Showing posts with label Rev. Marvin Winans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rev. Marvin Winans. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

A Response to "Jackleg Preachers" From Rev. V. R. Williams

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

A Response to "Jackleg Preachers" From Rev. V. R. Williams

Rev. V. R. Williams says:
November 4, 2013 at 7:32 pm
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Dear, dear Mr. Wattree,
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Please do Christianity a favor and just stop. You are so wrong on sooo many levels. If you have a complaint don’t hijack the Word of God to try to validate your emotion based arguement. You’re endangering yourself and causing harm to the spiritually immature. Express your opinions without perverting the Text. Really, you’re not doing God any favors.
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While there are ‘jack-legs’; there are also men and women of God who have committed their life to ‘going into all the world’ for no other reason but for the cause of Christ.
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With the love of God,
Rev. V. R. Williams
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Rev. Williams,
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Where are they?
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As much money as churches are taking in, and out, of the Black community, there shouldn’t be a such thing as “the hood.” What I see is a lot of big, magnificent churches in the middle of poverty, squalor, and suffering. I see a lot of talking about what God’s gonna do for you, and very little discussion about what YOU’RE going to do for the community. I see preachers riding around in big cars, and living in luxurious homes while taking 10% off the top of people’s income who can’t even afford to feed their families. I see preachers strutting around trying to be big shots, and putting very little effort into helping the people. I see preachers telling their “flock” to PRAY for God to help them feed their families, while the preacher is passing the basket to feed his.
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Reverend, you’re a man of God, why don’t you give you’re money to the poor (like Jesus) and PRAY for God to pay your house note instead of passing the basket? Where’s your faith? And why don’t you keep your churches open during the week and use some that tithe money you pull in to hire unemployed mothers to provide affordable childcare for working mothers? You could turn your church into a full service daycare center and pre-school during the week – and in the process, you could be teaching job and parenting skills to the unemployed mothers. That would save the employed mothers in the community up to $400 a month, and more, in childcare costs. Four hundred dollars a month would go a long way toward helping working mothers to live a better life:
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Matthew 6:1-34
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“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. …”
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So, Reverend, where are all these good “men and women of God who have committed their life to ‘going into all the world’ for no other reason but for the cause of Christ?” I hear a lot of preaching, testifying and advice on how the people can get into Heaven when they die, but very little public service to the people while they’re alive.
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All I see are hypocrites praying out loud in the churches, “synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.” And as Matthew says above, getting their reward right here on Earth.
******
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Rev. V. R. Williams says:
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I can’t speak for any other ministers, child of God. But as for what you asked of me … my church just conducted a coat drive, actually purchasing new coats for children. We’re only a small church, but we donated 4 times the number of our membership to a local shelter for families.
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We save no money from what we collect. We pay our bills and conduct outreach ministries. I have a personal phone that I pay for (I take no salary) but my ministry phone is a pre-paid plan that is dependent on our finances as our outreach efforts take priority.
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I preach and teach your very sentiments. But what I’m suggesting is you’re doing what you accuse the ungodly ‘preachers’ of doing. You’re incorrectly using the Word of God to make a point.
You sound like so many I am trying to reach; like you have been hurt by the church. Sweetie, know all churches aren’t like the jacked-up churches. All reverends, I am a female by-the-by, are not like the ones who have hurt so many that are in need of help.
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Some of us ministers hurt with you and take responsibility for those whose use the title of God to work for Satan. But if one has eye’s to see they are responsible for what they see. God wouldn’t leave His children with out true deliverers of His Word. Pray for guidance to a true ministry and when you find it scream as loud as you can to drawn attention and the lost to it.
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Would love to talk with you more. I pray to God you have accepted Christ as your Savior. And, please, don’t let Satan, no matter what his title or how he’s dressed, keep you from the glories that God has for you.
******
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Wattree says:
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Rev. Williams,
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My apologies. If you’re doing the things that you’ve indicated, I’d like to thank you for your service and apologize for my less than respectful tone – even though I generally allow the person that I’m talking with to set the tone of the discussion, and you did kinda come at me.
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That said, it’s very easy for me to take a disdainful tone with most preachers due to their delusional arrogance of thinking that they can speak for God, and also, their condescending presumption that anyone who doesn’t agree with their religious beliefs is some sort of heretic. After all, what we happen to believe is nothing more than an accident birth – if you’d been in Israel you’d probably be a Jew, in China or Tibet, a Buddhist, or in Iran, a Muslim. So our religion is nothing more than a reflection of what we’ve been TAUGHT to believe, it’s not the word of God, and anyone who doesn’t at least consider that fact is naive. Thus, the only way that we can know God’s will is by observing what he has done, and he made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think. So based on that fact, I’m certain that it wasn’t his intent for us to believe in talkin’ snakes.
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But as a result of my attitude, many people think I’m hostile towards religion, but I’m not. I’m hostile toward ignorance. I was raised to be a Christian by loving Christians just like yourself and the ones that you referenced above. But I feel that it’s essential that we be perfectly candid regarding this issue, and many people are simply not used to that. Generally, the only people who feel free to discuss this issue with the kind of candor that I try to bring to the subject are atheists who are hostile toward all or most religion, but I’m just as adamant against atheism as I am organized religion. I believe in individual spirituality, because I have a problem with any manner of group-think. One’s spirituality should be between that person and God – period.
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When God created man, he did his job with precision, so we don’t require a User’s Guide, or a Bible, to know right from wrong any more than birds need a map, a compass, and a calendar to know when and what direction to fly South during the winter. When me and my neighbor’s wife start making goo-goo eyes at each other, I don’t need a Bible to tell me I’m wrong. I can hear God in my head saying, “Eric, now you know what you’re thinking ain’t cool.” So I put my prurient thoughts out of my mind. And when I was a kid in church, God used to stay on my case, because I used to like to watch the women sitting in the pews in their miniskirts.
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So the fact is, the Bible is nothing more than a book (much like Reader's Digest) that was compiled nearly 400 years after the death of Christ by the Catholic Church. It was based on books that THEY selected, and there was a huge argument – just like what goes on in our congress today – over what books to include, and what books would be banned. So the bottom line is, the Holy Bible is the word of the Catholic Church, not the word of God, and one would think that more preachers would know that, and I think they do – at least, the one’s who are educated. Man simply uses the Bible, and similar books, as a way to make ignorant people believe that he speaks for God, and as we all know, that’s a highly lucrative gig.
******
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Rev. V. R. Williams says:
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Let me just say this … Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit and what God has predestined to be. Yes, I understand societal influence and the canonization of The Holy Writ. But what I believe goes beyond what I understand. And I love, believe, and need the Bible.
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Luv and God bless!
******
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Wattree says:   
November 5, 2013 at 3:07 pm
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My pleasure, Reverend.
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And again, thank you for your service, and keep up the good work.
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Eric L. Wattree
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Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Friday, November 01, 2013

