The question often asked by those minutely few saints who believe and obey God’s Word is: “Why do Bible-carrying, cross-wearing, scripture-quoting, sermon-preaching, witnessing, pamphlet-giving, church-building, fish-displaying people refuse to believe the Words of the One they claim has saved them? The answer involves a psychological principle known as “cognitive dissonance.”

Church people, especially uber-religious pillars such as ministers, deacons and Sunday School teachers hold core beliefs handed down to them from their mentors who were themselves given those beliefs from their mentors. Both groups received their particular church’s doctrines, customs, etc. with the understanding that they were taken directly from the Word of God. These unverified beliefs have been passed from one generation to the next for hundreds of years as “Bible truths written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” The assumption is that Bible facts written by Bible scholars and embraced by Bible believers can mean only one thing–the message is Bible truth. Problems arise when that “truth” comes face-to-face with God’s Word.

With extremely few exceptions, when church people are confronted with Truths printed in the Bible that contradict their beliefs (which they usually do), the evidence is summarily dismissed because it creates  extreme spiritual discomfort in the heart of the hearer. Word-deniers do not understand that what they are hearing from the bearer of bad news (God’s Word) is in reality the Lord speaking through His messenger. God’s “voice” causes the guilty to instinctively go into prevent mode in order to protect their core beliefs and therefore their spiritual security. They will rationalize, ignore and even deny any passage of Scripture that does not fit their organizational doctrines, no matter how plainly or how often the Truth is stated in the Scriptures.

Another aspect of the “It’s different–therefore I reject it” syndrome from which the religious world suffers is caused by churchman’s desire to remain in his comfort zone. This malady has been the boon of churchman’s existence since the Garden of Eden. There is within all of us a preference for the common– an innate resistance toward anything outside our concept of normality. We see this in small children who, when coming into contact with someone unfamiliar to them, instinctively draw away and become fearful. This reaction does not end with age, which is why we have a natural negative reaction to those of another color, situations with which we are not familiar, foods we have not eaten before, etc. In sociological circles this is known as the “normalcy bias.” We tend to like things, situations and people we are accustomed to, that make us feel comfortable. “Don’t rock the boat” is a common expression that reveals the human need to keep things as they are. It is for this reason that we tend to go with the flow when it comes to human relations. Fleshy man wants to be around people like himself. This is especially true in religious circles, which is why we have hundreds of denominations in professing Christendom. People will drive by several “churches” to get to the one in which they feel comfortable, where everyone believes like they do. As is the case with all other Scriptures they reject, God’s statement that there is only one Body (not bodies) of Christ falls on deaf ears.

In a previous posting I introduced you to a woman who said she joined a particular church because “… they do what I like to do.” With minutely few exceptions, people join their respective church for one of two reasons: 1) to hear what they want to hear or 2) they are born into it. I was no exception. I was raised a three-times-a-week Baptist. I was religious. I felt comfortable in the church, safe and secure in the knowledge that I was “saved,” “born again,” and “rapture ready.” Most everyone in my family and circle of friends felt the same. We were secure in being one of the crowd–the “in-crowd.” No one relishes the thought of being totally alone, especially in the spiritual realm. Being alone means that one is different, set apart from those of the in-group. The last thing a church person wants to be is different. And therein lies THE PROBLEM. Religious man refuses to venture outside his comfort zone in order to determine if what he believes is truly of God. Fearing that he might be in error, he refuses to search God’s Word to prove the rightness of his theology. Members of my family and my circle of social friends refuse to read this website or listen to me for fear that they might be wrong. They know that I know what I am talking about–God’s Word. For that reason they avoid me. They know that if they are wrong they will be forced to confess their life-long error, be converted, turn to the Lord and be a spiritual outcast. Or as is usually the case, they will have to admit, at least to themselves, that they do not believe God. The second option requires only that they stay the course, thereby remaining in good stead with family and friends. For spiritual cowards, being rejected by family and friends is to be avoided at all costs–even at the cost of eternal life. Surly, they contend, their “salvation experience,” religiosity, churchivity, etc. is enough to see them through. There is no need to be rejected by their religious brethren. But God declares that being rejected by the church is a sign of true sonship. See Persecution. To be continued. L.J.