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I was asked to explain Trott's article, "Stomping Satan with Style", which I posted on January 28. The article was a satire, criticizing the anti-intellectual and emotionally based Christians of today. For the next few days, I'll briefly go over different points the article brings up. Read the article by clicking here.

Stomping Satan with Style: #9-10

METHOD #9: THE MORE OUTLANDISH AND FORCEFUL YOUR CLAIMS, THE MORE YOU WILL BE BELIEVED. Never underestimate the mental flabbiness of Christians. They don't like to think; aerobic praise is more fun.

Unfortunately this is very true. I truly believe that a Christian must be a thinking person. Christians must be knowledgeable people. Without a proper understanding of the Bible, how can we claim to be God's people? We can't very well love and obey Christ if we really don't know what He commanded us to do. Sin is hidden in many of our actions and we must constantly analyze our motives and actions so we can pray and alter our lives to fit Christ's model. I guarantee that knowledge about "theological" (Christian) issues will increase your appreciation and love for God.

METHOD #10: GENERATE FEELINGS AND YOU WILL GENERATE FOLLOWERS. Christians want to FEEL as though they are doing God's will. By showing them how to battle Satan in these ultra-important areas, we help them experience a warm glow of satisfaction. These good feelings prove that what I'm telling them is the truth, no matter what some half-baked theological "semetary" graduate says.

The basis for Christianity is the Bible. The Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. We must conform our lives, our actions, our very thoughts to that which is glorifying to God. We find out what is glorifying to God in the Bible. Thus, if there are "spiritual" experiences and beliefs that are not Biblical, then they are lies. We do not rely on feelings. Christian faith is not based on emotions. Otherwise it would be no better than the Mormons who have a "burning in their hearts". Feeling good does not mean you are close to God. Why feel that you are doing God's will when you can know by simply studying His Word.

Who needs theology anyway?

This is basically the mindset of Christians today. We are not people of the Book. Rather, we rely on feelings and emotions, similar to cults. Right knowledge of the nature of God, justification, sanctification, sin, and other "theological" matters are absolutely necessary. The "just love Jesus and don't worry your little head about it" attitude is one asking for temporary faith founded on things that will fade rather than the eternal rock that is the Lord. Theology is not just for those nerdy Christians who have no heart. Love your God with all your mind. Knowledge of the doctrine of grace creates a definite foundation of truth. Through learning and studying we understand the reason why we ought to love the Lord so much.

Don't let your flock become prayer warriors unless they, like you, talk without listening to the voices of doubt. Help them trust themselves and doubt voices they may think are God's.

We must always be wary of ourselves. Our hearts are naturally deceitful and sinful. So, we must always analyze our motives and our actions. Prayer is useless if you refuse to listen (to the Word) as well as speak to God. Never doubt God. But doubting yourself is necessary at times. I don't mean that we should doubt whether we can accomplish things. If we are working for the kingdom of God, then we can be rest assured that the power of God shall be more than enough to overcome the opposition of this world. I mean that we need to question the ways in which we seemingly work for God's kingdom. We need to pray for guidance and for wisdom. When we think that we know best or base our actions on how we feel about a situation, we have a very good chance of being wrong.

Finally, watch out for the reconcilers. These namby-pambys look harmless enough, but when they write or speak on a subject, the results are often large numbers of new Christians. That's not so terrible, but these new converts are often allowed to maintain old cultural trappings, and at times attempt to build some nonsense called a "biblical worldview" around modern issues.

In terms of within the church, the church of Christ needs to be unified. Of course, we cannot allow for incorrect views on things set out clearly by the Bible to exist simply for the sake of unity. I'm not exactly sure as to what the above line is referring to. But it appears to be talking about Christians who try to bring nonbelivers into the fold. Some Christians seem to have forgotten about the Great Commission. We are to be proclaiming the faith and telling people to repent and turn to Christ. Often, the church is focused entirely on the people within its walls. Honestly, I think much attention must be spent on this generation's believers. We know near to nothing of our own religion and live as if Christ doesn't exist except for an hour on Sunday (and even then He's pretty boring). But we have a responsibility to the rest of the world.

And a biblical worldview is necessary. Christianity is not something we leave at the door when we leave church. Christ is the center of everything whether we be at home, at school, or at the dreaded PC Bang. History, science, and current moral issues must be considered from a biblical perspective.

Remember, "Be loud to draw a crowd." And don't worry about the nagging feeling that all the screaming isn't accomplishing much; it's not so bad to be one more noise in a noisy world . . .

We offer nothing that the world does not offer. We offer emotional, temporary happiness. We offer entertaining worship concerts. We offer carnivals of tongues-speakers and "prophets". Bigger, better, louder, dumber…emptier. We must preach the Gospel that Paul preached faithfully. Do you know why the church expanded so quickly in the days of the New Testament? Because the truth about man's sin and his need for God was preached faithfully. Because the disciples of Christ (all believers are disciples) lived lives which reflected the love of God. Because they reached out to each other and to the poor and needy outside of the church. It wasn't because the church had a better sound system, it wasn't because the preachers were funny, it wasn't because the church looked so much like the world that people weren't offended by it, it wasn't because they had more authority….it was because they lived according to the Bible which they believed in. They simply did not compromise when it came to the truth.