Jackleg Preachers: Don't Let Them Take You to Hell With 'Em

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Jackleg Preachers: Don't Let Them Take You to Hell With 'Em
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Matthew 6:1-34
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ..."
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It is said that God works in mysterious ways. Nothing illustrates the truth of that statement more thoroughly than the current controversy over Pastor Marvin Winans’ refusal to bless a woman’s child before his church because the child was born out of wedlock. God used that lady, Charity Grace, and her son, Joshua, to send us a very important message - STOP WORSHIPING THESE PREACHERS!
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God blessed man with human intelligence, and we should bless our OWN children with the knowledge and wisdom that he bestowed upon each one of us as individuals. No preacher is any closer to God than you are, yet, one of the biggest problems that we have in this country is far too many of us are running around claiming to worship God when, in fact, we're worshiping preachers, and in turn, those preachers are making us stupid, mean-spirited, and hateful.
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A perfect example of that is the preachers who are telling their congregations to rise up and fight against the right for gays to get married. We should be doing just the opposite. We should encourage marriage, not only among gays, but among ALL people who are in love, because marriage promotes stability. And with respect to the issue of gay marriage specifically, the Bible - the "word of God" that these preachers are suppose to be following - very clearly says to these preachers, and all others, to "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
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Matthew 7:1-5 of the King James version of the Holy Bible is very emphatic in saying the following:
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"(1)Judge not, that ye be not judged. (2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? (5) Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
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Thus, many preachers are not only NOT following the "word of God," but they’re rewriting the Bible to conform to their own bigoted points of view. They’re helping to perpetuate the very same kind of ignorant and bigoted stupidity that has plagued Black people for centuries. And the reason that they have that warped and un-Godly mind-set is because Black people were taught about religion by the very same people who had us tied-up next to the mules, and many preachers are too brainwashed to recognize that fact.
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As Black people we should never forget that we’re the product of the very same racist and bigoted environment as White people, so many of the more weak-minded among us are just as bigoted and racist as any sheet-wearing Hillbilly, and many (but not all) of our preachers are a prime example of that fact.
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These preachers have neither the wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, nor morality, to speak for God.
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Matthew 23:25
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
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RELATED CONTENT
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http://wattree.blogspot.com/2013/10/rev-marvin-winans-don’t-just-preach-us.html
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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Rev Marvin Winans: Don’t Just Preach Us A Sermon, Live Us One

