Bar none, religion is one of the most loved and most hated things in the universe. If a person belongs to a church organization, they generally love their religion with all their might, and sometimes with such love that it is greater than that for their wife/husband and children. This must be true, for we know people whose religion is foremost in their lives. It virtually towers over all things. 

For others, hatred toward religion is very common, and given some reflection on its infamous history, this is understandable. Throughout the ages, wars have been fought over religion, and millions have been persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred by religion.

One such religious atrocity took place in 1209 A.D. in Béziers, France. Arnaud Amalric (later to become archbishop of Narbonne) was named a papal legate and inquisitor and was sent by Pope Innocent the III with Peter of Castelnau to attempt the conversion of the Albigensians. Failing in this, he distinguished himself by the zeal with which he incited men by his preaching to the crusade against these heretics. He was in charge of the crusader army that sacked Béziers.

When it was discovered that there were Catholics mingled with the heretics, Arnaud Amalric, was asked: "Sir, what shall we do, for we cannot distinguish between the faithful and the heretics." The abbot is said to have replied "Kill them all and let God sort them out." And they killed everyone, even those who fled into the church. No cross or altar or crucifix could save them. They killed the clergy too, as well as the women and children. From 10,000 to 20,000 were slaughtered that day, and this was done in the name of God. Events such as this are easily seen for what they are; at least those who have not been thoroughly seduced and hardwired by the spirit of religion. Unfortunately, the works and words of the serpent are not always so obvious.

When religion is used in reference to a person; such as, Father Horacio is a very religious man, or there is no one more religious than Sister Percyprim, our normal impression is of someone who never misses a church service, their daily lives appear spotless, they are never seen in bars or the liquor section of stores, they are involved in church activities, and always faithful to their doctrine. For most of the world, at least the church world, being religious stands out with honor. It is a prestigious goal for which many strive.

One of the earmarks of religion for some churches is to be perpetually at war against Satan. This Satan is usually viewed by them as having to do with sins of the flesh, such as drunkenness, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, rape, incest, murder, and the likes. He is accused of tempting men, women, and children to submit to mild sins such as telling little white lies to unspeakable things; but we surely remember something one of the apostles said:

The Origin of Temptation

The third time Satan is mentioned makes it very clear that it is a religious event. It is in the first chapter of Job when the sons of God presented themselves before the LORD, and Satan came among them. What a Spirit-filled church conference that must have been! Imagine the sons of God coming together in one place, and, no doubt, in one mind and in one accord! Not only then, but to our present day, this is where you can count on the religious foe to show up in full regalia for the trial of the saints’ lives. With the adversary’s hand upon Job, religion began its due process. The heavens became silent, all was lost, his boil-ridden body was a painful, loathsome mess; thus some of the fruits of the whispering serpent.
 

We will not go into detail; but there are other places of the Old Testament that this satan is called into service; such as, in Psalms 109:6-7 where the wicked who came against David were condemned and a satan was a part of it. And then in Zechariah 3:1-2 the adversary resisted Joshua. In the New Testament, the fourth chapter of Matthew, the third chapter of Mark, and Luke the fourth chapter is the record of the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness. In 2 Corinthians 11:14 we are told that he transforms himself into an angel of light and his ministers into righteousness. In doing so, they would appear to be very holy and with Christ-like illumination. But in all this, and the other references of "Satan," there is not one place where he tempts people to commit adultery, homosexuality, promiscuity, pornography or sins that find their roots in the flesh.

You see, the satan is very religious. It is the realm in which he works. Some, however, may contest this by quoting Jesus’ words from John 8:44—"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." However, if you will notice, Jesus was speaking to the religious Pharisees and was not saying that their natural birth was from some sort of diabolical conception in their mother’s wombs. We all know that He was speaking of spiritual matters, that the religious spirit by which they lived and imposed on others was that of the adversary which is always opposed to Jesus Christ. That is simply the nature of the carnal mind.

