Many Christians today believe, that their faith in Christianity and church activity is the outgrowth from the teachings of Jesus Christ and the early Apostles. However, if we take a true and honest look at history, we will see a different story, and why the church is the way it is today. Unfortunately, we will also see that many assumptions have been made that are based on traditions, laws and the doctrine of men. Christianity is a man-made religious organization, just like all the other religions of the world. Christianity has good, but there is also a lot of mixture. Many believe it is the best religion and do not see the mixture that has seeped in and there in lies the problem. God is not looking for the best, He is looking for a pure, separate, and holy nation that is set apart to Himself. This holy nation is the 'disciples of Jesus', who have denied themselves, taken up their crosses and are following Him alone. S0 let's take a little look at how Christianity (the religion vs. the disciples of Jesus Christ) got started. The following history lesson is from a section in John Crowder's book, The New Mystics.
It is believed that the "... Emperor Constantine began leading his army to war under the symbol of a type of cross, the chi rob. In A.D.313 he issued the Edict of Milan, which officially tolerated the church and ended the Christian persecution in the Roman Empire."
"Suddenly, church leaders from local bishops to popes were given governmental power It seemed a good idea at the time. But as church leadership gradually move into power trips and politics, church office became associated with money and control."
"Constantine began a massive program of church building projects in A.D. 323. ... prior to that the church had never even considered buildings - the church was a living network that met in homes, and really had nothing to do with physical structures. Church buildings became more elaborate with high vaulted ceilings. On one hand they spoke of vast beauty and glory of God, but on the other hand they hand the mesmerizing architecture made God seem distant and out of reach."
"Previously, Christians had always gathered for love feasts, but with crowds swelling in these massive new church buildings the community focus dissipated. Mere crowd control merited that only one or two people could speak or share, out of the hundreds in attendance. Christianity became a spectator sport. The layman lost his voice. Where once you may have been a participant, suddenly all eyes were focused on a centralized pulpit. Services became ordered. Professional speakers replaced the spontaneous sermons given by the believers."
"Understand that these must of been exciting times for the believers. You could be a Christian for free, without it costing your head! But the celebratory love feast were soon banned. The priesthood of every believer was handed over to a select few, who approached God for you. The Roman system of hierarchical government was transposed into the church leadership model with bishops, archbishops, etc. Scriptures would eventually leave the hands of ordinary believers, and theological baggage would be piled on top of them for centuries, until the Reformation."
"During this time of Constantine, Christians jumped from about 4 percent of the population to about 80 percent, but it is doubtful that most of these were real conversions. Pagans flooded into the church. Clergy -- a term that originally described pagan priests -- suddenly began wearing costumes that would set them apart from average believers. Church buildings were named after saints, like the pagan temples were named after their gods. Pulpits and choirs were originated in pagan practice. Sunday, the " day of the sun," or dies solis, was the state institution holiday that gave preference to the Sun worship--" Christian" Constantine even built a number of pagan temples as well to cover all his bases with other religions. He even did this in Constantinople--the great city he built in dedication to Christianity."
"I believe the Lord longs to redeem practices and cultural trends we see in the world around us., but it is clear that in Constantine's day, the church jumped to quick, false maturity based on institutional religion and half-converted pagan practices. Why do we dress up on Sunday? It is because your forefathers tried to look good to impress Constantine's friends. Why has the operation of the five fold office gifts been lost from the church? It is because Constantine's hierarchy established a one-man, priest-like hierarchy."
"Pagan rhetoric practices would soon bring polished snappy oratory into the church. Professional sermonizing would replaced prophetic utterance and the "simple speech" used by the apostles. Eventually, every practice of faith would become established (suppressed) and taken out of the hands of the average believers. By the time of Pope Gregory, around a.d. 500, even singing was relegated to the clergy! And even then, they were only allowed to chant in one special scale."
"But it was the twisted unity between civil government and the church authority that still gives us the most problems today. Constantine promoted church leaders that agreed with him and quietly dismissed those who spoke up against state interference in the church. At that time, no one knew how to handle a government that was friendly toward the church. It was not easy to resist the tempting siren of the state, after the church had been persecuted for so long by it."
John Crowder, The New Mystic
Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg, until you hear the rest of the story. I do realize that there are many Christians and godly men and women within Christianity. I believe, there are also very many anointed ministers and leaders, but most are still operating within a man-made system. Sooner or later they will all have to come out of Babylon. This may seem harsh but it is still true. I still love them and most of all God does too, but what has been acceptable in the past, is not now. God is calling all His sons and daughters back home to the Father's House, away from all forms of carnality. Desiring them to be led by the Holy Spirit, to establish His Kingdom on earth; not to build an organization.
