Paul's Passing Thoughts

Those who follow this blog know I am presently in nursing school and have little time to post anything. However, last night, it happened again: a Churchian cited Isaiah 64:4 to once again make the point that “Christians” are lowly sinners saved by grace. Look, I am all about helping people; I am presently training to do just that, but hey, if I can save a few people from looking stupid on the side, I am all for it.

The first point, and problem with citing Isaiah 64:6 to make the We are all just sinners saved by grace point follows: words mean things. Here is what I think a lot of church folk don’t understand: unsaved people are more polite than we give them credit for. When you say something overtly illogical, and unwittingly proffer the idea that the Bible contradicts itself, lost people will often practice veiled honesty. This article pulls back the veil and reveals what they are probably thinking. You see, most lost people possess commonsense, and here is a newsflash for you; God doesn’t necessarily think that’s a sin.

What does the verse say? here it is: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” The New Testament citation follows: “All have turned away, they have together become worthless, there is no one who does good, not even one.”

The assertion is that these versus speak of humanity as a whole, including Christians. This is a church truism heard every Sunday morning without fail. I could stop here and point out that the same pastors who preach this week after week, and then get caught with both hands in the cookie jar, have to resign. Huh? But, I am focusing on the words mean things angle and will focus on that.

First, let me go ahead and pull the rabbit out of the hat. The Bible isn’t talking about humanity in those versus, it is talking about the Jewish ritualism of that time, also a source of disdain for Christ, and He was very verbal about that. This is evident from the immediate preceding verse stating that people can, in fact, do good works: “You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry.” You see, the Jewish religionists were sinning against the people who were actually doing righteousness, and thought they were doing a righteous service to God in the process. That’s the context.

Nevertheless, let’s look at this from a purely commonsense perspective. The same Churchians who propagate this point on social media are also constantly posting church and family moments on the same internet pages. In other words, they are posting filthy rags. Furthermore, the same people are constantly telling people they love them and also ask for prayer continually. Why would I bother praying for anyone if God sees my every work, including prayer, as filthy rags?

I have said it before and will say it again; this sinners saved by grace mentality is the very reason that the church’s testimony is atrocious. The Bible also states, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” If the church thinks it is totally depraved, why would it act any different? In addition, children are not very good at living a contradiction, so why would you want to tell your children they are totally depraved?

Well, I must go now…back to the world of evidence based practice and critical thinking that saves lives in the realm of reality.

And please, stop being silly, just stop it.

paul