301 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
301 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
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TEST THOSE CHRISTIANS:
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A Non-believer's Guide For Testing The True Christian.
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The Event
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There I was busily working at my desk when the interruption
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occurred. "Hi, are you Ammond?" "Yeah," I replied. "What can I do
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for you?" "I'm Hezikah Brown, and I'd like a couple minutes of your
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time." Being the nice guy that I am I agreed to a few minutes. It
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seems Hezikah is a Born Again Christian with a mission from God. He
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told me how he believed that Jesus was his personal Lord and
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Savior, how his life had been changed for the better, how he spoke
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in tongues and that he heard I was a witch. "The rumor in the
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office is that you're a witch." "It's true," I answered. "How can
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that be," he retorted. "Don't you know that witches are going to
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hell." And off we went...
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The Question
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So what is a non-believer to do today with all these seemingly
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dizzy people claiming to be Christians. It seems you meet these
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people everywhere. You just can't get away from them. They are in
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the office, swinging through the restaurant, on your computer
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network, cruising the beach and parading in that crowded john. Just
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when you get home for a private, intimate interlude with your lover
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comes the event stopping knock, knock of the True Christian. What
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the hell is a normal sane person to do? Go crazy, scream, defecate
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nude on the floor while in full view of the True Christian? No. We
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test them. As I presume that like me you are a non-believer too we
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can have a little fun.
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Jesus says "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
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sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." Matt 7:15
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and "Then if any man shall say to you Lo, here is the Christ,
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or, Here, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and
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false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, so as to
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lead astray, if possible, even the very elect." Matt. 24:23-24
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John says "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the
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spirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets are
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gone out into the world." 1st John 4:1
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There are many different types of Christian you know. And they
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all claim to be True Christians. How is the non-believer to know
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which is which? After all we want the real thing, a True Christian,
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not a demon from hell disguised as an angel of light. No Jim
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Bakkers or Jimmy Swaggarts will do. We want a real fool for Christ.
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How do we tell the True Christian from the disguised demon? The
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real fool from the money grabbers? We can do that with a little
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help. And this help comes from a very unexpected source. You see
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these Christian critters have a role model they follow. And they
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can't deviate from the model too much and hope to get to the
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heavenly entertainment park. Jesus, their role model has stated...
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"Therefore by their fruits shall you know them. Not everyone
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who says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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Many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by
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your name and by your name cast out demons, and by your name do
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many mighty works? And I will profess to them, I never knew you. Go
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away from me you who work evil." Matt 7:22-23
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So you can see that not every person who claims to be
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Christian will make it to that starry, wonder filled entertainment
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park they call heaven. True Christians tell me that only 10 percent
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of those who claim to be True Christians are Christians at all.
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There's just a little rivalry. It seems they are all in competition
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with each other for that last 144,000 condos-in-paradise. Now God
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knows how much real estate He has and how much it costs.
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Overpopulation being what it is today He has to oust some.
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Otherwise garbage over runs the golden streets, airborne pollution
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covers the crystal walls and the sewers back up. Yech!
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As our volunteer testee saunters up visually apprise them. Do
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they look serious? Are their clothes nice? Do they look like they
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own property? Good. We're ready to start, but don't rush. We don't
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want the testee to suspect our motives.
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Much of the Christian religion is emotional. As the
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conversation starts let the testee know just where you stand. You
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don't want to be duped. You want to talk to a true Christian. None
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other than a true Christian will do.
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Ask our testee if they are a Christian? Are they a True
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Christian? Do they love Jesus? Is Jesus their Personal Lord and
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Savior? Yes? Good. Ask them how much they love Jesus, God and the
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Holy Spirit. Are they Spirit filled? Do they display any of the
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fruits, love, joy, peace, happiness, etc. of the Spirit as
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described in Gal. 5:22-23?
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Next we have to verify that they believe in the Bible. Without
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this we won't have any fun. Ask our volunteer if they believe in
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the Bible. Do they believe that it is the Word of God? Is it
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infallible? Is the Bible as appropriate for today as it was two
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thousand years ago? If the answer is yes, even if not infallible,
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fun is to be had in short order.