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree


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Rev. Marvin Winans: Don’t Just Preach Us A Sermon, Live Us One
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When I first heard that Rev. Marvin Winans (of the gospel-singing Winans klan) refused to receive and Bless a child before his congregation because the child was born out of wedlock, I thought it was just another one of those ridiculous urban legends, because no Black minister could be that pompously out of touch with reality (I specified "Black minister" because Pat Robertson is White, and I’m not surprised at anything he does), and certainly no one with as high a public profile as Marvin Winans could possibly be that big a fool.
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But it turns out that it’s not just a rumor. During an interview with My Foxdetroit.com, Ms. Charity Grace indicated that she and her son, Joshua, recently began attending Perfecting Church, which is presided over by Rev. Marvin Winans. Recently the churched announced that it was having a special service dedicated to blessing children two years old and under. Upon hearing the announcement Ms. Grace became quite excited over the prospect of having her son blessed by the church. In that regard she said, "I want to instill values and morals in my son based upon the word of God."
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But when she contacted the church to make arrangements to have her son participate in the service, she was told that "Pastor Winans' policy is that he is not to bless children of unwed mothers in front of the congregation." Ms. Grace said, "I've never felt so degraded and disrespected in my life." She goes on to say, "The church is the last place you go and be judged and denied."
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And she’s absolutely right. How can Pastor Winans profess to be teaching his congregation to follow "the word of God" when he’s ignoring it, or is ignorant of it himself? Matthew 7:1-5 of the King James version of the Holy Bible is very emphatic in saying the following:
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Matthew 7:1-5
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"(1)Judge not, that ye be not judged. (2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? (5) Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
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So the Bible itself is calling Winans a hypocrite. Ms. Grace was clearly pure of heart and had a Godly mindset when she first, began to take her son to attend church, and then, made the conscious decision to have her son blessed by what she thought was a "man of God." So it is indeed ironic that she had to go to church to be greeted by ignorance and evil. Listen to the words of one God-fearing, good, and loving Christian. She posted as Tia on the "Old Black Church" website:
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". . .let the word of god be true, and every man a liar. Romans 3
I agree with pastor Winan's decision. This epidemic in our community has gotten out of hand. As my grand mother used to say in the old church "somebody's got to have some sense". People continue vicious destructive cycles because no one stands up and says the behavior is wrong," the emperor has no clothes." Instead of running to the news trying to embarrass pastor Winans, she should have trimmed the bushes and grass in front of her nasty home that she allows the baby to exist in. Black women's priorities are totally messed up. Instead of taking care of the home, shes out trying to run up in churches showing off the number one sin (not the child, he's innocent and blessed already, . .UNTIL THE PARENTS MESS THEM UP) that impacts our community in a negative way. This woman is almost 40 yrs old (not a teen pregnancy "mistake" by any means). She should know better, but she doesn't. And she doesn't try and get teaching and understanding from the church as to WHY they have to have a standard, and not kow tow to any and everything. No, she has to like a devil, strike a match and walk away. Now the only thing pastor didn't do that he should have is get on NATIONAL news and give these baby makers reason why he will not allow his church and the body of Christ to be taken over by these selfish, show off, want to be seen, attention seekers, pageantry seeking harlots to use the church as a showplace. I can see it now, Sunday service 10 or 12 women parading their multitude of "dressed up" kids across the front because you know once something catches on with black women, it becomes a fad and takes over until it is ruined. Like our communities, school systems, neighborhoods, welfare systems are being ruined by this trifling behavior. The babies are "cute " until a certain age then turned out into the streets to become society and jails problems. We can't afford to continue ignorance breeding ignorance. Now after its messed up society, they want to infiltrate the CHURCH. The rules have been set. Abide by them and learn. She doesn't know she's the one who looks like a fool, not Pastor Winans. He made his bones, and its still HIS bones, not hers. Guess she has to take her mess to a church that puts up with it. Leave normal people who stand for something alone. God will NOT allow the devil to take over his house . I CAST THEE OUT!!!!!!!!!!! . . ."I cast thee out."
