Religion or Jesus?

Live from the “Mecca of Mormonism” in SALT LAKE CITY, Utah… THIS IS HEART OF THE MATTERTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. – “Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to Face!” Show 48 October 2008

And I’m Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion., your host. Hey, if your family or friends can’t watch Heart of the Matter on television because they have dish or are out of the area, have them go to www.HOTM.tv and they can watch it live streaming video from anywhere in the world! Check it out!

KTMW TV 20 Christmas Open House

Now what is happening on Friday Night, December 5th from 7-9pm? What? What?! It’s the second annual Christmas open house for KTMW TV 20! Where: Right here at the station. When: Friday December 5th from 7-9pm Who: Everybody is welcome! Why: Food, fun and to thank you for your viewer-ship! All the show hosts will be here to meet you face to face, so we hope to see you all here!

Visited an LDS funeral last week. The deceased was a childhood friend's mother. She was a really great person. My friend’s uncle stood to speak as the main guy. He came from Idaho, I believe. I listened intently to what he said. He was distinguished looking, was well-dressed and polished. After twenty-five minutes, I wrote on the program that bore a picture of my friend's departed mother: “What a sad display it is that a man, grey to the scalp and dressed so fine, could stand at the pulpit of a church that claims Christ is Ling and talk and talk and talk yet say almost nothing at all – especially about Jesus Christ.” Mormonism.

Life After Death: An LDS Perspective

It seems there is a book creating no small stir up in beautiful Cache Valley parts of Utah. It’s the life after deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. experience of an LDS woman named Kim and I’ve been told by reliable sources that many of the LDS are all a tither about her tale. Well some dear friends passed a copy of this first-hand account on to me and I’ve got to read you some of her “beyond the grave report.” I am always highly suspect when anyone – Christian or Mormon or whatever – provides the world with an explanation of what happens beyond the grave. First of all, God didn’t think such details were necessary to us because He didn’t include them in the Bible. And then most of these people will claim in their books that it is their special mission to tell the world what we can all expect once the bell tolls – and then, as God’s special messenger, they sell us the story! Oh, enough of my input! Let’s hear what this LDS author has to say awaits beyond the grave!

Ready? (oh, and I am not going to tell you the title because it is not worth the money.) In the chapter, “A Walk through Heaven’s Veil,” it reads: (read quote) (COMMENT) Then, in chapter 14 titled, “A Mother’s Love” she wrote, speaking of Heavenly Mother: (read quote) Now, I know, this is not an “LDS sanctioned” work, but in a way, that makes it even better because it reveals the grass roots heart and mind of a general member. Joseph before Jesus, teaching in a classroom, and embracing all the women with his big blue eyes. Mother in heaven – physically appealing, small, doll-like, with long hair, dressed to the nines, wise but unweathered, “but such a lady.” God help us all.

Clarifying the Message on Substance Use

After last week's show – part four of the Word of Wisdom – I received quite a few letters and emails from people – LDS and Christian – who just don’t seem to get it. For starters, I do not advocate smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs illegally in any way, shape or form. I am not recommending such choices to teens and children. I detest what these substances can do to people. In this day and age a person would have to be stark-staring mad to actually think smoking tobacco or abusing drugs or alcohol is a good or healthy choice or that God would ever WANT them involved in such behavior! This was NEVER my message. My message was related to salvation, to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to religious people and the practices they condemn or condone in His name. So while I fully support clean living, I would never berate or question an individual's standing before God who had struggled or struggles with any substance. This is just another – another! – ridiculous line some people insist on drawing deeply in the sands of religious life. There are a lot of religious lines people of all ilks draw, aren’t there?

We’ve had debates…

Division in Christian Beliefs

Over “speaking in tongues” or not speaking in tongues… on “once saved always saved”… on “grace and works”… on “who can speak, teach, preach, and heal in Jesus name”…

Good Christians get divided on what “clean living is” or what “God’s diet” includes… How we must “dress and groom” to be pleasing to Him… There are all kinds of “us verses them” debates – whose or what church is best. The “best version of the Bible” debates. Pretribe, post-trib, no trib debates… Creation, evolution, intelligent design debates…

Where does it end? When will people “get” what it is all – ALL – ALL about? New life, new hearts, new love through Jesus Christ? Salvation through Him. Peace through Him. Love through Him? Shiiiiiii – take mushrooms, folks!