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The Money Test
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Here's how we start... Our trick is to confront the testee
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with moral absolutes and performance tests. Here is the first
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performance test that we can enjoy.
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"Give to everyone that asketh thee; and from him that taketh
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away thy goods ask not again." Luke 6:30
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"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow
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of thee turn not thou away." Matt. 5:42
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Luke 6:35 sums it all up...
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"But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend never
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despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be Sons of
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the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil."
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True Christians are so fond of moral absolutes that I think we
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should give them every opportunity to experience those absolutes as
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real, upfront and personal events. In your next testing session,
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when you hear the True Christian extolling the Rock of Moral
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Absolutes upon which they stand, go for the cash. It has a nice
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sobering effect that should in the long run benefit the True
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Christian.
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Ask for their money, all of it. Just ask for their wallet.
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Have them show it to you. Any money inside? Good. Ask for it. You
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don't want their credit cards. That would be a crime. If there's no
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money, ask for an article of clothing. Coats and cloaks are good.
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How about car keys? Do they have a big cross with them? Ask for it.
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When they refuse have them reread the previous verses, then
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ask again. Should they still refuse call them a fraud, for that's
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exactly what they are. Just like Jesus send them away into
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darkness. They aren't a True Christian.
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Now should they give you everything in their wallet, the cloak
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on their back and the cross too, we get to have more fun...
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The Swill Test
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Next we proceed with more subjective questions. One of their
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obsessive traits is to compare their past performance with the
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actions of those in the Bible. How is their walk with their Lord?
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Do they follow Jesus closely? Do they want to follow more closely?
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Yes? Good. Now we start with the serious tests.
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In Matthew 10:18 Jesus sends out his True Disciples with the
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commandments to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead
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and cast out devils." Take a skeptical attitude about their status
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as a True Christian. Again let them know that you want only the
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real thing. No substitutes will be allowed.
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"And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name
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they shall cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues. They
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shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall
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in no wise hurt them; they shall lay their hands on the sick, and
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they shall recover." Mark 16:17-18
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On this you gotta' be a little careful not to let the cat out
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of the bag. Ask your friend if they have cast out demons. Do they
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speak with tongues? Have they laid their hands on sick persons who
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were healed?
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If so take a bottle from storage prepared especially for the
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test. It should be filled with (non)toxic, pukey looking stuff that
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smells to high heaven. Urine and excrement should do. Cap the
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bottle tightly while in storage. And for heavens sake wrap it in
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something to hide the mess from sight. In the Bible read Mark
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16:17-18 which says that True Christians can pick up serpents and
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drink harmful things without suffering. Ask our unsuspecting testee
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to chug the whole bottle. If they object saying "thou shalt not
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test God" respond by saying that you are testing them, not God. God
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is not around to be tested anyway. If they don't chug-the-jug you
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can safely assume they are not a True Christian, only a fraud. Send
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them away.
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A note of warning... Be sure to inform the True Christian the
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drink is toxic. Let them pick up the bottle for themselves. If they
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drink the potion they take the test of their own free will.
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Now some might protest that the last part of Mark is a 'late
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addition' not found in the earlier texts. Perhaps they have
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confessed to you previously that the Bible is the word of God and
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is infallible. What happened? Didn't the believe the Bible? Tell
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them they aren't a True Christian; they are frauds. Send them home
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with their tails between their legs.
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Conclusion
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As we can readily see it's not healthy to be a True Christian.
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A True Christian is equivalent to being a Bibliolater--one who
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worships the Bible. Now being a Christian is ok. But being a
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Bibliolater is a form of mental illness. And it's great fun to let
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the Bibliolater know of their problem when they interrupt your day.
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I have about ten other performance tests but the
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aforementioned are the most exciting. Please feel free to
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experiment with Jesus' moral absolutes and performance tests. You
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may find some that are just a much fun as these.
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Copyright Dec. 1989. Ammond Shadowcraft
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Permission is given to reproduce or retransmitt this article
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providing the article is complete, and with the author's name and
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copyright notice fully intact.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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For the folks who have requested more...