The first lie ever told was instrumental in the first murder in the history of mankind, and it had to do with religion, that is, man’s relationship to God. It was committed by the serpent when he told the woman that she would be like God and not die if she ate the fruit from the tree she and her husband were commanded not to eat. She was drawn away from God and enticed as she began to believe the lie. When her lust (Grk. epitumia, longing) had been conceived, it brought forth sin, and when the sin was finished, it brought forth death James 1:15, and finally to her physical body after death had finished its course a few hundred years later. The second murder was when Cain killed his brother Abel, which was also a religious murder due to sacrifices offered to God and His acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice, and rejection of Cain’s.

It is realized that even in light of what the scriptures say, or do not say, such a thought is inconceivable to some; for there is a certain mystical intrigue about a devil, and many are reluctant to release their fabled grip on him. For them to not believe in Satan the way they have been taught would be almost an unforgivable blasphemy. Sadly, but it is true, it is not unusual for Christian people to view their beliefs about Satan as sacred as their beliefs about God, and to forsake such would be unthinkable.

Notwithstanding, rather than those age-old, religious images being real, this enemy goes about as a roaring lion devouring everybody possible. This is done by arraying himself with religious garments (like sheep) and acting righteous. With such a non-threatening appearance, people are easily drawn into those religious lairs. Once this is done, those proselytized are made two-fold more the sons of religious hell than the religious leader, as Jesus accused them of doing in Matthew 23:15. Although the pretense is to bring people closer to God, everything about the imposters steers people away from Him. This enemy is steadily deceiving them by replacing a living relationship in Christ Jesus with legalism, rituals, programs, and unprofitable works. To put it plainly—they are eating deadly fruit of religion from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Religion is an interesting word. It comes from the "Latin, religio which means, to bind anew; re and ligo, to bind again. This word seems originally to have signified an oath or vow to the gods, or the obligation of such an oath or vow, which was held very sacred by the Romans." 1828 Webster’s Dictionary.

Although ignorance of knowing the true God was common place with the Romans, they were just as bound as if they had been captured by an enemy, shackled by chains, and cast into prison. The apostle Paul said something along these lines when he wrote: "Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." Colossians 2:23. They became bound again in their will worship.

The Greek used for will worship is a compound word, ethelothr‘skeia.The Strong’s definition is: "voluntary (arbitrary and unwarranted) piety, that is, sanctimony." And to be reminded, sanctimony is the quality of being hypocritically devout. Such is clear evidence that they have been bound again to the carnal man, Adam.

Peter said that they were willingly ignorant of the word of God. 2 Peter 3:5. They were twice bound by their religion of rejecting the truth that would make them free.

There is a pure religion, James wrote about it, saying, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27. This type of religion is ministering to the fatherless and widows, caring for them as if they are your own, and that comes by being joined to the Lord (re-ligo, bound again).

If we are bound again, when were we bound before? I believe it was when we were created in Him before the foundations of the earth were laid. Therefore, the only way the sons of God can be religious is to be bound again to He in Whom we were originally created, and that religion is a holy union. It has nothing whatsoever with going to church and being exercised in routine religious practices! Please know, however, that this union in Christ can be experienced during church services; but it is not going through the motions. Going through the motions alone is being religious/bound again to that which is of the old man.

The English words, religious and religion, are used a total seven times in the Bible and are all in the New Testament. They come from three Greek words: sebomai (once), Ioudaismos (twice), and thr‘skeia (4 times).

Sebomai means to revere, adore and is used in Acts 13:43, "Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God." It is not clear to whom reverence/adoration was directed, to God or to Paul and Barnabas; but it is clear that "religious" is not the best English word to have been used here.

In both cases where Ioudaismos is used is in reference to the Jews religion, or Judaism. Thr‘skeia, the religion we are mostly addressing today, always speaks of an outward demonstration of ceremonious worship, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. Thayer’s Greek Dictionary confirms this by saying: "especially external, that which consists of ceremonies...religious discipline...."

