“Storm Battalion Jesus Christ” was a church organization founded in 1932 by Nazi theologians.
No doubt Nazis would feel quite at home in a modern protestant denomination. There have been so many “modern English” versions of the Bible written that the Good Book is a blasé, spineless shadow of its former self.
Jesus has become the inspiration of everything in the Old Testament, too. Jesus was Moses, Abraham, and Job. Jesus was Jehovah, too.
The church is no longer a place for moral instruction or erudition on the virtue of devotion, honesty, decency, and humanity. It’s where people go to plug in their egos for a mega jolt boost of ego-centrism.
The church is the ultimate “cultivation of brood” where people go for their regular confirmation that they are the chosen ones, the greatest of the great. Confession and repentance are no longer required for forgiveness of sins – you only need to go to church and all is forgiven.
Thou Shalt Do No Harm
Good deeds done for you aren’t the benevolence of the friend, mother, or brother who helped you in a time of dire need or weakness. They’re gifts from Jesus and God Almighty. Be grateful to God, not the friend who went out of his way to help you.
“Cultivation of brood” is possible only if you isolate yourself from such do-gooders. You can’t spare them the psychic energy of gratitude or humility – your ego needs that jolt of high octane selfishness.
Not even the Nazis were cynical enough to debase the church to this extent. Adolf Hitler at the pulpit, spouting all his vile anti- Semitic diatribes are infinitely better than what passes for sermons these days – facile accolades to elevate the ego and the selfish arrogance of believers.
Even the despicable Jews had the decency to shackle themselves with hundreds of mitzvah obligations of charity, selfishness, and kind acts for people in need – all in exchange for being God’s “chosen people.”
Modern Christians are obligated only to do good deeds for other good Christians. The church is for social and business networking. You are the equal of Jesus in every way because Jesus carried the cross for you – you are God’s chosen without even having to earn it.
“Hiel Jesus!”
Of course, the pastors and church leaders are not to blame for any of this. If they didn’t shower their denominations with effacing praise and effusive ego-centric glory every Wednesday and Sunday, nobody would attend services.
People will go listen to whoever makes them feel the best, not to listen to preachers who saddle them with guilt, discipline, obligations, responsibilities, and moral imperatives. That’s so old-fashioned.
Let The Buyer Beware
Competition in the commercial marketplace works fine. It drives down prices and keeps merchants honest.
Competition in the spiritual marketplace waters down the product and dilutes the message. Any pastor who tells people what they really need to hear will soon be without an audience.
And so, the church has become entertainment. It competes with movies, gorgeous celebrities, and breathtaking action in exotic locales; it competes with TV and politics and the internet. It no longer even competes with Satan for people’s souls because
Satan already has them.
Unless church can show people how to make more money, how to work less for more pay, how to afford your kid’s school – how to justify what you put into the offering plate every Sunday – why bother?
Religion is no longer valued for its ability to teach you to enjoy the little things – to get by on less – to enjoy everything you have. People no longer accept that a penny saved is a penny earned. Conspicuous consumption rules, and religion has no glam.