SILLINESS IN RELIGION
I am always reluctant to describe any person's beliefs or behavior
as being silly, but there are times when no other word seems adequate. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (
I shall begin with an example from the book of Matthew.
When the Jewish leaders learned that the body of Jesus Christ was not where
they had laid it, they felt they had to invent an explanation for the empty
tomb. They gave the Roman soldiers a large amount of money and instructed them
to say: "His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is
commonly reported among the Jews until this day" (Mt. 28:13-15). How could
men who are capable enough to be leaders create a sillier explanation than
that? A child should have been able to see through such utter foolishness.
Some of the best soldiers in the world had been assigned
to guard the tomb of Jesus Christ. They knew they would have been executed for
going to sleep while on duty. Besides, since when do men know what is occurring while they are asleep? Some of us may
not even know what is happening while we are awake, but none of us knows what
takes place while we are asleep. Christ's disciples had deserted him in his greatest hour of
trial. What gave his fearful followers the courage to challenge professionally
trained and well-equipped Roman soldiers? It ought to be obvious that anyone who
accepted the Jewish leaders' explanation for the empty tomb was even sillier
than the ones who made it up.
Another silly explanation is called "the swoon theory." This theory
affirms that Jesus did not die; he only appeared to die. After spending
sometime in the cool of the tomb, he recuperated sufficiently to be able to
walk out the tomb and carry on his work. Even one of the most liberal theological scholars in the
world, David
Strauss, completely refuted this silly theory. In his excellent book, The Battle for the Resurrection (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), Dr, Norman
Geisler quotes David Strauss: "It is impossible that a being who had
stolen half-dead out of the sepulcher, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical
treatment, who
required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded
to suffering, could have given his disciples the impressions that he was
conqueror over death, the prince of life, an impression which lay at the bottom
of their ministry. Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the
impression which he had made upon them in life and in death, at most could only
have given it an elegiac voice, but could by no possibility have changed their
sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated their reverence to worship" (pp.
77-78).
There are a number of other silly attempts to try to
explain the Lord's resurrection, such as, the hallucination theory, the wrong
identification of the tomb where Jesus was buried, and others, but few make less
sense than the one advanced by Sylvia Browne, the infamous psychic. Her silly
book, The Two Marys: The Hidden
History of the Mother and Wife of Jesus (
Incidentally, the sub-title to Sylvia Browne's book, The Hidden History of the Mother and Wife of Jesus, borders on blasphemy. There is
no evidence - not even a shred of evidence - that Jesus ever married. In fact,
the theological scholarship of the world-both liberal and conservative-has demonstrated
conclusively that Christ was never married. Sylvia Browne even records
conversations between Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, his
supposed wife. She claims she could actually see the two Marys in a vision (p.
13). And do you remember the Bible story of Christ's turning water into wine at
a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee? According to Sylvia Browne and her spirit
guide, that was Christ's wedding (p. 11). If you care nothing at all about
facts, you can say whatever you like. But you can rest assured that God will
hold you accountable for what you say.
The truth is: there is no end to the silliness that
occurs in the name of religion. If you can imagine any completely outlandish
idea, there will be gullible people who will embrace it and even die for it. If you think I might
be exaggerating, I must remind you of the Heaven's Gate cult. Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Lu
Nettles believed they were the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11:3. The
absolute silliness of these two can be seen in the names they adopted. They
called themselves Bo and Peep, Ti and Do or simply the Two. But I must remind
you that these were not uneducated ignoramuses. Marshall Applewhite had an
undergraduate degree from
Applewhite and Nettles persuaded a group of intelligent
and successful young people to commit suicide. They believed they were going to
be taken to a higher plane by a UFO following behind the Hale-Bopp comet. They are now lying in
graves and will lie there until the final resurrection. The late Dr. John P.
Newport, former Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Southwestern Baptist
Seminary at
Dr. Newport refers to an article by Dr. Peter Jones, one of
the leading modern scholars on Gnosticism. Dr.
Jones says the Heaven's Gate group "is
the herald of a new kind of cult and religious fervor that follows
ancient Gnosticism in radically despising the world, the human body, and the
human condition. The members of Heaven's Gate, he wrote, were prepared for joining the group of the New Age
worldview which jettisons absolutes, eliminates guidelines, and sets the mind adrift without
moorings" (p. 186). I have grieved for the fathers, mothers and other
relatives of the young people Applewhite and Nettles virtually murdered.
Recently a friend called and asked if I knew anything
about a book entitled The Secret (
The silly book, The Secret, informs us that by reading the book you "will
come to know how you can have, be, or do anything you want" (p. xii of the
Foreword). In very simple words, you can have anything you want; you can be
anything you want; you can do anything you want.
Before I reveal other silly thoughts from
this book, I need to make a few observations. As I prepare this radio script,
our country is in the midst of what the media call "March madness."
