Do you know what it’s like to be burned by the same person over and over again? Or maybe by a company, to the point where you cease from doing business with them and even tell your friends about their lousy customer service or horrible policies? People generally don’t make a big deal about us speaking up about these kinds of things, but when the same things are done within the religious communities, everyone wants you to hush up!

No matter how bad it gets they shout, “Hush up, don’t you dare tell people about that!”

I’m not talking about when someone or a church makes one mistake in one area and then repents and fixes it so it never happens again.

What I am talking about are habitual problems that aren’t repented of and those things which continue to get worse.

We can turn on any news program and see the latest stories about secular places of business that went for too long without oversight, who have causes thousands to suffer, and who are in huge trouble with the government.

But write a blog post about an ongoing epidemic that is plaguing the religious communities and you’re cut off!

The constant cutting off, shunning, silencing, and threatenings to keep people quiet about the massive elephants in the room isn’t going to go away not matter how many people you try to silence.

The elephants keep growing and they’re multiplying like rabbits.

The religious community is getting awfully crowded with all these elephants hanging around.

It gets so crowded that people just can’t ignore them anymore and since people don’t want to talk about it, seek to silence them, or even worse they slander them so no one will believe them…so they leave the religious communities.

Then they talk.

They blog.

They speak on radio shows.

Those who have chosen to remain crowded by their elephants will counteract those and write new blog posts, speak on radio shows, and accuse these bold people by calling them bitter, rebellious, and liars.

This is part of the problem.

Let me repeat that.

This is part of the PROBLEM!

Not only do they refuse to talk about the elephant’s mating and multiplying in their communities, now they add insult to injury by denying it publicly.

And they wonder why people leave church and don’t want to come back.

Is there a way to fix this ever increasing problem?

Probably not.

So people keep leaving.

They’re free to go.

You can’t horde them in the pews, you can’t declare curses on them if they don’t send their tithes in, and you certainly can’t send them to hell just because you wish they would burn for opening that old can of worms for all to see.

As a matter of fact, I think the can of worms has burst all on it’s own.

Those worms just won’t die.

Mark 9:48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

This blazing battle in religion just isn’t going to die easily.

The fires are consuming and the brave run for safety.

They run to the Master out in the wilderness and there they are fed.

The more the religious crowds screams their threats at those who have fled, the more those on the inside will realize their own need to escape.

The whole mentality of the religious that cry out, “Those on the outside are out to get us. They who are persecuting us, they will come for us and want to kill us.”

Give me a break.

That’s exactly what Jim Jones said to his cult followers as he convinced them to drink the Kool Aid.

Oh I’m not knocking all churches, but I am speaking up about the ongoing abusive tactics of the religious mindset that keeps spreading fear and panic about people who leave their systems.

People will get hit by cars, get cancer, miscarry babies, and suffer from divorce both inside and outside of religion.

There’s nothing magical about raising your kids in the church, in fact, many times families are so busy with church activities that they don’t have time to be a real family at home.

We are not promised a life that will never suffer. In fact, Jesus said those who are his disciples would suffer quite a bit, because of the Gospel.

But which Gospel is the one that makes the religious crowd the most angry?

It’s the same one Jesus spoke of, the same one that sent the religious crowd to crucify him over. Yes, it was the same Gospel that caused many disciples and apostles to be martyred over.

Love

If the Gospel that caused Jesus to die, was the one taught in many churches today, the Pharisees would not have killed him. They would have embraced it, because they embraced the Law.

Jesus didn’t preach the Law and exclusion of sinners. He preached grace and the inclusion of sinners. One need not be a Jew to have a relationship with God. Everyone was now welcome to the Royal Family.

Many of the Jews didn’t like this.

Some of them did and they embraced the Gospel.

Now their friends and neighbors were included!

Religion is about exclusion.

Relationship is about inclusion.

Religion binds and controls.

Relationship sets people free.

It’s not easy to have intimate relationships inside of religion.

The constant pointing out of sin and fear of punishment keeps people divided and suspicious of one another.

Trust dies.

Love waxes cold.

There’s an elephant in the room alright.

It’s called religion.

The rules of living the rigid lifestyle to think you need to to get grace, to keep you from falling from grace, to make you think you can lose your salvation, that makes you fear that God will strike you down with lightning if you don’t perform religious rituals… yes ..religion. The very same thing John told in his revelation of Christ. The mindset of religion that ‘kills’ those in the name of their god, who murders the name of a brother for believing love wins, the same thing that put our Savior on the cross. Religion.

The letter of the Law kills, but the Spirit gives Life!

If you aren’t finding this freedom to love, to wander free by faith and explore this wonderful life Christ gave us, then flee to the mountains my friends. Jesus will feed you, because you are His and he will never leave you nor forsake you.

It may seem as though you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but there is no need to fear evil there.

He comforts us.

He loves us.

Be free.

{photo credit by Lady Jess}