The Seven Great Lies of Organized Religion #3

[deacon blues]

Lie #3:
'You are not smart enough or good enough to think for yourself. We will do your thinking for you.'

Do you know what the most important invention in the history of the world was?

It wasn't the computer. And it sure wasn't the light bulb or the telephone. (Or even the electronic voting machine.)

It was the printing press.

In 1445, Johannes Gutenburg invented the world's first movable type printing press. He didn't know it, but he was unleashing a revolution that continues to this day. Even the mighty Internet in 2004 is just an extension of Gutenberg's original, revolutionary machine.

The first book he printed was the Bible. And that led to controversy, too, because Luther translated it into German, the people's language, instead of Latin, the lingo of the religious elite.

Suddenly, ordinary folks could not only afford a copy, but they could read it for themselves instead of getting some guy's self-serving interpretation. Soon the cat was out of the bag--there were copies scattered all over Europe.

When people started to read it, they were alarmed at what they saw, because between the covers of this book was an amazing story that had seemingly little to do with the politics and shell games he saw in the church.

Luther wrote a list of 95 accusations against the church -- priests taking bribes and granting 'indulgences', the institution setting itself up as a 'middleman' between man and God.

He argued was that God didn't need a middleman, or a distributor, or an agent, or a bureaucracy. People could go direct to the source.

This little 'schism' in Wurms, Germany unleashed a firestorm of protest and permanently changed the way people approached education. No longer was a big, faceless institution responsible for your spiritual progress -- YOU were. Now that you had the knowledge in your hands, you were accountable before God to do something about it.

It's no coincidence that the scientific enlightenment and industrial revolution began within 50 years of this reformation. Now that ordinary folks had access to knowledge and the freedom to pursue it, the possiblities were limitless.

The printing press took the handcuffs off of knowledge and spirituality, and the world has never been the same. Equal access to knowledge empowered people everywhere, and it was only natural that the rennaisance, and in time, democracy too would follow.

What's troubling now is that most people still don't do anything with the knowledge that's available to them. Why would you accept a 'canned' answer or empty platitude when you can open the book and read about it for yourself?

People have debates about Jesus, but most have never read the real story--they just believe what they're told. How sad.

If you want a 'Just the facts ma'am' version of what really happened, grab a Bible (please -- a modern English version that's easy to read, not something from the 1600's) and read the book of Luke. A truly fascinating story will unfold.

I dare you to read for one hour and then stop!

And you know what? Nobody will need to tell you what it means. You'll be quite able to figure it out for yourself.

You can download the book of Luke free online by clicking here:

http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CP03Luke.htm

Print it out and take it with you.

Or, you can listen in MP3 by clicking this link:

http://www.audiotreasure.com/mp3/Luke/Luke.htm

You might like to burn the MP3 onto a CD and listen to it in your car.

Too true. So many people in churches don't know the answers for themselves. They are content at being told what the Bible says. Thank God for preachers who encourage their people to read the Bible, study it, ask questions and not take anything for granted. How many times have you heard people say, "Because my priest or my preacher told me so." The Word of God hidden in our hearts and practiced in our lives will keep us from becoming dead religion.

[Nahum]

Sounds like a borg mentality.