• Questions About Cults & Religions

  • De: Keith Muoki
  • Podcast

Questions About Cults & Religions Por arte de portada

Questions About Cults & Religions

De: Keith Muoki
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  • Resumen

  • More than 80 percent of the world subscribes to some “religion”; one might expect the word to have a straightforward meaning. Yet there is no universally accepted definition of the term religion. Religions take fundamentally different approaches to truth, Scripture, behavior, and reason. The same is true of a host of other concepts, such as meaning, experience, tradition, tolerance, unity, conformity, authority, deity, doctrine, salvation, morality, sexuality, family, death, and humanity. Some cultures view religion entirely separately from individuals or society. Others don’t distinguish those concepts enough to consider “religion” a meaningful category. A general definition of religion can be distilled from these widely varied experiences as “a system connected to spiritual and/or supernatural components that uniquely impacts the adherent’s worldview, behavior, belief, culture, morality, and approach to certain writings, persons, or places.” Even simplified, that’s quite a mouthful—and a mind-full. The lines between religion and culture or philosophy or tradition or myth are not easily drawn. Religion-as-a-category is hard to define, but specific examples are clearer. Most people connect to something easily identified as a religious belief. These systems self-identify as religions and exist far from the fuzzy edges of definitions. Examples are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. These are straightforwardly called “religions” and come with all the expected features—over which they deeply disagree. As with other broad terms, religion takes on narrower meaning in certain contexts. A common instance focuses on behavior. In that usage, references to “religion” emphasize actions or attitudes: rituals, prayers, behaviors, or confessions of doctrinal belief. Or, greatly simplified, “rules and rituals.” A person who often prays and attends church would be seen as “practicing religion.” In contrast, someone who never prays or attends church would be considered “non-practicing,” even if he claimed that faith. The Bible addresses the concept of religion, but not as often or directly as one might expect. Clear references are almost exclusively found in the New Testament. This reflects a difficulty in defining religion; the ancient world intertwined spirituality, identity, and culture such that independently defining religion would have been redundant. Greek and Roman philosophy, followed by Christianity, contributed to the modern theme we now describe as religious belief. Biblical references to “religion” typically use the narrow focus on behavior. In James 1:27, for example, the word religion references acts of worship—that is, the expression of faith: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Note in his description the lack of commonly accepted “tools” of religion: James does not mention religious objects, holy days, memorized liturgies, or special hand gestures. Pure religion involves helping others in distress and maintaining personal holiness. Jesus frequently criticized hollow, hypocritical behavior not rooted in sincere faith (Matthew 5:27–28; 7:21–23; Mark 7:9–13; Luke 11:42–44). Scripture also explicitly contrasts the idea of religion as a practice with faith-in-and-of-itself. Speaking to non-believers, Paul noted altars to manifold deities and said the people were “very religious” (Acts 17:21–23). James says religion not producing self-control is “worthless” (James 1:26). A parallel to how Scripture views terms such as religion or religious would be terms such as politics and political. Politics are important, in their own way, since “politics” is how a culture translates moral and ethical beliefs into laws and government. A person can be “political” while maintaining a sense that political parties, laws, and elected officials are not literally the most...
    Copyright Keith Muoki
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Episodios
  • What did God do on the seventh day of creation?

    What did God do on the seventh day of creation?
    Aug 13 2021
    On the seventh day of creation, God rested from His work of creating all things (Genesis 2:2–3). The universe and all that is contained within it, including the earth, all its creatures, and mankind, were created during six days, and by the seventh day the Lord was done creating (Genesis 2:2). Most versions of the Bible state that God “rested” on the seventh day of creation, but this does not mean that He was tired or needed to refresh Himself through rest (see Psalm 121:4; Isaiah 40:28). It was only a “rest” in the sense that it was a cessation of work. The NET Bible states that “he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing” (Genesis 2:2). God was not fatigued from creating the heavens and the earth, but rather had finished creating. All He had created was declared “very good,” and therefore creation was complete (Genesis 1:31—2:1). Significantly, the Hebrew word for “rest” in Genesis 2:2 is also used in the Pentateuch to refer to the observance of the Sabbath day (Exodus 34:21; Leviticus 23:32). The Sabbath day command in the law was based on the principle of God’s “resting” or “ceasing” from work on the seventh day of creation (Exodus 20:11). As Genesis 2:3 states, “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (ESV). An important point about God’s rest on the seventh day is that He only ceased from new creative work, not from all activity. God is not distant from His creation, nor did He leave the universe to run by itself from that point. The Lord is still intimately involved in all He has created. Jesus affirmed this when He stated, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17). God continually upholds and sustains His creation (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). It’s just that the Lord is no longer creating new things ex nihilo, such as making new planets or commanding new animals into being. God’s rest from His work of creation demonstrates that He is no longer creating as He did during the six days the heavens and the earth were made. The book of Hebrews identifies the Lord Jesus as the ultimate Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9–11). Christ alone satisfies the requirements of the law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from our own laboring to earn salvation, because He sanctifies and makes holy all who believe in Him. www.keithmuoki.com
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    13 m
  • Are all religions the same?