Men's and women's basketball teams are competing to determine which university
has the best basketball team in the
For more than fifty years,
I have owned and flown my own airplanes. But
flying a small airplane does not meet my desires at this stage in my life. I
want to fly a Boeing 747. If I can do anything I want, surely I should be able to do that. But there are some
problems. I am much too old to fly a commercial airplane. Besides, I do not
have the proper training to fly a 747. 0, maybe I could just buy my own 747 and
fly it. The
FAA will not allow that because I have lost my medical. It not only is silly
to tell people they can do whatever they want; it is also dangerous. Please do
not be silly enough to buy into such silliness.
The Secret quotes Bob Proctor as affirming: "See yourself
living in abundance and you will attract it every time, with every person"
(p. 12). Rhonda Byrne insists: "The law of attraction simply gives you
whatever it is that you are thinking about" (p. 13). There is more of such
silliness in the book, but I shall have to examine it later. You do not have to
be a scholar to know how absolutely ridiculous The Secret is. Millions of people worldwide have concentrated
on having wealth and have even imagined they were actually wealthy but who are
as poor as church mice. I am not denying the importance of having a positive
attitude, whatever your occupation or profession, but to argue that "the
law of attraction simply gives you whatever it is that you are thinking
about" defies good sense. I have no idea how many of the contributors to The Secret profess to be a part of
the New Age movement, but that is undoubtedly the thrust of the book.
After reading the book and having investigated the
so-called "word-faith" movement for years, I am amazed at the
similarity between The Secret and
the beliefs of some of the preachers I hear on Trinity Broadcasting Network and
on the Inspiration Channel. Some of the so-called "prosperity preachers,"
like Creflo Dollar and Paul Crouch, tell their listeners they can have great
wealth by contributing to the ministries of those preachers. Kenneth Copeland's
little booklet, The Laws of
Prosperity (Ft. Worth: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1974), asks:
"Do you want a hundredfold on your money? Give and let God multiply it
back to you. No bank in the world offers this kind of return! Praise the
Lord" (p. 67)!
Gloria Copeland's book, God's Will Is Prosperity (Ft.
Worth: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1978),
makes even more outlandish claims than her husband's book. She argues: "The
Word of God simply reveals that lack and poverty are not in line with God's
will for the obedient" (p. 2 of the Introduction). Too bad the Apostle
Paul did not know that when he was hungry and suffered need (Phil. 4: 12). Since Jesus
Christ always obeyed the will of the Father,
you would expect him to be rich. What did Jesus himself say about his financial situation?
"Foxes have holes, and birds of the
air have nests, but the Son of man has not where to lay his head" (Mt. 8:20). Following are
Gloria Copeland's words: "You give $1 for the gospel's sake and $100
belongs to you; give $10 and receive $1,000, give $1,000 and receive
$100,000" (p. 48). Is that the reason some of the health and wealth
preachers like Joyce Meyer can own $10,000,000 jet aircraft and $100,000 Mercedes Benzes?
The preachers are the ones who are prosperous.
Have you ever noticed how many so-called
"theological scholars" promote some of the silliest views imaginable?
For example, the
members of the Jesus Seminar, one of the most radical groups of theologians in
the world, have denied that Jesus actually spoke most of the words attributed to him
in the New Testament. In fact, they are sure he spoke only 18% of those words. They probably are
not sure of many other ideas, but they are sure of that. In fact, former
Episcopal bishop, John Shelby Spong, a member of the Jesus Seminar, thinks that
certainty should be seen as a vice and uncertainty as a virtue. And he is
absolutely certain.
A few years ago, a Lutheran preacher published an article
on Paul's suicide. I have been preaching and teaching the Bible for almost 65
years. I was not aware that Paul committed suicide, were you? That preacher
based his idea on these words from Paul to the Philippians: "For me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of
my labor: yet what I shall choose I know not. For I am in a strait between the
two, having
a desire to depart, and be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to
abide in the flesh is more needful for you" (Phil. 1:21-24). If this
passage proves that Paul committed suicide, would it not also prove that
millions and millions of faithful Christians through the years have taken their
own lives? Have not all of us known Christians who expressed the desire to
depart and be with Christ? How do such silly articles ever get published?
In ancient
One really radical cult has sought to expand its
membership by what it called "flirty fishing." The cult leaders sent
young women out on the streets at night to sell their bodies to attempt to
bring converts to that cult. Again, the word "silly' hardly seems adequate
to describe such ungodly behavior. But is that really any worse than showing
pornographic films to teenagers in a church setting to teach them about sex? At
least one denominational church has been guilty of such absolute depravity.
There are people in our world who think that all
religious beliefs and practices are silly. But there is abundant evidence for
God's existence, for the deity of Christ and for the inspiration of the Bible.
Why do intelligent people ignore the evidence? In an interview in Look
magazine, the infamous and immoral agnostic, Bertrand Russell, was
asked what he would say to God, if there is a God, in the judgment. He responded:
"I will tell him he did not give me enough evidence." Is it possible
Russell was like the people of ancient
My purpose in this brief study today has been to urge you
to use discretion and discernment in your study of the Bible and in your
behavior. We must do God's work in God's way. We must speak and practice the
truth, since only the truth can set us free (John 8:32). Should we not pray with
David: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength and my redeemer" (Psa.
19:14)?
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour