“See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.”

Colossians 2:8

Dear Reader,

This verse from Colossians 2:8 is one of my favorites “go-to” verses when the events of life reported in the news, all the “facts and opinions” demanding my allegiance, and attention “muddify” (my new word, lol) my thinking.

Some background:

In our house lately we have turned off the news (auditory and apps) except for selected sources and only then, for a limited time. We used to have it running in the background, not realizing how all the commentaries and news noise (auditory and written) were affecting our mood and the sensitivity to things spiritually. We were trying to be spiritually sensitive, but what determined our focus, changed.

 It isn’t as if we never heard from God or could not sense His presence regarding what we were hearing and reading, but, for me,  I was finding it difficult to focus prayers on something other than family concerns and the dictates of the latest news headlines. Both good places to focus, but the constant seeking after “what’s happening in the world today” and the “latest developments” to see what to pray for was taking the focus away from seeking the true Source, and what The Heart of God wanted us to pray about without the barrage of information interfering. We want to stay informed, but we do not want to be manipulated nor distracted from the Will and Word of God upon which our prayers should focus....

Finding the most controversial topics and exploiting the fear and curiosity of the outraged listener to sympathize with the seemingly victimized tugs on cords regarding the desire for justice and righteousness. It is built into us by God, because we are created in His image, the discernment between right and wrong and therefore our feelings do rise up from time to time in the face of injustice. Feelings can cloud the direction prayers should take according to the Will and the Word of God.   Advertisers caught onto the motivation feelings inspired a long time ago and it is used by the world system, negatively and positively for advertising, creating narratives, and manipulation toward a particular ideology.  The most common emotion invoked is fear, and it isn’t the fear of the Lord.

2 Tim 1:7 says, For God has not given us a spirit of timidity (cowardice), but of power and love and discipline (sound mind).

1 John 4:18 says, There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

Another emotion that invokes action and has become an advertising angle for video shorts and pod castes, is outrage. It gets people's attention, demanding justice. We all want justice, right? It is one of the most powerful emotions because it is rooted in pride pulling on the altruistic desire for compassion.  Once ensnared, it becomes easier to twist motivations toward particular ideology, even if the claims used to motivate are a twisted version of the truth. Truth doesn’t matter to those seeking power, influence or finance (Mammon). Only a small amount is needed in the lie to create an effective narrative. That's why it is a good thing to ask questions, look at the claims from different angles and seek the truth because I guarantee a soundbite of information intended to get attention, probably has only a part of what is really happening. If you add money payments into the mix, you have a perfect storm of foolishness on display.

Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].

So, when Jim was inspired to turn it all off the difference was almost instantaneous. It was as if someone had turned off the “noise” of a big city and entered the quiet rest of a rural countryside. Now the birds could be heard, the rain on the roof and the wind in the leaves of the trees, both literally and metaphorically speaking.

And this all relates to a conference this past week and there were quite a few speakers. One of the speakers, Dr Joseph Mattera, spoke regarding a comparison of ideology and theology and it seemed to take the previously stated concern a step further for me and show where I might make a change in how I approach Scripture study( I imagine if you went to his website, you would find more on the subject as he understands it). I intentionally did not take notes because I knew I’d want to explore more about this topic with regard to what I just shared with you.  I did not want to copy something he had done and risk plagiarism. This blog, however, is stimulated by recent events and the talk he gave.

The subject matter pointed out a shift in some of my own understanding regarding what I believed. I saw that the source of my everyday information can easily shift my theological convictions from biblically based, to an ideological stance with a biblical start, regarding certain things. I’ve no doubt confused a few readers, let me explain:

Theology is all about our relationship with God. We seek THE SOURCE, which is God His word contextually speaking, for governance and direction. Why?  Because we want a relationship, two-way communication, with Him, our Creator.  Our relationship with Him should measure we use to relate to one another. The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost to facilitate that relationship. And because are spirit, we have a soul and live in a physical body, every part is valuable and worthy of care. Unfortunately, long before conversion, we lived with the soul in charge,(feelings, reasoning and intellect), and that has become the default for many regarding what we believe about God and our relationship with Him. We cannot always separate how we feel about something from influencing our internal response to events or decision making efforts. The soul is very good at informing us, but it is terrible at decision making because it can only look to the past for information(our experiences and how we felt about them). Without the Holy Spirit direction and discernment,  the soul can lead us off a cliff along with the other lemmings around us.   

And this is where I believe ideology drops in changing our trajectory toward or away from theology and the Will of God for us and around us.

An Ideology is a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture. (Webster’s dictionary) We often find that people who adhere to a particular ideology can become quite defensive regarding it. Some even become violent or hostile about whom they accept within the group. The parameters of acceptable thoughts and behaviors are carefully defined. A person is either loyal to the accepted behavioral constructs, or they are rejected and excluded from any discussion or activities: canceled, de-platformed. We have seen this escalate into violence and murder in our country. Unfortunately, groups of people who are meant to "dwell together in unity" have succumbed to divisions as Theology shifted into Ideology to satisfy personal agendas. Thoughts and feelings rallied around a cause, resulting fractures in relationship along the lines of personal, moral convictions in the name of "love thy neighbor."

It is an ideology that pod-casters propagate to make money.

It is an ideology  spiritual leaders seek to adopt in order to please the people so they may protect  their salary and keep the lights on in the building where they meet.

It is an ideology that politicians use to seek to please to gain power and keep their seat of influence for decades, long past their true effectiveness to lead.

An ideology is what Paul had to deal with in Colosse and in Galatia. The elementary principles in the verse refers to the ideologies among the gentiles about astrology and angel worship governing behavior and culture. They were mixing it into the Gospel message and creating a distorted truth that allowed them to keep their favorite rituals.

It was an ideology that some of the  faithful adherents to the Old Covenant Laws in the first century , used to inform new Gentile believers, that they must first adhere to the Jewish tradition before they could be true followers of Christ.

Paul never taught that the Gentiles must first adhere to the Old Covenant ways before becoming followers of Christ. Jesus never taught that either.

I imagine, those who wanted to contribute the knowledge of the Old Covenant were correct with regard to the value of understanding the prophecies and promises contained in the Scriptures.   The Gentiles did need to understand those truths. We also need to understand these truths. What we need NOT to do is to  build camps around around a favorite revelation, but rather engage in dialogue and be teachable.

•  Ideology is devoid of the Holy Spirit direction. Why do I say this? Because ideologies that I am speaking of begins with the fear of man.
• Theology begins with fear of the Lord.
• Ideology seeks to categorize and isolate certain individuals.
• Theology seeks interaction between people, discussion, consensus and reformation. Jesus prayed His followers would be one. Psalm 133 talks of the brethren dwelling in unity together. Ephesians 4:1-6 say we are to bear with one another in love, and to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is Spirit directed, not emotion or agenda driven.
• Faith seeking understanding is theology
• Understanding seeking faith (scriptures to support it) is an ideology.
• Within Theology, God is understood as Creator and Author of Life.
• Ideology seeks to be God and reorder human life to align with their agenda.
• Theology is receptive and corrective.
• Ideology is divisive and defensive.
• Theology does not seek to control, offers principles for successful living.
• Ideology demands adherence to the rules
• Theology reads Scripture in context as parts of a whole
• Ideology reads Scripture in isolation.

It comes down to what is used as a measure or the constant used in the forming of convictions.  When what is believed to be true causes a divide in relationship, then we can be pretty sure, somehow an ideology has replaced the theological pursuit. Agreeing to disagree furthers the divide and cuts off further discussion.  It isn't an answer, it is avoidance.

Theological pursuits are not always comfortable. Ideology building is much easier to maintain with like-minded individuals living in an echo chamber of personal convictions.

