Fact or Fiction

Recently, I read a statement supposedly made by Pope Francis.   I won’t lie, it left me with mixed emotions. 

It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history do not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.

I have checked and cannot verify or disprove whether he made these comments or not.  So let’s give him the benefit of a doubt and say that he did not say these things, and someone else wrote them.  Whether he did or not, I would like to give my perspective on these statements mainly because I believe there is some truth, but there are more lies in these statements.

    The first statement, “It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person.”  This statement is true.  One can be a good person and not believe in God.  However, being a good person, or even a great person, will not gain you admittance into heaven.  According to the scriptures, Jesus, the Son of God, said, ““I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  There is no curve, and he shows no partiality.  We must come to him, there is no other way to get into heaven.  Imagine that there is only one Gate into heaven, and it is Jesus. 

    Second, “the traditional notion of God is outdated.”  This statement, my friend, is a LIE!  According to Hebrews, and other places GOD DOES NOT CHANGE.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  So, if anything about God has changed, guess who changed.  I’ll give you a hint, it was not God.  Satan, the father of lies, want us to believe God’s views can change, but they cannot change.

    Third, “One can be spiritual but not religious.”  Again this is False.  Every one of was created to be spiritual.  Every man, woman, boy, or girl is born with a spirit.  Every person is spiritual, but not every person is religious.  Honestly, I cringe at the word religious, because it is so general as to encompass any set of beliefs.  Muslims are religious, Hindus are religious, Buddhists are religious, but they are not in tune with their Creator.  Almost everyone has a religion, whether they admit it or not.

    Fourth, “It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church.”  Again, Lies!  I could quote many verses, but I’ll only quote one. “Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” That’s in Acts.  The Early Church also met to gather regularly.  The writer of Hebrews admonished his readers in this way; “Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Clearly, meeting with other Christians is important.  I wrote a whole blog about this. If you want to read more about that, here is the link.https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8340843921651208938#editor/target=post;postID=3334086534522731847;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=postname

    Finally, “Some of the best people in history do not believe in God while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.”  I cannot argue this point.  This statement is why, as Christians, we must be careful how we live.  Others are watching to We what we do.

So why take the time to write all of this?  Well, because other who read this may blindly believe this rubbish because someone said a “Man of God” said it.  I want us, as God’s followers, to see the lies.  Satan will mix a little truth with a pack of lies and we swallow the whole thing as truth.  Like a fish on a hook. We see the worm believing the whole thing is good, and the good only covers the bad, the hook.  I want to remind you to search the scriptures to find the truth.   Don’t think that because a Christian leader or any other Christian says it, it is right.  We need to learn to see the lies so that we are not deceived by Satan’s lies.  There are many lies that Satan hands us wrapped up in a little sugar, truth, and we take the whole bitter pill.