leading to custom decks developed for such occult purposes. Yet it is still dangerous as it opens the door to evil. 

In fact, the Nazi party was involved in the occult. As it turns out, the Nazi party incorporated occultism from its very start. The political group that would eventually become the Nazi party (the German Worker's Party, or DAP) was founded in part by individuals from the Thule Society, an esoteric group dedicated to studying the mythological origins of the Aryan race. Several prominent Nazis were either members or active within the society, including Rudolph Hess, who would become the deputy further to Hitler; Alfred Rosenburg, head of the ministry that oversaw Nazi Germany's occupied territories in Eastern Europe; and Dietrich Eckhart, who founded the DAP.

The Thule society's primary focus was on the study of Ariosophy, referring to wisdom regarding the Aryans founded by occultists Guido von List and Lanz von Liebenfels. These individual's beliefs would come to inform significant aspects of the Nazi state, such as von List's belief in the power of magical runes. The most glaring example of this would be the twin "sig" runes that formed the SS insignia.

Occult-related activities and organizations were often suppressed in Nazi Germany at the behest of Heinrich Himmler's Rasputin-like personal occultist, Karl Maria Wiligut. The point of this was to ensure that Wiligut's own brand of occultism would be the eminent philosophy of the Nazis. Wiligut had developed a religion centered on worshipping the Germanic god Irmin. 

The reason that the occult was so alluring to the Nazi is that it promises power. If someone is involved in the occult can provide secret information to an individual that only he knows, and the predict something that does indeed occurs then the occultist has secured power over the other person. Another reason is that the occult promises love, but it's not the divine unconditional love of God (agape), rather it's a psychosexual love (eros), which explains why many of those involved in the occult are immoral, recognizing only a standard of authority established by their own reasoning. The occult also provides a minute amount of certainty in an uncertain world. It provides a sense of belonging so desperately needed by those who reject the love of Jesus Christ. 

Let's take a look at Acts 13:6-12 

6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

A fulness of deceit and mischief together, make a man indeed a child of the devil. And those who are enemies to the doctrine of Jesus, are enemies to all righteousness; for in it all righteousness is fulfilled. The ways of the Lord Jesus are the only right ways to heaven and happiness. However, more than that, Acts 13 reveals God's attitude towards the Occult. 

According to Martin Walters, The Kingdom of the Occult states of the sorcerer/magician:

1. They are in league with Satan and possess certain supernatural powers.

2. They are false prophets.

3. They seek to influence people politically and ecclesiastically, particularly those in positions of power. (v. 6-7)

4. They attempt to prevent those who are seeking to hear the Word of God from learning it by opposing those who preach it. (v.8)

5. They deliberately attempt to divert prospective converts from the faith as their ultimate goal (v.8). 

Dr. Walters continues by contrasting to this, the judgement of the Holy Spirit is explicit: 

1. He calls such attempts and practices "Fully of all kinds of deceit and trickery" (v. 10-NIV)

2. He designates occultism and the occult as having its origin with the devil by calling Bar-Jesus "Son of the devil." (v. 10)

3. He unmasks the occultists' tactics and declares them to be enemies of all that is righteous. He calls them perverters of the Lord, which are designated as "straight," or right. (v. 10). 

The "religion" that the leaders of Black Lives Matter claim to practice is an ancient religion from Western Africa called Yoruba. One of the main practices of the Yoruba religion is divination. William Jones had attended predominantly African-American churches throughout the earlier part of his life and had considered himself to be a spiritual person. The Christian church just did not give him the personal attention he wanted.

Notice the article says it didn't give Jones the attention he sought. Not the attention that would glorify God. He wanted the attention himself. That is what false religions and the occult promise people. The attention they seek. 

You see God has been warning those after His heart for years not to go after practioners of the Occult. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

Leviticus 19:26-31 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

Isaiah 8:19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

There are scripture upon scripture telling us to not engage with the darkness. Christians need to stop letting people think there are many ways to Christ. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

How many of us know people who are choosing the wide way because it's easy? They are choosing the wide path because it is allowing them to live how ever they want without the discomfort of conviction that God brings to you life? They don't have to change? How many people do we know as Christians who support people in their every path leads to God? How many times have you been scared to say something because you didn't want to make people uncomfortable? 

There is a bumper sticker that I abhore. It says basically states that all religions are equal and should coexist, but the truth is that all religions are not equal. Christianity isn't a religion at all, it's a relationship. Friends we as Christians, need to stop making people feel comfortable, we need to stop with the I am okay, you are okay, we are all okay since that is not the truth. We are lying to people by telling them they are okay whatever path they choose. Sometimes I think people are scared to go out and minister to people. Some of us, if challenged, get defensive, we will stoop to the levels of others to get our points across. Even I am guilty of this. Instead we need to be willing to tell people that Christianity is the only path to God. We need to educate ourselves in apologetics so that we can speak to people and do so in a way that isn't offensive and being able to do this will bring more people to Christ. 

I have found that people are often times scared to walk up to the stranger in the street and strike up a conversation; my friend Tim used to be so good at this. He'd walk up to the most random stranger and say "Do you know my friend Jesus?" By the time the person checked out, he'd most likely exchanged numbers and began to build a relationship with that person. 

I have met several people over the past few weeks that don't believe in God and I have built relationships with them. I am comfortable enough to say "I don't agree with your lifestyle or I don't believe in what you do, but I care enough about you to still be your friend and to tell you the truth."

Christians we need to stop coddling people and actually tell them the truth. Yes, it will hurt. Yes, it will make them angry. Yes, it will possibly cost you their friendship, but hopefully in the end, it will help them come to a true relationship with Christ.