Paul's Passing Thoughts

I am becoming reacquainted with the characters who plied their evil trade along the blessed broken road that led me to my present life. One such evil character is now plying his trade as a church elder in Texas. Like another former elder at Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio, the real stories behind their departures are aloof.

At any rate, Chad Bresson’s Facebook page is a treasure trove of Protestant bumper stickers indicative of what finally brought me to an ultimate standoff with institutional salvation or salvation by institutional religion in general. The first meme takes the errant Protestant view of total depravity (any good work of any person only appears to be good but is really evil) and uses it to propagate James’ contention against faith without works. Why do the masses continue to be faithful to an institution that blatantly contradicts the plain sense of Scripture? The answer is too simple: salvation comes through obedience to the authority of the institution. Viz, note the second meme.

Are you perplexed by the evil you see in church? Why? They openly proclaim that moralism is supposedly a biblical anomaly.