Don't Drink The Kool-Aid

Don't Drink The Kool-Aid
Many of you have heard me using the term “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid” a lot lately. It’s become a modern day proverb to me. So what does don’t drink the kool-aid mean? One of the lasting legacies of the Jonestown tragedy(description to follow) is the saying, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.” This basically means, "Whatever they tell you, don't believe it too strongly or " Of course, you would have to know of Kool-Aid’s connection to Jim Jones to understand the proverb.

Here’s what happened: [Copied from Wikipedia]
In November of 1978, the world was shocked by the suicide deaths of 913 members of the People's Temple cult. Jim Jones, the leader of the group, convinced his followers to move to Jonestown, Guyana, a remote community that Jones carved out of the South American jungle and named after himself. Jones constantly feared losing control of his followers. His paranoia was the main reason he moved the cult to Guyana.

The mass suicide occurred after U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of California and a team of reporters visited the compound to investigate reports of abuse. After some members tried to leave with the congressman’s group, Jim Jones had Ryan and his entourage ambushed at the nearby airstrip. He then ordered his flock to commit suicide by drinking grape-flavored Kool-Aid laced with potassium cyanide.

The mass suicide wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. During the weeks that preceded the dreadful event, Jones had conducted a series of suicide drills, according to survivors. An alarm call would sound and every person in the camp would line up to receive a fatal dosage. These exercises in insanity proved that all of the adults at the compound knew what would be the result of their actions.

The People’s Temple did not start off as your average mind-controlling cult. It initially gained much respect as an interracial mission for the sick, homeless and jobless. Jim Jones did not manifest his darker side until near the end.

Here’s a thought

For the most part we don’t have to worry about committing physical suicide – It’s actually quite rare for religious groups to commit mass suicide. Most cults are quite peaceful, and they typically try to maintain a low profile. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are one such example. They have never been known to carry out any violent acts – but they’re “Kool-Aid” is very deadly.

The most dangerous feature of cults is the erroneous doctrine they propagate. The falsehood that causes a soul to be eternally lost is far more deadly than any earthly poison. In all cases of doctrinal error, the poison itself is not really what we should be worried about. False teachings always will contaminate the thinking of men. The root of the problem is what leads people to consuming this falsehood. The members of People's Temple knew that drinking poison is bad for you. Their better judgment was overcome by their blind trust in a mortal man.

As Christians, we shouldn’t be suspicious of everything we hear from the pulpit. We just need to use Bible-based common sense. We should all ‘Be like the Bereans’, never taking any new teaching at the word of the speaker, but rather using Scripture to verify anything that seems to conflict with sound biblical doctrine.

That’s our golden rule for scripture and our faith – but what about everyday decisions and actions? The “proverb” still applies.

I have to admit – today’s Kool-Aid can be very appetizing, however like always, the drink is sweet to the taste but lethal to the soul.

Some of today’s social flavors would be:
The Secret, Oprah Winfrey, Affordable Housing, Universal Healthcare, Re-Distribution of Wealth, The Economic Bail-Out(s), rumors of Hyper-Inflation, (((GLOBAL WARMING))); to name a few.

Some of today’s religiously disguised flavors include but are not limited to:
The Prosperity Gospel, The Church becoming seeker friendly, getting slain in the spirit or ‘slaying’ someone, holy laughter, the books on the shelves of your local ‘Christian’ bookstore that tell how to live your best life now -become a better you and/or find Purpose, The 500.00 “Prayer Cloth”, the $500.00 healing line, and the likes.

Basically if you don’t see it in The Script don’t trust it..
While walking through a local Christian Bookstore today my dear brother Chris and I stumbled upon this kool-aid… Make sure you listen intently to the prayer toward the end... remember people --- the idea is to pose as an "Angel of Light"

Have you tasted it?

Be Like The Bereans: What it means to Be Like The Bereans

Be Like The Bereans: What it means to Be Like The Bereans

What it means to Be Like The Bereans

This is a blog I've worked on for some time. On the day after the 2008 Presidential campaign finally came to an end I thought this would be a perfect time to complete it.