    Are all religions the same?
    Jul 9 2021
    The English writer and poet Steve Turner, in his short work called “The Creed,” answers the question of whether all religions are equivalent in this way: “We believe that all religions are basically the same At least the one that we read was. They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.” As Turner points out, every religion differs from others in its foundational teachings. Beyond that, they also differ in their overall approach to finding spiritual truth. Some religions, like Buddhism, take an epistemological approach: “If I just learn something, I’ll find spiritual meaning and truth.” Others, like Islam, take a pragmatic path: “If I just do something, I’ll find spiritual meaning and truth.” Still others, such as many New Age religions, try an existential method: “If I just experience something, I’ll find spiritual meaning and truth.” Christianity differs from all other religions in that it is the only one that is ontological in its approach to finding spiritual truth; i.e., it rests completely on the person of Jesus Christ. In addition, Christianity subsumes the approaches found in other religions and pours them into the person of Christ. For example, knowledge is gained through words. To that end, the Gospel of John starts off by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14, NASB). Jesus is the knowledge of God personified. When it comes to pragmatism (i.e., works), the people once asked Jesus, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works [plural] of God?” Jesus answer to them was, “This is the work [singular] of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:28–29, NASB). Existentialism and experience are fundamentally concerned with life. To that end, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). So, Christianity differs from all other religions in that it is built upon the person of Christ, who embodies all approaches to spiritual truth. Paul acknowledges this unique and ontological nature of Christianity when he exclaims, “I know whom [not what] I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12) and “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). . . . . . Keith Muoki is a KJV bible believer who is saved by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. He lives in Nairobi, Kenya, and preaches every day on Spreaker.com Podcast, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Bitchute, Soundcloud, Twitter, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, iTunes/Apple podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music/Audible, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google play music, Blubrry, iPodder, Digital podcast, Podcasts.Alltop, Pandora, Pocket casts, Overcast, Podcast index & Podcast App. Keith got saved on the 6th of June 2020 from the teachings of Robert Breaker after spending over 30 years in church thinking he was saved by a sinners prayer but he wasn't. Since then, he's never looked back and decided to convert all his entrepreneurship & travel online channels into bible study channels and preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Please Subscribe, Like & Share our Videos and Podcasts: Our YouTube Chanel Link: https://www.youtube.com/c/KeithMuoki/videos Our Main Podcast Chanel: https://www.spreaker.com/user/14810659 Watch More bible study videos in our other Channels: Bitchute Videos: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/101uy9WzWYah/ Facebook Videos: https://web.facebook.com/keithmuoki01 Vimeo Videos: https://vimeo.com/keithmuoki _________________________________________ If you feel led to support our ministry please use the details below: ➤ Paypal:...
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    8 m
  • What is the Church of Almighty God?

    What is the Church of Almighty God?
    Jul 9 2021
    The Church of Almighty God (Quannengshen in Chinese) is a secretive, theologically aberrant religious movement that started in China in 1991. Although it has been banned by the Chinese Communist Party for its anti-government stance, it continues to grow and is considered an influential doomsday cult. The Church of Almighty God is also known as Eastern Lightning, a name based on Matthew 24:27: “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” The group believes that God has again become incarnate, this time as a Chinese woman named Yang Xiangbin, who also calls herself “Lightning Deng.” Yang is the nominal head of Eastern Lightning, but the true leader is probably her “high priest” and lover, Zhao Weishan, the man who first began proclaiming that Yang was divine. In 2000, Zhao Weishan and Yang Xiangbin moved to the United States, and they currently oversee operations of the Church of Almighty God from New York City. Yang Xiangbin is called “Christ of the last days” and “Almighty God” in the belief that she is the second coming of Christ to finish the work of God. Yang gives utterances that are recorded as God’s word for the last days. (Although Yang is seen as an incarnation of God, she is considered separate from Jesus Christ, who was a different incarnation of God.) The Bible is seen as an obsolete record of God’s work in the past. “It is nothing more than a historical record of God’s work, and a testament to the previous two stages of God’s work, and offers you no understanding of the aims of God’s work” (from Eastern Lightning’s official website). Thus, the Bible is insufficient and must be supplemented by the utterances of Almighty God, or “Christ of the last days.” The group teaches that in the Old Testament God was known by the name Jehovah. In the New Testament era, God was known as Jesus Christ. Now, in the last days, He is properly known as Almighty God. His work, through the female Christ, is qualitatively different from the work of the apostles. Although God used the apostles, they could only do what men who are used by God can do. The Church of Almighty God is the work of God Himself. According to their official website, the group “was entirely founded by Almighty God personally, and is personally led and shepherded by Him, and it was by no means set up by any man.” Currently, in the Kingdom Age, God is carrying out His White Throne Judgment. All Christian denominations and sects have lost the Holy Spirit, and His power is now concentrated in the Church of Almighty God. The Church of Almighty God denies the Trinity, teaching a form of modalism. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are seen as three different manifestations of the one God, not three distinct Persons. “The Trinity does not exist anywhere in this universe. God has no Father and no Son, much less is there the concept of an instrument jointly used by the Father and the Son: the Holy Spirit. All of this is the greatest fallacy and simply does not exist in this world!” (op. cit.). According to the teaching of the Church of Almighty God, Jesus forgave mankind’s sin in the Age of Grace, but His salvation was not complete, because the sin nature remained in mankind. Now, in the Age of the Kingdom, through the teaching of the Christ of last days, mankind can finally be delivered from sin and made fully clean. This is true salvation, available to those who will obey Almighty God’s teaching as revealed in the last days. From the group’s official website, it is hard to pin down exactly what allows one to attain this final level of true salvation. It appears that the most important thing is simply believing the teachings of the Church of Almighty God. The Church of Almighty God has a presence in Hong Kong, New York, and San Francisco, as well as mainland China. There are disturbing reports of the group using sexual seduction, kidnapping, bribes, brainwashing, and blackmail to coerce new members...
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    12 m
Ministerio y Evangelismo Espiritualidad
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