Secularism and Religion it is the same!
Religion the Opium of the people!
Is religion the opium of the people or is opium the religion of the people?
Which of these statements are true or are both of them true? Is opium the religion or is religion the opium - or is it both? This article is aimed at providing information to allow the reader to come to their own conclusions to answer this conundrum.
Another question is 'has the gap widened between secularism and religion?'
How different are secularism and religion or if we go back to the opium question how similar are these two concepts?
From the beginning (Ancient Times) historical records show there were two types of people, The Israelites and the Gentiles: the former had faith in a Creator G-d and the latter put their faith in material things (idols)
In Genesis there are many stories about Abraham who had great faith in G-d (Hebrews 11 gives many examples of faith) equally, within those stories there were many other tribes who had faith in idols and lived pagan lives.
It is no different today! Except paganism has merged with faith in a god, not necessarily THE G-d.
I hear the skeptics saying " What!"
To explain this further let's look at secularism and religion, not from a theological or philosophical viewpoint but from a world view, not through rose coloured glasses but through reality spectacles.
SECULARISM is any or all of the following:
- Faith in Man/objects
- Faith in nature
- atheism
- communism
- occult
- witchcraft
- paganism
- idolatry
- Evolution
- Human sciences
- Human theories
- Human healing methods
- Godlessness
Ultimately these all total up to HUMANISM! All of the above points are a rejection of the Creator G-d and a total reliance on mankind, including reliance on 'self' to achieve actualisation (full potential in life). Interestingly G-d knew man would do this. " Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight." Isaiah 5: 21.
" Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent." Isaiah 22-25.
I hear the theological scholars and leaders saying, 'but these words were spoken to Jews'. True, but Isaiah was a prophet, he spoke to Jews who were a people who foreshadowed the things to come and an example to the gentiles, therefore what happens to them eventually happens to gentiles. The judgment (punishment) G-d brought on the Jews, also came upon the gentiles, this is applicable to these end times also.
RELIGION is any or all of the following:
- Faith in a G-d or gods
- G-dliness as apposed to godlessness
- Faith in a creator
- Religious cults/sects
- Monotheism
- Symbol worship i.e the cross, the baby in a manager etc.
- Creationism
- Religious doctrines/rituals
- Historical facts
Religion is much more complex than secularism, it is a belief in a god or gods and may include 'The' G-d. Religion can be seen in several forms and not necessarily involving G-d or Jesus. The Oxford dictionary says religion is a belief in a superhuman controlling power, belief in a personal G-d or gods, entitled to obedience, a system of faith and worship. A religious person is someone who is devout.
This is a very modernistic definition and appropriate for these modern times because it speaks of a controlling and powerful god, which is the perfect description of the false messiah to come.The heavenly Father is never a controlling G-d, far from it, through Him there is total freedom. But like all fathers he does expect obedience. He also allows His people free will, to make choices, Whereas the antichrist, beast and false messiah will endeavour to trap, bind, coerce, force, enslave and demand total submission to dictator leadership. There will be no choice accept to live or die!
To put this into perspective a person puts great faith into something or someone and may worship or idolise it. This could then apply to a worship of a superbeing or thing (gods are usually 'things' such as statues or idols or they may look to humans that have some sort of charismatic attraction or super natural abilities. Already the similarities between religious and secular can be seen.
Seculars, i.e. atheists, although reject the creator G-d usually have a faith or belief in something or someone, usually it is mankind! It is a natural inherit instinct for mankind to have a belief in something; to have a spiritual outlet of some kind. For the atheist, humanism or science or philosophical thought is often the chosen outlet. Atheists embrace evolution and man's own ability for problem-solving. To the atheist when you die, that is it! There is no life after death! This then places a limitation on man's ability to meet all his needs - unlike the Creator G-d, mankind cannot give eternal life! Unlike the Creator G-d, mankind has no control after death. They are actually incorrect, because there is life of death for the atheist - but it is not the same as for those who have received the promise of everlasting life with the Creator G-d! Quite the opposite!
HOT NOTE!
MAN CANNOT RAISE THE DEAD!
HOT NOTE!
MAN CANNOT CREATE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING; ONLY SOMETHING FROM SOMETHING ALREADY CREATED BY THE CREATOR!
An atheist argument is to say (in the most jargonistic way) that G-d doesn't exist except in a person's imagination or its pure optimism. Therefore, Man has to find his own way, and work out his own destiny. In this case the atheist is saying 'Opium is the religion of the people! The atheist view offers people the following:
- No future hope of eternal life, afterlife (except reincarnation perhaps?)
- No purpose for future goals except to strive for personal status and high achievement in order to carry their name and personal prosperity onto the next generation.
- Limited to human level of understanding within the boundaries of humanism (although some may assume they have found spiritual enlightenment in other areas i.e rosicrucianism or freemasonry etc.
- Have a constant deep dark void inside them- an emptiness and dark aura. Some may even feel like their body is split so that they feel separated from themselves-as though they are looking at themselves from outside their body ( I am not referring to 'body elevations, but the separation of the body and soul. When G-d is absent from an individual's life it leaves a dark, empty void because of the lack of the Holy Spirit that units the body and soul with G-d. Thus filling the void, removing the darkness and replacing it with light! Praise His Holy Name!
To continue with the religious sector, Although there are many people in this category, they are the most deluded, and misguided of the two categories. There are a variety of beliefs, either in one G-d or many gods. This could include wealth as a form of a god - if money is the most important thing in a person's life and they constantly desire to get more money and will do anything to get it - this is a modern form of the ancient idolatry! The same applies if someone is obsessed with sex to the point where their whole life evolves around sexual activity and it dominates their thoughts, it comes under the category of idolatry.
