Before I started seriously working on the 21st Century New Testament, I became aware of more and more things that American churches do that are often harmful for God’s kingdom. As the list of such items grew, I began posting a series of imaginary blogs that Satan might have written as he planned to get Christians to work against God. In all, I wrote thirty-six blog posts for Satan. This is a somewhat light-hearted look at the things we as Christians are doing wrong (though the reality is something Christians need to take very seriously). This website presently has twenty-nine of those articles. In fact, the thirty-six I posted aren’t the only things we’re getting wrong.
The 21st Century New Testament is a tool to help Christians attack these problems.
Post Eleven
Note to myself: I need Christians to think of saving faith or belief as believing the things in the Bible, with no connection to entrusting control of their lives to God. (I certainly don’t want them to ever suspect that in the Bible the words “faith” and “belief” are really the same word—that those who wrote the Bible didn’t have two different words—so every time they see “believe” or “belief” they could legitimately substitute “faith” or “trust.” I need to keep things like John 3:16 as obscure as possible!) And I certainly don’t want them to know that the meaning of this word includes “trust,” like entrusting the control of their lives to God. Worse yet, I don’t want them to spot where the Bible uses the words “unbelief” and “disobedience” interchangeably lest they understand that having saving faith requires faithfulness to God. I don’t want them to see how Jesus, Paul, and others emphasized so strongly that saving faith must be obedient faith, and how James showed that just believing what the Bible says—by itself—will not save anybody. If these Christians ever realize what saving faith really involves, they might actually get serious about their Christianity! I’ve got too much of that already! (Think about it!)
Post Twelve
Note to myself: For several years, I was able to wipe out laws against abortion. I wasn’t as confident of victory on that one as I was on the issue of prayer and Bible reading in public schools, but I knew that if I won, it could be a big win. I suspected (and I was right) that the biggest win would Christians taking their focus off of the really important matters of Christianity (especially the practice of Christian love) and putting it on ranting against the system for this decision. I need to make sure these Christians never see the reality of what they’re doing. I watched them waste time, energy, good will, and resources in a losing battle against this decision, while they themselves practiced spiritual abortion on a much larger scale! For every fetus aborted, there are probably a hundred baby Christians who are spiritually aborted! What a victory for me!! But to insure my victory they must keep their focus on earthly death, not eternal death. They must never stop to think that in his great love God handles the death of fetuses (whether natural or abortion related) constantly, but spiritual death is far, far worse for the one “aborted.” Then I was worried when laws against abortion were reinstated, but I’ve even been able to turn that into a victory, keeping the focus on physical death rather than spiritual death. I’m so glad these Christians can never seem to understand that the physical world is nothing compared to the spiritual world! (Think about it!)
Post Thirteen
Note to myself: I really need to keep these Christians from understanding what Christian love is and how serious God is about it. I don’t want them to see that Christian love must look for those who are in any kind of need and then find ways to help meet the needs. I want them to think of Christian love as being nice to their friends and family—not to strangers, and definitely not to their enemies! I don’t want them to realize that their failure to obey God’s commandment to love has actually caused millions to come into my camp because they turn to crime and evil, thinking that my ways will meet their needs. (What fools!) And I certainly don’t want Christians to realize how strongly Jesus emphasized that Christian love is the standard by which people will be judged. I don’t want them to realize that practicing Christian love is the evidence that a person is a Christian—and not practicing Christian love is the evidence that a person isn’t. I don’t want them to realize that the practice of Christian love is the very tool God meant them to use to draw the world to Christianity. Apathy will work fine, but hatred is even better. Anything is better than having a bunch of Christians actually practicing Christian love! (Think about it!)
Post Fourteen
Note to myself: I need to remember that my most important victory has probably been the almost universal failure of Christians to envision heaven as a really good thing. I’ve actually got almost all of them thinking that heaven involves an eternity of telling God over and over what a good guy he is for what he did back on earth—forever! Eternal boredom—what could be worse? (Even hell isn’t much worse than that would be.) I don’t want them to see that God is so creative that he always has wonderful projects going on and that they will get to participate in those projects in exactly the ways that they will find most exciting and rewarding. As long as I can hear Christians saying, “Every day above ground is a good day,” or, “I’m still breathing, and that beats the alternative,” I know I’m winning victories. (Think about it!)
Post Fifteen
Note to myself: Another amazing victory I need to keep expanding is to get most people (and especially Christians) to think of suffering and pain as bad things God causes or bad things that God should have prevented and didn’t. I don’t want Christians to see that all suffering, pain, illness, and death is the result of the environment of human rebellion against God that they themselves have created. And I certainly don’t want Christians to realize that God allows this suffering and pain and illness to teach the most important lesson he wants to teach—how terrible their rebellion is and how important it is for people to at least try to end the rebellion in their lives. I definitely don’t want them to realize that even apathy is rebellion against God because apathy is about my favorite tool! (Think about it!)
Post Sixteen
Note to myself: I need to get Christians to oppose the sinfulness of others. I don’t care if they are focused on murder, abuse, theft, or any other sin, just so they think of others and not themselves as the sinners. However, I’d really rather they thought of things like drinking alcohol, using tobacco, gambling, dancing, homosexuality, performing abortions, and such as the things they should really oppose. (The more I can get them focused on these things and get them to think of these as “bad sins,” the less they’ll notice how deeply mired I can get them in other sins.) I want them to think of their own sins (deceit, gossip, enmity, lust, selfish pride, envy, and even other sexual sins) as “minor sins,” not as rebellion against God that makes them traitors to his kingdom and supporters of mine. I don’t want them to see that each of these “minor sins” is a vote for me to control this world—and that I’m winning! (Think about it!)
Post Seventeen
Note to myself: I certainly don’t want Christians to recognize that their apathy toward those in need is devastating treason against God, causing millions to turn to me because the ones who represent God don’t meet their needs—but I do (or at least I get them to think that I will). I don’t ever want these Christians to see how their failure to meet the real needs of children has sent generation after generation of children to hell—and how much God holds them responsible for the things done by those they failed to care for! (Think about it!)
Post Eighteen
Note to myself: I want to encourage Christians to keep their prayers focused on physical health issues and issues related to worldly possessions and wealth. As long as I can keep them focused on things that are essentially matters of self-interest and selfishness, I can be certain that in most cases God will not grant such prayers because selfishness is the heart and soul my kingdom and granting such prayers frequently would lead to more and more emphasis on selfishness. (Think about it!)
Post Nineteen
Note to myself: I want to encourage Christians to consider prayer as a last resort for serious issues, not as an opportunity to simply talk with a loving heavenly father. I want them to think that the biblical promise that those who pray “believing” will receive is not to be trusted. I don’t want them to understand that the “believing” in the Bible actually involves having your life so focused on God and his ways that such prayers would always be focused primarily on the spiritual matters that are eternally important. I certainly don’t want Christians to experience how powerfully God fulfills such spiritually focused prayers! (Think about it!)
Post Twenty
Note to myself: I want to discourage Christians from simply talking with God and listening to him, sharing the things that hurt in their lives and letting him provide the spiritual strength and comfort to deal with these issues. I don’t want them to think of his as their abba, their daddy. I don’t want them to see how much he’s like a wise, loving father. I don’t want Christians to experience the kind of strength and comfort God provides for those who do seek his help, especially in spiritual matters. (Think about it!)
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