The idea that we are at war with the powers of darkness, as if they are somehow a match for God is not Christian. It is Gnostic.
The Gnostic Bible, Nag Hammadi, which was discovered in the Egyptian desert in the last century was written and compiled by heretical groups within the Christian Church (sort of like people who subscribe to the Prosperity Gospel; or the JW's in the 19th century, which originally started out as just a group of Christians who liked to study the Bible together.) during first few centuries of Christianity. The gnostic believers were called to fight against an equally powerful, god (The god of the Old Testament) whom they believed to be an evil force - like, but not the same as Satan. They also believed that only secret knowledge that Christ provided to a select few - themselves - is what gave them the power to escape their evil bodies and return to God.
Dualism is an idea originally found outside of Christianity from a Persian religion called Zoroastrianism. Yet, it was adopted by many of the early heresies found in the early church like Monism, Donism, Montanism, ect, ect, ect......it is not a Christian idea at all; however, it taught within our churches today. The book that was popular years ago 'This Present Darkness' is dualistic - not Christian. The idea that the flesh is evil and the spirit is good is also a false dichotomy - not Christian. The idea that we are called to fight against Satan and his angels, as if they had a chance against the Almighty God is not Christian and not Biblical. Folks that believe God created a force called 'evil' are buying into dualistic teaching.
Instead of dualism, Christianity teaches that Satan is merely part of creation gone bad - someone who decided to choose not to follow God. He is merely an after thought now that Jesus died for us. Christ reconciled the relationship between humanity and Himself on the Cross - we simply need to acknowledge this and allow Him to love through us. Yes, we can still chose to make less good choices, but our only real concern is to love God and serve and love our neighbors, rather than beating demons out from behind every bush. Christianity teaches that evil is the lack of good - like cold is the lack of heat - not a force. God is Almighty - He has no rivals - He is omnipotent. We are a liberated, free people because of Him. The roaring lion is toothless. When Paul talks about warring against the flesh - he is not calling our bodies evil - we were created good; he is talking about worldliness our tendency to misuse our bodies. CS Lewis talks about the importance of realizing our place in Creation - we are not merely animals - and if we start believing that we are we are at risk of allowing our instincts (not merely our bodies) to be our moral guide - leading us into an animal existence.
So, I believe dualistic teaching within Christianity needs to be acknowledged and confronted - it is insidious and rampant. For me, this foreign idea taught often mistakenly taught within our doctrine does more damage than any demonic force.
The Gnostic Bible, Nag Hammadi, which was discovered in the Egyptian desert in the last century was written and compiled by heretical groups within the Christian Church (sort of like people who subscribe to the Prosperity Gospel; or the JW's in the 19th century, which originally started out as just a group of Christians who liked to study the Bible together.) during first few centuries of Christianity. The gnostic believers were called to fight against an equally powerful, god (The god of the Old Testament) whom they believed to be an evil force - like, but not the same as Satan. They also believed that only secret knowledge that Christ provided to a select few - themselves - is what gave them the power to escape their evil bodies and return to God.
Dualism is an idea originally found outside of Christianity from a Persian religion called Zoroastrianism. Yet, it was adopted by many of the early heresies found in the early church like Monism, Donism, Montanism, ect, ect, ect......it is not a Christian idea at all; however, it taught within our churches today. The book that was popular years ago 'This Present Darkness' is dualistic - not Christian. The idea that the flesh is evil and the spirit is good is also a false dichotomy - not Christian. The idea that we are called to fight against Satan and his angels, as if they had a chance against the Almighty God is not Christian and not Biblical. Folks that believe God created a force called 'evil' are buying into dualistic teaching.
Instead of dualism, Christianity teaches that Satan is merely part of creation gone bad - someone who decided to choose not to follow God. He is merely an after thought now that Jesus died for us. Christ reconciled the relationship between humanity and Himself on the Cross - we simply need to acknowledge this and allow Him to love through us. Yes, we can still chose to make less good choices, but our only real concern is to love God and serve and love our neighbors, rather than beating demons out from behind every bush. Christianity teaches that evil is the lack of good - like cold is the lack of heat - not a force. God is Almighty - He has no rivals - He is omnipotent. We are a liberated, free people because of Him. The roaring lion is toothless. When Paul talks about warring against the flesh - he is not calling our bodies evil - we were created good; he is talking about worldliness our tendency to misuse our bodies. CS Lewis talks about the importance of realizing our place in Creation - we are not merely animals - and if we start believing that we are we are at risk of allowing our instincts (not merely our bodies) to be our moral guide - leading us into an animal existence.
So, I believe dualistic teaching within Christianity needs to be acknowledged and confronted - it is insidious and rampant. For me, this foreign idea taught often mistakenly taught within our doctrine does more damage than any demonic force.
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