But, you ask, why are the religious the most deluded and misguided?
Around the 1990's the New Age religion (which had subtly grown since the 1960s) emerged fully into the public arena. As Texe Marrs wrote in his book 'Mystery Mark of the New Age (1988) ; the New Age religion is the new religion of the beast (the antichrist). He also said "The New Age is the last age!"
HOT NOTE
Every plan made by G-d is duplicated by satan and this includes the end times and the false messiah - BEWARE!.
Around the 1990s the 'new age movement' became the new phase in religious circles. The movements purpose was to confuse, mislead, subtly misguide and finely trap believers! It has worked!
New age consists of several layers some of which are as follows:
- Surface layer - it uses Christian values, principles and concepts and the bible.
- Second layer - Uses paganism and pagan rituals.
- Third layer - uses Occult
- Forth layer - uses Herbal medicine for healing
- Fifth layer - uses Self Actualisation (encourages high levels of self esteem and achieving your full potential) Being successful and prosperous.
- Sixth level - uses Humanism, science, technology etc.
These six tools are presented in a way that is appealing to all people because they are seen as providing answers to problems such as sickness and disease. Many are disillusioned with G-d because it appears that G-d is not helping society but working against them so they seek an alternative. New age has been able to provide the alternative to G-d. It appeals to Christians as it demonstrates christian values, it accepts the bible, and talks of Christ and the coming messiah. The problem is it is a different gospel! And G-d warns us about 'different gospels'.
" For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we (Christ's disciples) preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, ...2 CORINTHIANS verse 4-5 and 13 " For such men are false apostles, deceitful workman, masquerading as apostles of Christ, and no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Galations 1: 6 Speaks of other gospels.
2 John 7, " Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is a deceiver and the antichrist...
New age appeals to young and old alike, because it provides self actualisation and healing respectively. It is also less demanding than true Christianity, It does not demand repentance of sin and actually encourages sin. It tells people that they can achieve their full potential by meditation and controlling their own destiny - they are gods and goddesses therefore they are able to achieve anything if they fully enter into the new age movement.
However, to take this road leads onto the wide road that leads to destruction!
All of these temptations have drawn naive and weak willed people into the ultimate religion that is the umbrella over all others - humanism! the number of man is 6 = humanism!
The evidence of new age influence is everywhere you look. It is rooted in various nations including Israel and arab countries and particularly Western Societies. New age started the 'political correctness phase', certain wording such as 'mindset' and 'groupthink' are new age terms. People are using new age symbols (once used by G-d's people and biblical significant) that derived from the bible. They are twisting the meanings for their own purposes i.e. the rainbow was stolen and used as the new age insignia. They have also turned the ancient Jewish Kabbalah into a mystical new age book based on occult practices.
FOR A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF NEW AGE I RECOMMEND BUYING TEXE MARRS BOOK ' MYSTERY MARK OF THE NEW AGE', FROM AMAZON.
During the 1990's, G-d, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit ,took me to visit a number of churches and I found all of them had taken on new age symbols and concepts, the leaders encouraged their members to become involved in new age practices such as transcendental meditation, yoga and herbalism. Challenging these people, their response was " OH! There's nothing wrong with these god, tells us to meditate, and Yoga is just exercises and herbal medicines were created by god to heal anyway!"
My answer to their response is this - Nothing is wrong with anything that G-d creates, however, it is how we use His creations, it is the intent behind them. For example, Jews and Muslims do not eat pork because it is unkosher (not Hallel) yet there is nothing wrong with the pig itself but G-d says it must not be eaten. G-d created plants for all sorts of reasons, some plants were produced to heal our ailments but if they are used by ungodly people to deceive others then they are misusing G-d's plants. The fact that new agers are producing these herbal remedies is suspect! The whole aim of the new age movement is to create a world wide religion and to achieve this they have to have compliant people- that is a people who are readily submissive. The best way to achieve this is through food and drink. Religious cults use this method to achieve submissiveness and acceptance of the cult's false teachings. They also reduce food supplies for the same reason.
Soon you will probably witness a 'man made' famine in Western societies as a means of achieving submission of the people ready for the introduction of the antichrist and false messiah.
Unfortunately so many are already willing to give up their personal values and beliefs. Already people have been conditioned through mind control techniques, to produce compliance. People are already behaving the way new agers had predicted. Their planned outcomes were based on the psychological research and medical experiments performed on human guinea pigs during the second world world holocaust and the more recent genocide called ethnic cleansing.
People have become so compliant that they have completely forgotten their true Creator and replaced HIm with their re-creator ! G-d gives to those who love Him- freedom! Whereas new agers give them slavery! People are trapped in deception without really knowing it!
WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
THIS IS THE REALITY!
" 2 Thess 2:11, preferring lies to the truth, G-d sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. All will be condemned who refused the truth and delighted in wickedness."
So you say if religious people are deceived and all people are deluded and deceived then what is the point?
The point is G-d always provides a way out for those who sincerely seek Him!
There is a remnant of people who are not deceived, they are those led by the Spirit of G-d,
You could become one of them if you sincerely seek the Lord!
Jesus says " Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
This is an invitation to all those who are seeking the Lord! If you believe Jesus (Yeshua) is the son of G-d, that he came to this world and became flesh,then died on the cross so that we may be saved and forgiven from our sins; that Jesus now sits at the right hand of G-d waiting for the time of his pending return as the Messiah and King, then all you need to do is ask, seek and you shall receive! Amen
To conclude then it is suffice to say that religion is the opium of the people and probably opium is the religion of the people!
In the book of Jude there is evidence that Enoch prophesied and these were written down. " Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men (godless men) 'see, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.' These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. Jude verse 14-16. "
" In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