For the past few weeks there have been countless discussions, debates, arguments etc. around the country pertaining to the election. One of the most sought after weapons on both sides of the fence has been "the fatcs-from credible sources of course". With such facts one would have the ability to prove what they believe and why it is "good".

While this factual approach would only be stuck to in the beginnings of most political discussions - which quickly turn into arguments where [as my younger brother puts it] "people begin to stack there decks higher and higher but never accomplish anything" - it is the way things should be. This is essentially what it means - pertaining to the Christian faith - to 'Be Like The Bereans'

What it means to 'Be Like the Bereans'

In a list of final admonitions at the end of his letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul told the Church in Thessalonica to "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The word used for "prove" in the Greek means to "test, examine, prove, scrutinize".

We are instructed to examine, test and prove what we believe. It isn't good enough to just believe, or to accept a doctrine just because it has been taught. Perhaps now would be a good time for each of us to ask ourselves: "Do I practice 1 Thessalonians 5:21?"

A wonderful example of doing just that is recorded in Acts 17. Paul and his party had trouble in the city of Thessalonica and had to leave under cover of darkness. They traveled west about 75 miles to the city of Berea, where Paul once again began to preach the truth.

Verse 11 says this of the men and women of Berea: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true".

The approach of the Bereans is something you and I can learn from. First of all they "received the word"—they listened attentively and respectfully to the preaching of Paul. They wanted to know what he had to say and make sure they clearly understood him before making any judgments.

I personally believe it would have been much easier for them to listen and then conclude that Paul was correct, and accept what he said without further worry. But that was not their approach. They understood that the Word of God should be handled with dignity and care, not taken lightly or taken for granted. So they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Not only did they open the Scriptures and study subjects for themselves, but we are told they did so daily. They didn't just listen on the Sabbath and look up some things then—they made a study of the Word of God a part of their lives every day! They wanted to know whether or not Paul's preaching was accurate. If they could affirm his teachings from the Scriptures they had (what we call the Old Testament), then they could accept it as something new they had learned.

If, however, they had found Paul's teachings to be incorrect when examined in the light of Scriptures, it is certain they would have rejected them as heresy. Put another way, it was important for them to know what they believed, but it was just as important to know why they believed it!

Their example is a wonderful lesson for each of us in the Church today. Paul was not always met with respect, but he was in Berea. It should be the hallmark of every individual and every congregation of God's Church that we listen and approach the ministry with dignity and respect (Hebrews 13:17). That is the starting point.

But we also must know with certainty what we believe, and we need to be sure we know why we believe it. To do that, we have to examine, test and prove our beliefs, carefully examining the things we are taught in the light of Scripture, being certain our faith is secure, not easily moved (Hebrews 13:9).

That is the danger of accepting a Pastors' teachings blindly rather than following 1 Thessalonians 5:21. To the congregation in Corinth Paul wrote: "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough" (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).

The Corinthians exhibited the all-too-human tendency to be taken in by a good sounding argument without spending the time and effort to examine it carefully in the light of Scripture. The same thing happened later on in the congregations of the region of Galatia (Galatians 1:6; 3:1). If it could happen to them—it could happen to us.~ Might I assert that it has.

Where Do We Start?

Understanding that, how can and should we go about examining and proving our beliefs? Where do we start?

We are fortunate to live in an age where studying the Scriptures is more convenient than ever before. Bibles in many different translations are commonly available, and many are fairly inexpensive to obtain. There are concordances that make finding a particular verse or section much easier and faster. There are Bible dictionaries, lexicons, commentaries and Bible atlases to help us further understand the words God chose to use, the circumstances in which the men and women of old lived and how to apply their examples to our lives today.

For those who are a little computer savvy, all of those Bible helps can be found in various computer programs or many times even on the Internet free of charge. A computer can make finding information faster, and often will allow you to pull material together from various sources and save it to a file or print it out as a study of a particular topic.

