GOD HATES RELIGION

STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding of what religion is.

God sees all religions — including Judaism, Islam and Christianity — the same because all religions are based on the teachings and writings of religious leaders.

All religions distinguish themselves with religious rituals and traditions that are created by men. God hates all traditions, festivals and offerings by which all religions, including Judaism and Christianity, distinguish themselves. These rituals and traditions are essentially religious laws that are enforced by religious leaders who pretend to speak for God but are in fact false prophets.

Religious leaders base their teachings on the literal words of the Bible and claim that God has given to them special gifts and authority to interpret the Bible for others who don’t have those gifts. Religious leaders (e,g, Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Rabbis, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists, etc.) are able to make names for themselves as religious teachers because they have a charismatic appeal that causes people to follow them and listen to their teachings and support them financially.

In God’s view, religious leaders set themselves up as idols for religious people to follow and support. They create their personal kingdoms for their personal gain. God considers this arrangement between religious leader and religious followers to be a corrupt system of defiled religion which is not at all like the pure religion he wants for his people.

God’s argument with religion can be summarized as follows:

• • • God wants his people to listen to his spoken voice — not to the voices of religious leaders.
    • God wants his people to follow his spiritual laws written on their hearts — not to follow religious laws created by men.

For these and many other reasons God hates religion. Religious people — especially Jews, Christians and Muslims — will not easily accept that God hates religion. See the links below for articles that discuss his views on religion:

WHAT GOD DOES NOT WANT:
The ability to understand the written words of the Bible does not depend on the ability to hear God’s spoken voice. Anyone, even people who do not believe in God, can make some logical sense out of the written words. God calls people who read, interpret and preach/teach/write their interpretations of the literal Bible false prophets

God does not want his people to listen to false prophets who instruct them to follow religious laws based on literal, not symbolic interpretations of the Bible.

To communicate how strongly he feels about false prophets, God calls the practice of listening to them sin. Furthermore, since all religions have religious leaders who preach and promote faith traditions, God hates traditions, and considers the religions that practice them to be sin.

WHAT GOD DOES WANT:
God has filled the Bible with mystery and symbolism. Only people who can hear God’s spoken voice understand the spiritual meanings contained in these mysteries, symbols, signs and parables.

Because his written word and spoken word are not the same, and because the mysteries of God are very deep, God sends anointed prophets to translate/interpret the mystery and symbolism of his written word for people who refuse to listen to God’s voice.

The messengers God sends are mediators/intercessors between man and God. Biblical examples of mediator/intercessors include Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus. These are all models of true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, and warriors whom God has always sent, and still sends, to religious people who sin when they harden their hearts to hearing God’s voice by insisting on listening to false prophets (i.e. religious leaders).

God wants his people to listen to true prophets who instruct them to reject religion and listen to his spoken voice which teaches them to obey his spiritual laws which are written on clean, pure hearts that embody his name (i.e. his character). This activity of the heart is the essence of faith. This activity is God’s alternative to religion. It is pure religion which is very different from defiled religion.

STUDY TIP: See these links for more about what the Bible has to say about religion and listening to God’s spoken voice: