Syncretism: Why not follow the best of all faiths?
1 “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, 2 and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— 3do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul." Deuteronomy 13:1-3 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
Putting your faith in the wrong thing “works”, and sometimes “works” very, very well. Workaholism can bring in a boatload of money. There’s evidence that voodoo “works” in bringing revenge on an enemy.
However the real question is to define what works. What is the definition of a “successful” faith, belief system or worldview?
In today’s passage Moses warns not to follow prophets of other gods even if their prophecies “work” and predicted miracles occur. Years ago I was among many who flocked to hear a “prophet” who could bend spoons with his mind and who could predict another’s future by looking at a hand. He identified himself a Christian, but I ended up concluding that he was calling folks like me to follow “strange fire” as it’s put elsewhere in the Bible. Rather than elevating YHWH (the Hebrew name for the One God), he elevated an “occultic god”.
We human beings are sometimes too easily led. Americans are especially drawn to what works, what’s in it for me, the pragmatic. We’re not too patient with doctrine and spiritual nuance. We want to see power that brings results.
To us Moses speaks a word of warning. There’s a big difference between the God of the Bible and the “gods” of our own desires. This is a test, Moses says, to see if you truly love God. Will God retain your loyalty, love, commitment, and service or will you be led astray?
I suspect that those who are led astray don’t know it. They think they’re headed into deeper “truths”. Which, of course, is why Moses warns us!
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Your comments are reinforced by these words in Hosea: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge..." I think that is one of the reasons these teachings in Deuteronomy are so important.Knowing the truth gives us liberty. The truth isn't altered by our belief or unbelief, it stands on it's own. When we have a foundation of truth we won't be tossed and turned by every wave. Unlike the priests/shepherds rebuked in Hosea we are being fed the truth of God's word. Thank you again for these teachings.
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