All of these can be a big help to us in following 1 Thessalonians 5:21, but I want to offer a word of caution here: As well written and accurate as commentaries may be, as colorful and well presented as they may be, they are not Scripture, and watching, reading and studying them should not replace reading the Bible.

To effectively use material published by the Church, we should take the approach of the Bereans and listen (or read) intently, and then study the Bible daily to prove what we've read.

Be Prepared to Give an Answer

The benefits to each of us of examining, studying and proving our beliefs are tremendous. Our faith is strengthened as we become more confident in what we believe. We will not be as easily swayed by a new idea or passing fancy of doctrine that comes our way, because we will not only know what we believe, but, just as importantly, we will know why we believe it—and we can go back and prove it again if need be. "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15).

Paul told the brethren in Thessalonica to "prove all things; hold fast that which is good." It was sage advice for the early Church, and it is needful for the Church in these end times as much or more than ever.

Here's what a modern day application of this looks like.

I don't just write - I read far more. I also use other mediums as tools to guide me in study of the scriptures. One of these is music - namely Hip Hop (yea you heard right). A dear brother in Christ and indigenous mission to the Hip Hop culture - Stephen the Levite - also has a blog I frequent. In it he posts lyrics from songs/albums and encourages his listeners to "seacrh the scriptures" to match up his lyrics. Here's the most recent post(s).

RobynAnnLawson.com has left a new comment on the post "...to die is gain lyrics":
Finally got around to the Demons and Angels track this morning (it takes me a while to get through you songs, because the passages referenced usually send me on a half-day study journey, lol)... and have a quick question/errr?
One line states: "they’re never female, always fully grown, never children/ never seen with the wings but usually in some white linen"..
So I was wondering what the 2 women in Zech 5:9 would be considered?
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=zech%205:9&version=50
Thanks.. young disciple in training.

Stephen the Levite has left a new comment on the post "...to die is gain lyrics":
Actually it's funny that you ask. My wife asked me about this same passage a while ago. And even though it was underlined in my Bible I felt like I had never seen it.
There are some visions in the bible that seem to be symbolic, and some that seem to be realistic. In Is. 6 when he sees the Lord, that one seems pretty real. Others like the Multiple headed beasts in Revelation I would say are symbolic. This passage in Zech. 5 I would say fit in the symbolic catagory. The vision is lengthy, much like Revelation, filled with symbolism. I haven't studied it much yet (though I am excited about figuring out what it all means) but I don't think it adds any solid evidence of actual female angels. 2 reasons: 1. They still don't do any talking, making their role something other than a messenger (or angel) and 2. They have wings, which if anything would put them in the category with Cherebim or Serephim. However, it doesn't tell us how many wings (which makes us assume they had 2), and other than the wings they seem to look totally human. Serephim have 6 wings and the name serephim may indicate a form that seems other than human. Cherebim I believe have 4 wings and differ in form, usually with multiple heads, and taking features similar to a variety of animals. So if these women with stork wings are real, they may even fit in a category of their own. Very interesting passage.
Hope that helps.
Grace and Peace

RobynAnnLawson.com has left a new comment on the post "...to die is gain lyrics":
Thanks alot!
It definitely helped. I came to the same conclusion while discussing it with my roommate later that day (saying that they never gave a message.. so I don't believe they were "angels" based on the literal definition) ..and thought maybe they have their own category... or were just being used as an illustration (a symbol is a better word, which you used).
But then another commentary I was reading considered all the "hosts" of heaven to be angels... (and thus included seraphim, cherubim, thrones, powers, principalities, archangels, etc..) So NOW I'm on another hunt (not complaining)... but thanks alot for stirring the waters in me with those lyrics!
In Christ.

Big Ups to Robyn and Steve... [soli deo gloria]
So once again let's ask, "Do I practice 1 Thessalonians 5:21?"