Over 90% of Christian’s believe this or have never actually tried to digest his thoughts and just dismiss him as “The old man” that didn’t understand women.
'I'm going to say this in the nicest way possible. I don't care what the bible says. I just don't care...at the end of the day Paul was wrong."
Pastor Joe Smith of Meizon Church (Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) explains that he doesn't care what Paul says in the bible.
Our 20th Century conceptions of “religious liberty” and “ separation of church and state” along with the apostasy of the bedrock Christian institutions created the conditions where this is reflective of the norm.
The vestigial conditions of Christendom were eradicated by the 20th Century and totally individualized and democratized. All of the things that determined what you would believe, where you would worship, etc. were eradicated.
And no, I am not talking about the government determining such things for you but rather the social and cultural order of unchosen bonds that made up our world largely did.
The result of the radical atomization and deracination in the second half of the 20th Century meant “the church” no longer was a distinct corporate body but a collection of random, atomized individuals.
Whenever you democratize something, you subject it to market forces.
Christian faith and practice faith and practice no longer is “it is what it is, take it or leave it.”
It instead becomes something determined by the lowest common denominator. Whatever delights the vulgar masses the most is what will be. There is no one safeguarding the faith once delivered to the saints. All of this has been stripped away.
What is worst is, there are many, many sincere, genuine Christian people in these environments. Most of the people sitting for this laser light show really do trust Jesus. They simply know nothing beyond what is extant. This is all there has ever been for them.
I do not know precisely the way forward from here. For too long we have deluded ourselves into believing the political, cultural, and social conditions that the church exists within have no effect on our doctrine and practice.
On the contrary, political order and culture are far more determinative of what the church believes and does far more than anyone realizes. In other words these things exist because we cannot fathom anything other than liberal individualism.
As globalism collapses, and with it notions of egalitarianism, consumerism, unfettered democracy, and expressive individualism, and are replaced by hierarchy, stewardship, ordered liberty, and duty to others, things will inevitably change.
Unchosen bonds—the thing trashworld hates more than all else—will come back and come back hard. What will Christian faith and practice look like in a world of “it just is how it is, you don’t get to choose” returns?
A religious world governed solely by consumed choice will vanish, and with it, laser light show churches.
Every year in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, men swing a chicken over their heads and believe they are watching their sins fly away. It is painful to watch because it proves how deep the blindness still runs. It shows what happens when people cling to shadows long after the substance has appeared. And it forces us to say what Scripture has already said with terrible clarity. No ritual can save. No animal can carry away guilt. No performance can wash a conscience. No tradition can stand before a holy God.
The law itself condemned every drop of blood that was offered upon that altar because it shouted that something greater was coming. Hebrews 10 says that the sacrifices under Moses were a yearly reminder of sin but never its cure. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is not my verdict. That is God’s verdict. And if the blood of animals could not cleanse Israel when the temple stood in glory, how can the blood of a chicken cleanse anyone today.
The only sacrifice God ever accepted is the one He provided. When Jesus lifted the cup and said this is the new covenant in my blood in Luke 22 He declared that the entire system of shadows had reached its end. Hebrews 9 says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, but it also says that Christ entered once for all with His own blood and obtained eternal redemption. Not temporary. Not repeated. Final.
When He died, the veil of the temple tore from top to bottom. God Himself ripped open the curtain that separated sinners from His presence and announced in one violent act that the old covenant had served its purpose. No more priests standing daily. No more sacrifices reminding you how guilty you are. No more altars waiting for fresh blood. The Lamb of God has come. The true temple has appeared. John 2 says His body is the real temple. The place where God meets man is no longer a building of stone but the crucified and risen Christ.
This is why we must preach the truth to those still trapped in rituals. Not out of arrogance, but out of love. Because a man can stand before God with a hundred ceremonies and still die in his sin. But a sinner who comes to Christ with empty hands will be washed clean. First John 1 says the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Revelation 1 says He loved us and freed us from our sins by His blood. Exodus 12 says when I see the blood I will pass over you. God still sees only one blood. Only one sacrifice. Only one Saviour.
And if we remain silent while people chase shadows, we become part of their deception. The apostles did not watch Israel return to the old rituals and stay quiet. They preached with urgency because they knew that no temple can save now. The real temple has already been destroyed and raised again on the third day. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
So when you see a chicken swung over a head or sins symbolically transferred in the streets, do not mock them. Mourn for them. Pray for them. Speak the truth to them. Because the Judge before whom they must stand will not ask how sincerely they followed their tradition. He will ask whether they are covered by the blood of His Son. Without that blood there is no hope. With that blood there is no condemnation.
Everything hangs on Christ. Always has. Always will.