UNIQUE RELIGIOUS BRANDS
Lacking awareness of God’s view on interpreting and applying The Law, Christians have made the same mistakes the Israel and the Jews made. They have taken some scriptures and made doctrines (i.e. laws) that define their respective brand of religion. And they have effectively ignored all other aspects of The Law that are hard to understand and/or obey. As each religion goes through this process, it grows or develops a unique brand of religion that includes doctrines that are relatively succinct and doable.

STUDY TIP: See RELIGIOUS ORNAMENTS, CLOTHING AND LABELS, and BREAKING THE LAW for more about religious branding.

By selectively choosing which parts of The Law to obey, however, all Christian sects are deceived about their righteousness.  Each sect develops its religious doctrines and refines them so finely that they are all but unassailable (at least in the minds of those who think about such things) because they are based on unique Bible scriptures. But, while building their denominational structures on a few, select Biblical doctrines, they have also developed elaborate doctrinal excuses (loopholes) for ignoring and/or rejecting other Biblical doctrines. Therefore, even though their choice doctrines are based on the Bible, they also miss many other Biblical truths of equal or greater legal value. That renders them “lawless” with respect to the parts they have missed. Since sin is defined as lawlessness, and since failure to obey the whole law is sin, religion by its nature is sin.

Religions people are generally very serious and sincere about what they believe. Thus, they are exceedingly satisfied and confident with the unique standards of righteousness that their religion teaches. They are each so confident that their particular brand of religion is right, that they corporately organize themselves and create distinctive features (doctrines, clothing, buildings, liturgies, publications, etc) to promote themselves and differentiate themselves (i.e. brand) from other brands of religion.

In their own unique ways,  each brand evangelizes non-believers and believers from other brands in order to expand their respective numbers and influence. There  is real competition for adherents to each brand and the intensity increases as the population of religiously inclined people declines. Recent research shows that religious decline is exactly what is happening in America. Because of this decline, each denomination is fighting for its life. Some appear to be winning, and others appear to be losing, but they are all fighting to preserve their respective traditions and their corporate lives. The result of this process being carried out in a multitude of ways throughout the world is religion.

AUTHORS’ NOTE: This Wikipedia link provides a quick overview of this history.