Little Shop of Horrors

The unthinkable occurred in London this week. A British soldier was attacked by two men in broad daylight who cut his throat using meat cleavers, then filmed themselves to celebrate, bloodied hands and all. A heinous, barbaric act, fueled by pure religious fanaticism. 

Beyond the depravity of the crime, it should remind us again of the danger of all religious systems. The gods created in the image of Man degenerate to terrible idols who demand constant blood sacrifices.

Religion never changes a man's heart:
it only blinds him to his own sinful state, the in-born Virus of the human race.

Religious systems, no matter what their orientation or name,
can never cure us of the Virus.

At their best, they are like funeral parlor make-up artists, only able make a corpse look more presentable (for a time). The decay remains; the stench resurfaces. They cannot bring the dead back to life. 

At its worst, Religion becomes a Little Shop of Horrors.

Instead of creating love, these systems encourage hate. Far from cultivating humility, they stoke the fires of pride, intolerance and self-righteousness. 

The "Shop's" products? Inquisitions. Pogroms. Apartheid. Homofobia. Murder.

Fearful slavery to the checklists of man-made dogmas will never result in true change. No one is made free by Religion, because Religious systems thrive on Show, on outward presentation. Such rules and regulations never produce inner transformation.

Is There A Way Out?

Yes, and it's quite different: the unadulterated message of Jesus.
 (Who, by the way, was killed by Religion.)

He made it quite simple. To save ourselves (from ourselves) we "must be born again".

How? Not by following complex Rules, but by following Him: the "Way, the Truth and the Life".

How urgently we need to heed those words in these confusing times.

It's not about Regulations, it's about a Relationship.

And Restauration. Having laid down His own life for us, He offers each of us a fresh start, with total forgiveness of all we've done wrong. It's a gift, not a system.

Only this New Birth spiritually, on the inside, can save us from ourselves, from the Virus. It sets us free from the Dungeon of Dogma.

Choosing to change course, to follow Him out of love instead of fear, produces real change. As well as love for others.

Starting again,  asking Him to come in and place His own Spirit inside,
opens us up for the greatest Adventure of all:

A relationship with our Father, the Creator. 

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PHOTO CREDITS
In order: Google Images / Press.com / JLG on Facebook