So "in" and "out"......
In the Westboro Baptist church, you must picket with a God Hates Fags sign to be "in".
In the quiverful movement you must not use birth control to be "in".
In the prosperity movement, you must believe that it is God's will for everyone to prosper financially to be "in" and you must be willing to "speak it".
In the New Thought Movement, you must believe in the metaphysical interpretation of the Bible to be "in".
Here are a few churches that use a yardstick that they believe is the "right" yardstick to measure whether people are in or out. I find there are two types of yardsticks and one is used to measure whether you are a first rate or second rate Christian and another is to measure whether you are in or out of salvation.
Both of these measurements can be quite scary and give a basic "hierarchy" to religious movements.
I have heard a movement justify the wearing of certain clothing to state you are "in" if you wear them and even restaurants have a uniform. But the restaurants only use the uniform for employment. The church is not using the uniform to determine whether a person attends that church but whether they are going to heaven or hell.
The thing is, all of these "in" or "out" criteria can be done by anyone anytime anywhere. They don't determine anything except whether a person is doing the rule.
Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
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