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What I wrote up came from Delos Mckown in a speech he gave in
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Atlanta, Georgia, October 7, 1989
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"Positive good can come from making Christians suffer
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'cognitive dissonance', for it is out of intolerable intellectual
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and emotional conflict within oneself that deliverance often
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comes." Professor Delos McKown. Prof. Mckown is a former
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clergyperson and present Head of philosophy at Auburn University
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since 1979.
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Here are more tests for our Bibliolators...
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Stronger test... Luke 10:19: Jesus says that his disciples can
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walk on scorpions and snakes. Not everyone has a roomful of snakes.
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However you can get a large, covered jar with a "little" something
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in it. Make sure the testee can't see inside the jar. Ask your
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testee to put his hand in the jar and wiggle it around. Any
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reluctance shows weak faith, not someone you'd want to listen too.
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Weaker test: 1 Cor. 7:29: St. Paul says to cut out sex. If
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they are married are they still making love to their spouse?
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Stronger test: Matt. 10:18: Jesus sends out his disciples to
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heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, etc. Again be skeptical and ask
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the testee if they are really from Jesus? They could be from a
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false teacher or worse yet, the devil. If they assure you they are
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from Jesus test them. Ask for a demonstration of healing the sick,
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raising the dead and cleansing lepers. Since lepers aren't around
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AIDS patients can be substituted.
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Weaker test: When the Bibliolator shows up at your door
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express concern. You don't want to be duped by a fraud. Ask them if
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the description in Luke 14:26 fits them. "If any man comes to me
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and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and
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brethern, and sistern, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my
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disciple." How does that fit in with loving others? If the
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evangelist really hates their spouses and family why all the
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concern about living forever in heaven with these people?
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Stronger test: Matt 10:17-18: As the conversation goes on be
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sure you have the genuine article. Ask if this person has ever been
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flogged in a synagogue or dragged before governors and kings for
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Jesus's sake. The answer is almost certainly no. But continue with
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Matt 10:21-22. "And brother shall deliver brother up to death, and
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the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their
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parents, and cause them to be put to death, and ye shall be hated
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of all men for my name's sake..." Ask "Have you had family problems
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like these?" Then "Does everyone hate you because of Jesus?" The
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answer to both questions is almost certainly no. Say sadly and
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gravely that you are afraid this person is not the real article.
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Send them away into darkness. You want to learn about Jesus from
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the right kind of person as described in Matthew.
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Weaker test: After the testee has made their opening spiel
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just ask "Are you morally perfect?" Christians make a big deal of
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saying they are not perfect, just forgiven. Read Matthew 5:48 wherein
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Jesus says in the red letter edition, "Be ye perfect, even as your
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Father which is in heaven is perfect." The answer is almost surely
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no. Solemnly note this is an imperative, not a maybe. Bibliolators
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should thank you for pointing out their flaw. Tell the testee to
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come back when they are morally perfect.
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Stronger test: If the Bibliolator is a woman ask her if women
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are allowed to speak aloud in the congregation. If the answer is
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yes, cite Paul's first letter to Timothy 2:11-12 "Let the woman
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learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffer not a woman to
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teach, nor to ursup authority over man, but to be in silence." If
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she still answers yes ask why that is ignored. What other commands
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are ignored? Why?
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Stronger test: Bibliolators seldom play fair. If the
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Bibliolator pleads with you to read the Bible or pray everyday, or
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attend church, or say a little prayer, present your own proposal.
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Say "Sure I will, if you'll do something for me. Go out into the
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woods alone where you won't be seen or embarrassed. Call upon the
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wood spirits and water nympths to give you good luck. And say this
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prayer...
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Lord Cernunnos, I have been so confused lately that I have
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forgotten you. Please forgive me my sins. If you exist please
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manifest your being in my life. Thank you."
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Since this looks like idolatry in the Bibliolators eyes they
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will not agree and you won't have to keep your bargain either. They
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will leave.
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Enough for now. Have a good time with this...
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B*B Ammond Shadowcraft
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