Affecting truth by “reforming” religion

To reform a religion is to change it and what we seek in Christianity today is to restore our understanding of truth, not to re-form it

Affecting truth by “reforming” religion

Is there such a thing as a “reform” religion? Given some thought, a number of questions crop up regarding what is actually a reform religion, particularly when applied to the mosques, synagogues and churches that claim to practice their faith under the auspices of newness.

Starting with this: If one believes in the religion, yet thinks it must be reformed (changed, re-“formed”) in order to be applicable to their lives, then is not the act of reforming the “truth,” making it a new or different truth, in fact, denying that the original “truth” was truth at all

Yes, it sounds convoluted, but mull it over. If an adherent to a religion cannot subscribe to the founding tenets of that belief system, then why follow it in the first place, or follow it just far enough to want or feel compelled to change it? (Get used to this as the whole article is one query after another.)

Is it tradition? The individual feels duty-bound to walk the same road as his ancestors even though he disagrees with the doctrine?

Is it shame? That should the person turn to another faith that speaks more to his belief system he would be shamed by family and friends, even threatened were he to leave a militaristically dogmatic religion such as Islam?

Is it the comfort of sticking with what he knows even if some of the basic ideas stir up strife in his heart, effectually making him restless and uncomfortable? And does one follow a religion because it makes them comfortable, or because it calls them to step out beyond their comfort zone? Or does someone choose a religion because their friends or peers attend?

In accepting a religion, there should be a strong spiritual draw to that belief to begin with, otherwise, why even bother? And for whatever reason a person follows a religious belief system, it is assumed, at some point, they accept the religion as being grounded in truth. Then why reform?

If truth cannot change then reforming a religion in order to be relevant in a modern world disputes the truth of it, making it irrelevant rather than the opposite, and, in effect, wrong. Truth is truth, or it is not – simple. If truth needs reform then it was never truth in the first place.

This is why Tayyip Erdogan is correct when he said, “Islam is Islam and that’s it.” He had a point in that for every religion, as an adherent, one believes it or they do not. If the original faith was true, then changing (reforming) it makes it not true, in which case, there cannot be a reform Islam, Judaism, Hinduism or Christianity. Changing it makes it a different religion. If the religion needed to be reformed then the reformer didn’t believe it at the outset.
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/2595.htm

This is why Jesus said not to add or take away from His Word (Rev. 22:18-19, Deuteronomy 4:1-2) and why purposefully changing it to fit a fad, custom or whim of society – man’s new interpretation – voids the truth He gave. Truth is not malleable or flexible to suit individual desires or the drifting mores of a secular social scene.

To reform a religion is to change it and what we seek in Christianity today is to restore our understanding of truth, not to re-form it. Even the term “revival” has more meaning and application because it is meant that the Word be revived in our hearts. However, if pastors and Church leaders are hell-bent (that’s what I said) on re-forming the Church to fit a modern social venue – i.e. blessing gay marriage, abortion, or other amoral and immoral behaviors – then they never did believe the Truth for which Jesus sacrificed His life on the Cross.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/10/12/united-methodist-and-episcopalian-church-clergy-lead-prayer-rally-to-bless-abortion-clinic/

It is time to examine what you believe… is it true or would you “reform” it?


 A. Dru Kristenev

Pro Deo et Constitutione – Libertas aut Mors
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Joseph F Barber-

http://josephfreedomoranarchy.blogspot.com/
https://plus.google.com/+JOSEPHBARBERforfreedom/posts

“One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth. We have learned to give them exactly the same proportion of attention that teachers and writers often give them in the most respectable of classrooms and textbooks. This learned sense of moral proportion, coming from the apparent objectivity of the scholar, is accepted more easily than when it comes from politicians at press conferences. It is therefore more deadly.”