You can never, ever, ever go wrong loving others too much, but you can go woefully wrong mistreating, condemning, and attacking people in the name of Jesus and individual Christian beliefs.

Challenges to LDS Beliefs

Okay…? Now, this being said, I also get the standard LDS complaints that are becoming so dreadfully redundant about my lack of being able to love everyone. What are the major complaints? There are four:

“Jesus would never pick on another church?” “We love everyone, why can’t you?” “I never hear you picking on Jews, or Muslims, or Buddhists?” And finally, “We are Christian!”

Addressing Criticisms

One by One: First, Jesus would never pick on other people beliefs? Do you really think this? Really? I mean really? Have you ever read the Bible? Ever? What does God SAY to those who are errant? He warns us about them. He calls them blind, deaf, and fat of heart! He says their father is Satan. He called them fools. He said they were a generation of vipers.

“We love everyone, why can’t you?” You love everyone? Have you ever LDS ever taken a public stance against any people group? Let me name a few: First, Mormonism publicly denounced all other Christian denominations even to the point of saying they were of the devil. Mormonism publicly put women under the foot of men for over a hundred years – and continues to. Mormonism publicly refused to allow black people to hold their priesthood – a priesthood that a person had to hold to go to live with God after this life! Just recently, Mormonism took another public stance directly against another people group. If you’re going to accuse me of something, you might want to make sure you’re not guilty of it first.

“I never hear you picking on Jews, or Muslims, or Buddhists?” And I never hear Jews or Islam or Buddhist claiming to be Christian. I am not out against people or groups who differ with my beliefs. Did you hear me? I am so full of allowing – loving – people who think and believe differently than me. But if you claim, and publish, and have missionaries pushing the idea that you are what I am, I will fight you tooth and nail.

Imagine that a guy comes to your hometown and tells everyone he is your brother. He takes your last name, robs, rapes, murders, steals, and tells everyone that you are brothers. Would you stand up against such a lie – if not for yourself then for your parents? When Mormonism tells the world it is Christian, it is telling the world it is my brother. Not so. When you stop claiming to be Christian, I’ll stop attacking your beliefs.

And finally, and this last one goes hand in hand with the one before, the Mormons constantly cry: “We are Christian too!” You know, you are like every other special interest group – you demand to have your way on everything. As such, you think you have the right to walk around and lay claim to being Christian, and the rest of the Christian world is bound by your definition of love to allow it!

When you say “We’re Christian” what you are demanding is that the rest of the truly Christian world embraces: A pre-existence. Joseph’s way as God’s way. Temple rites and rituals. Other books of scripture. And on and on and on and on.

What do you suppose would happen to me if I announced tonight that we were starting a church and calling it: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? We’d have more attorneys on our doorstep tomorrow than in the capital on a Wednesday morning! But they can use the title Christian all they want.

Mormonism is NOT Christian. Some Mormons may be Christians, but the religion itself is light years from biblical Christianity.

On Political Discussions

For several weeks now we have mentioned something about politics.

Inconsistencies Within Religious Practices and Beliefs

Well, the developments just don’t stop. My good friend “Triple A” sent me an interesting copy of a press release from one _____________ Marriott of the Marriott Hotel Corporation. Many of you are familiar with the Marriott name and its association with Mormonism, including their helping fund a huge sports center on the campus of Brigham Young University – which appropriately carries the Marriott name. Well, it seems old Marriott felt the need to stand AGAINST his religion's stand against same-sex marriage in California.

Listen:

(Read article)

Now I have a few questions:

First, I want to know if a regular old Joe Mormon stood out publicly against the LDS support of Prop 8 in California if the powers that be would have disciplined him? Secondly, I want to know how the LDS church allows Marriott corporation to even do the business they do? They are one of the largest public suppliers of pornography in the world of hoteliers, not to mention the business they do in forbidden Word of Wisdom substances. I mean, if a little old stake president in Panguitch decided to open a bar or porn theater in town, would the church allow it?

