The Church Has Left the Bible - Tapa blanda

Two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth made His dramatic appearance on planet earth. In a few short years He lived the most profound and compelling life of all time. Before He left, He launched a movement that would be called the "Way" by those who were His followers. The Way offered a path of living, and a way of being that was the antithesis of all that the selfish, violent, and oppressive Roman empire had to offer. The people of the Way practiced love in a world of hate, they brought aid to the weak and helpless, and they turned the world upside down. Sadly, something terrible happened to the Way, and it was transmogrified into a religion called Christianity. The religion transplanted the abundant life of the Way, with religious ritual and tradition. Slowly, the church replaced all of the life giving aspects of the Way with empty substitutes. An actual experience with a living God was replaced with a mundane ritual called a church service. Fellowship and community were traded for organization and religious structure. The servant leaders of the early church gave way to a professional clergy that maintains strict control of the religion that is now peddled as the pitiful substitute for the freedom and abundant life the early Christians enjoyed. In short, the church abandoned the Bible and what it has to say about church.

In this book, pastor and attorney Tom Lacheney addresses how the modern Christian religion has strayed from the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Filled with scripture references, this book will take you on a journey that will reveal the sad condition of the modern church in comparison with what it was designed to be. This book is a clarion call for the followers of Jesus to abandon the perversity of modern religion and return to the simplicity and power of the early church as described in scripture. A church where people came first and not buildings. A church where the dull monotony of the Sunday church service was unknown. A church that was unified, and committed to maintaining that unity. A time when believers expected God to change the culture instead of looking to the government to do so. In short, the followers of Jesus must once again become a source of light and life in a world that is every bit as selfish, violent and oppressive as the Roman world of 100 AD.

Tom discusses:

· Why church services are so boring, and what can be done to change this.

· The reality that God may not even attend most church services.

· The fact that "worship" of God has absolutely nothing to do with singing songs.

· The absurdity of most Christians expecting the church to serve them instead of them serving in the world around them.

· The fact that the modern church is much more akin to a dysfunctional family then it is to the family of God.

· How saying some magic words, getting water sprinkled on your head, or going to church do not make people Christians.

· The ridiculous expectation on the part of Christians that secular governments can bring about any positive change.

· The foolishness of trusting politics or politicians.

· How the total lack of unity in the church is the ultimate evidence that the Bible is a fairy tale.

· Which doctrines of the church really matter, and which ones don't.

· How the modern church squanders billions of dollars on buildings, church staff, and the trappings of modern Christianity.

· Why the early church put almost all of its money into helping people.

· How the church is schizophrenic on the subject of sin

· The absurdity of the modern church position on education and western culture.

· How true believers in Jesus can escape the corruption and perversity of the modern Christian religion and return the to simplicity of the early Gospel.