As human beings, we like things categorized and formulated for easy consumption and quick decision-making. We like to be correct in what we think, and the pursuit of knowledge has become something we do by ourselves. Freedom and independence have been distorted into something personal and isolated from others. Matthew 5-7 doesn’t apply in that world. This is fertile ground for the development of ideological thinking over theological understanding.

A proposed way forward:

As followers of Christ who seek to be theologically sound, gain understanding, and the wisdom of the Scriptures and the promises fulfilled in the Revelation of Christ, His Kingdom and His Church, we need to remain teachable.  And to have a productive discussion, the same measure by which the revelations we receive and understand needs to be used.  That measure should be Contextual Scriptural understanding of Christ, the whole story, not just our favorite parts.

For example, assume "Jack" and "Joe" have a similar revelation, and they bring it to the table for discussion.  Each holds the revelation to a different measure.  Jack prefers to use a measure that includes present day headlines to interpret the revelation. He does not think it is relevant nor is he aware of any consistent use of terminology and imagery throughout the Scriptures and other contemporary literature of the day in which the scripture was written. He simply applies the revelation regardless of context.

Joe, on the other hand, considers the consistent use of imagery and terminology within the whole of Scripture to interpret the revelation. He does not want to impose 21^st speculations upon Scripture to gain a present-day understanding. It leads to many questions and discussion points. He does not come quickly to an definitive answer.

 Joe tries the patience of Jack  with the delay of answers and the length of conversation. Jack tries the patience of Joe with his quick decisions without considering all the angles of truth. Both men, left in the isolation of their own interpretations without discussion will end up walking out their understanding very differently. Both are in danger of moving into ideology and building a camp of preferred companions to discuss their preferred revelations speculating on the errors of those who think differently.

This division is not of God. I do not believe this is the Body of Christ that Paul spoke of in  1 Corinthians 12.

It is a worthy goal for the people of God to form and reform the standards by which we seek to live together in unity in the power and authorship of the Holy Spirit. The walking out of this unity will result in the unified voice in the earth from God the Father to the world system. The Law of the Spirit of Life pushes back darkness and shines the light in order that all may see, and freely choose to come to the Truth of Christ, His Kingdom and His Church without the veil of any ideology clouding the way.

To review:

• The truth is to agree to disagree is not unity. It is not Christianity. It is division along the lines of ideology. It is inflexible, prideful, and does not seek truth.
• An ideological measure for what to believe relies on personal agendas, experience, and feelings.
• Theology remains integral as long as the whole revelation of Scripture remains the context of the parts.
• Ideology  is exclusive in nature
•  Theology is open for discussion, teachable and humble when interacting with those who disagree.
• Theology begins with the fear of the Lord.
• Ideology begins with the fear of men.
• Theological pursuits allow for other perspectives with Scripture as the measure rather than validation from another.
•  Ideology demands to be right and feels threatened by discussion that reveals the inaccuracies in developing theories.
• Theological pursuits come from a place of loving-kindness and respect while remaining steadfast in the strength of Truth.
•  Ideological pursuits seek significance and will change according to the approval from whom validation is sought.

It is a challenge for all of us to consider carefully what we have believed in the name of Christianity. 

What do we believe about Christ, His Kingdom and His Church? And secondly, what will we do about it?

The world is crying out for answers. Followers of Christ in places of policy and influence need the support of fellow believers. Darkness wants to keep the ground it has gained… And the church as we know it has become compromised and ineffective in our division over "philosophies empty deceptions in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.”

Dear Reader, we must ask questions and not just assume we know it all. We need to be aware, to seek the truth, and find the Source of strength and wisdom in Christ alone.  We need to be faithful to our assignments that we are enabled to accomplish with all He has placed within us. As members of the Body of Christ, the Church Jesus is building, citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are a part of something bigger than ourselves alone.  Our assignments matter, even if we don't know why they matter, they matter.

Blessings, grace and peace as you seek out the Truth that is revealed in Christ. Seek HIM first and everything else will fall into place.

Anne