NEVER.

The inconsistencies are profound and unending. And yet, in the name of keeping the peace – and keeping your heads buried in the sand – you active members continue to permit egregious disconnects like this to exist. My LDS friend Grant Palmer wrote a factual book about Mormon history with excellent insights – and Grant loves the LDS church – and they held a court on the man! Disfellowshipped him! Old Marriott provides porn and alcohol to anyone who will pay for it and now takes a public stand against a Church-sanctioned political action – and I bet they won’t do a thing about it!

Why?

(beat)

You know why.

Jesus and Religious Organization

And with that, let’s have a word of prayer.

PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER
I want to say tonight that Jesus Christ is not an organization, He is a living God, a personal being who feels our pain, grief, and joy. It is Jesus – not a religious organization – who offered Himself as a gift to anyone who will trust and believe in . . . His Church? No . . . . in Him.

Religion is something to believe and something to do. It includes believing and talking about God, attending religious services, taking advantage of courses and teachings offered therein, and often it includes receiving rituals the institution offers. Religion is usually connected to ceremony in one way or another. You almost can’t help it. At our weekly services here in Utah, we find ourselves struggling not to institutionalize and systematize everything we do. Because we are human beings, it sort of happens . . . naturally.

Religion can make praying, fasting, offering money to the poor, and even memorizing scripture perfunctory – actions without meaning, or actions that have lost their true meaning. The Pharisees were scripture-loving, conservative, well-dressed spiritual people who lived their religion BUT they did not know or recognize the True Christ, in fact, they hated Him because He had a relationship with God and refused the empty religious practices of religion.

The Limitations of Religious Observance

There are other ways in which religion fails us as human beings? First, religion cannot change the human heart. When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he wanted to know what needed to happen for him to be right with God. Jesus told him he had to be “born-again,” meaning, “outward religious observance cannot change the human heart – no matter how good people think they are or how good they act. Unless they are regenerated by the spirit, born-again, and given a new heart, they cannot even see the kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future.. To the Pharisees, Jesus said: “You guys make the outside of the dishes clean and sparkly, but your inward parts are full of greed and wickedness.” Religion demands outward compliance. It can’t help it. It needs compliance to survive and grow. For some religions, outward appearance is so important that it becomes a sort of spiritual pornography.

Not too long ago I was in Southern California at the beach and heard some people say that some Playboy models were down on the beach. When these women came up from the water, they didn’t look what I thought a Playboy model would look like! At least that is what I was told. Anyway, they had normal sagging bodies, and one had some very bad acne on her face. Another was carrying a nice amount of cellulite in her butt and legs – like women normally do.

Religion vs. Relationship with Jesus

Heard a guy say to his friend: “They don’t look anything like the pictures do they?” And that’s the point. Religion takes people and paints them up. It airbrushes their flaws away. Dresses them in impressive attire. And then gets them to present themselves in unrealistic terms. Religion forces a proper language upon us, acceptable attitudes, a standard which all must strive to embody if we want to be accepted, embraced, and especially if we want to climb the ladder. Religion seeks to please men almost all of the time. Remember, to the ultimate religionists Jesus said: “All their works they do to be seen of men.”

A relationship with Jesus can’t be feigned. We can’t hide our fat gut from Jesus, our hate, our greed or our lust. And if you think you have, you are probably resorting to religious tactics and resigning yourself to have a relationship with Him as your King. Because the relationship with Jesus is one on one and direct – one physical being relating in his or her spirit to God and Sovereign King – it can’t be faked and NOTHING can be feigned!

Authenticity in Faith

There is no airbrushing in a real relationship. No make-up, false eyelashes, or fancy clothing. Get it? This is why people who have a real relationship with the Lord for the most part walk from religious demands in some degree or another.