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If that’s one of his loving, God-fearing Christians, the reverend’s obviously not doing a very good job. I haven’t heard that kind of mean-spirited, un-Godly, viciousness since I witnessed two dope fiends fighting over a crack pipe in the parking lot of z fire ravaged pool hall. But considering the reverend’s reckless approach to scripture, I can fully understand how his flock would have something less than a perfect grasp of what it means to be a Christian. What the lady fails to understand is, if everybody who has had sex outside of marriage had to leave that church, there wouldn't be enough members left to throw a card party - and I'd be willing to bet that she and the good reverend would be among the first of those who'd have to be escorted out the door. That's generally how things work with self-righteous hypocrites.  But the most important thing that she fails to realize is the reverend is suppose to me disseminating the word of God, not the word of Winan. Disciples of God are suppose to be humble servants, not pompous, self-righteous dictators. So, ironically, it seems that, in this case, the only one that was acting in a Godly fashion was the one that the church turned away, Ms. Charity Grace.
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But unfortunately, it seems that hypocrisy is not so much the exception as it is the rule in this country. True Christians seem to be exceedingly rare in this country. The primary reason for that is Christianity as practiced in the United States was founded upon hypocrisy. Americans tend to believe in a redacted version of the Bible. The true meaning of American exceptionalism is that we have a firm and fundamental belief in everything in the Bible EXCEPT those things that tend to interfere with our particular form of bigotry.
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It’s no accident that what we refer to as "The Bible Belt" is renowned for being the most bigoted and intolerant region in this country. The reason for that is the religious community is the perfect environment for social bigots. Because under the umbrella of religion, bigots are free to hate in the name of God: "It’s not that I hate everybody who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it’s just that God does."
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It’s exactly that kind of mentality that made it possible for "Love thy neighbor," and "Lynch thy nigga," to comfortably coexist in the South without a shred of guilt or cognitive dissonance. They simply ignore or contort anything in the Bible that doesn’t fit comfortably into their delusion of reality.
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Another example of that is how preachers routinely ignore the Biblical's prescription that we pray in private, and that they not strut around in $1200 suits and roll around in Escalades. Again, the Bible is clear. It says that those who run around praying out loud for public consumption is getting their reward right here on Earth:
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Matthew 6:1-34
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"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ..."
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But again, these preachers and Bible thumpers aren't about to let a little thing like "the word of God" interfere with their false sense of righteous superiority, and their money-making potential.
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Thus, while spirituality and the belief in a force greater than yourself is a good thing, the problem with organized religion is that man has set himself up as God’s emissary and Chief Operations Officer. So in the final analysis, what we end up calling "faith," is not faith in God at all; it’s faith in man, and what they tell us about God. Thus, many so-called Christians, like the "lady" who commented above, are not worshiping God, they're worshiping preachers, like the good Rev. Winans.  But as the current matter clearly demonstrates, these peachers have neither the wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, nor morality, to speak for God.
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“The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” - Ezekiel 18:19-20
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RELATED CONTENT

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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content