Second, religion makes a whole lot of something out of a whole lot of nothing. Jesus said to the greatest religionists (the Pharisees and scribes) “Woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass by justice and the love of God.” “Why” is so important to God! “Why” is far more important to God than “what.” Religion always asks what? What did you do? What didn’t you do?

The Importance of 'Why'

Jesus asks: Why did you do this what? Why that what? Supporting why over what, Paul wrote: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have NOT love, it profits me nothing.” Love is the why? A relationship with the King produces LOVE which gives us the only justifiable why on earth to say we know God.

Third, religion makes Hypocrites of us all. When we choose religion we care more what people think of us than representing the truth and being honest. How can I say this? When you represent yourself one way in the presence of people you want to impress then bring out another side of your personality when it’s “safe” that is called hypocrisy. Hypocrisy was the number one claim Jesus leveled at the most religious men of His day.

As a Latter-day Saint and prior to knowing the Lord, I was a great hypocrite. I hated when either I or members of my family revealed their “lesser sides” to the world – especially at Church. I wanted to appear perfect. Like I had everything right. Like we could “live the gospel.” This was so important. Image. Looking good. Appearing worthy. Seeming like we were all obedient. I really didn’t care what the truth was about me or my heart. I cared what people thought or saw in me and I went to some pretty sick extremes to keep my camouflage up.

Facing Hypocrisy

M Scott Peck in People of the Lie suggests that the most evil people are not in the prisons of the world – they are just the impetuous ones. The most evil are people who never reveal who they are inside. They are consummate actors and hypocrites. And what they want most is to remain hidden, with their evil selves anonymous to the world. Peck suggests that the place they like most are the churches because there they have their greatest cover.

When I came into a real relationship with God, I was set free from the fear of being discovered. I was free to be who I really am – therefore making room to genuinely improve. I stopped caring what people thought of me or my wife or daughters. I heard a statement around this time that made a lot of sense to me. It said something to the effect that: “It’s only when you lose your reputation that you are truly set free.” When we come to God, as we are, open, honest, willing, free, seeking, without pulling a single punch, we lose our public face and reputation and He honors this then works with us on making our character transparent. But when you kneel before Him, encased in some straightjacket of how you think you should be, you’re only talking to

The Challenge of Religion

Fourth, religion makes life harder. Because religion has NEVER been able to change a person’s heart, it almost always resorts to other tactics to manage and mold behavior. This is what our whole Word of Wisdom discussion was about last week. Remember, any fool can make a rule. Religions are really, really good at making up, enforcing, and reminding people of their standards and rules and regulations, but they are usually very poor at loving and accepting people who do not or cannot make the grade on performance.

The Heart of Jesus

Jesus was the opposite, because He became the standard – completely, wholly, totally – because we couldn’t. God reads our hearts. When our hearts are tied to His Son, there is no failure. There is only saving faith. But if our hearts are tied to obeying rules, He knows it, and in this, there is no satisfying Him or making ourselves worthy, clean, or righteous.

5. Religion makes it very, very easy to deceive ourselves. The Pharisees were wonderful at building great memorials to the prophets but were so blind they killed the most real prophet when they met Him. Mass movements, cultural influence, and corporate pressure go a long, long way in fooling those caught-up in the fervor of their rhetoric. As I’ve said before, you’ll never see a church bearing a sign that says:

“Church of the beguiled or temple of the fooled” whether it be located in Jonestown, Waco Texas, or Salt Lake City, Utah.”

The Dilemma of Religious Truth

Everyone believes their religion is right. So we’re faced with a dilemma. Either they are all right (which would make nothing wrong), they are all wrong (which would make nothing right) or they share in error and truth (which would make everything partial) or there is one standard for Truth and whichever church or churches embrace that standard would be considered true. I would suggest the latter and the standard is the Bible.

Many people believe that because they attend church, sing praises, even read their Bible, that they are right with God. This is religion. It’s not to say people who know God don’t do these things, but the most important question we can ask ourselves is: Do we know Him?

I want to conclude tonight by showing you a video clip from a sermon put to images and sound. To me, it helps illustrate what it means to Know the King.

(Show video)

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Conclusion