The root word for thr‘skeia is throeÇ and means: to wail, to clamor, that is, to frighten. Do we know anything that produces more wailing souls, clamoring to appear righteous, and striking fear into the hearts of people than religion? I can think of none. For instance, Islam is a religion that incites a tremendous amount of fear. We have read reports and seen news clips of the atrocities committed by the leaders and the men toward their wives and children. They recruit children, teens, young men, and sometimes women to become suicide bombers that kill and maim hundreds, thousands. These unspeakable things are all done in the name of Allah, and supposedly for His glory. It is difficult for us to understand how people could remain in such a religion, or if not born into it, how could they willingly join it? Fear! Out of fear! Fear of eternal torment in the afterlife and/or fear of the religion’s wrath upon them if they leave or disobey. Non-Muslims, especially Christians, condemn this system of unbendable, merciless laws and arcane beliefs, and rightly so. For the adversary is a master in that religion as well. Those members are also twice bound. However, their doctrine of eternal torment in unquenchable fire is very much the same. You will notice that the following quotes from their Koran sound very much like the beliefs of various Christian denominations:

"If they accuse thee of falsehood, say: 'Your Lord is full of mercy all-embracing; but from people in guilt never will His wrath be turned back.' Surah 6:147"

    Sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? And it should; for that diabolical doctrine has been flooding the souls of men since Jerome wrote the Latin Vulgate around 400 A.D. It was in that Latin version of the Bible that the Greek and Hebrew words, aion, and olam, were first translated aeternum rather than aetatis as it should have been. Augustine (354-430 A.D), the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, accepted Jerome’s Latin translation as being true, and was also responsible for making Hell eternal in the Western Church. He did not know Hebrew or Greek, and his ignorance of those languages helped to cement him in the concept of Jerome’s eternal hell. Augustine not only said that Hell was eternal for the wicked but also for anyone who wasn't a Christian. So complete was his thought of God's exclusion of non-Christians that he considered un-baptized babies as damned. (Ref. The Salvation Conspiracy: How Hell Became Eternal by Dr. Ken R. Vincent).

The concept of eternal hell spread and was embraced throughout the Roman Catholic church which was also a common belief with all the pagan religions in the middle east. It is, therefore, no small wonder that Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, broadcasted the same in his Koran, as the angel, Jibril/Gabriel, supposedly revealed to him verbally. Think of that! Muhammad was most likely influenced by the church of Rome, and he used the similar tactics that worked for her to gain control over those of the Arab world, Ishmael’s decedents. There is another story here, but it will have to wait.

We noted four verses from the Koran that speak of God’s vengeful, unforgiving, wrathful judgment of eternal flames and torment upon the unbelievers. The Christian community has their share of like-minded men. They have likewise instilled the spirit of fear in the hearts of the people, and we do not have to look far to find them. For example:

Jonathan Edwards (Newspapers reported people leaving his sermons and committing suicide from the fear he instilled in them.):

"The world will probably be converted into a great lake or liquid globe of fire, in which the wicked shall be overwhelmed, which will always be in tempest, in which they shall be tossed to and fro, having no rest day and night, vast waves and billows of fire continually rolling over their heads, of which they shall forever be full of a quick sense within and without; their heads, their eyes, their tongues, their hands, their feet, their loins and their vitals, shall forever be full of a flowing, melting fire, fierce enough to melt the very rocks and elements; and also, they shall eternally be full of the most quick and lively sense to feel the torments; not for one minute, not for one day, not for one age, not for two ages, not for a hundred ages, nor for ten thousand millions of ages, one after another, but forever and ever, without any end at all, and never to be delivered.

"Here all judges have a mixture of mercy, but the wrath of God will be poured out upon the wicked without mixture. Imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven…and imagine also that your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, full of fire, as full within and without as a bright coal fire, all the while full of quick sense; what horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace? Oh! Then how would your heart sink if you knew that after millions and millions of ages your torment would be no nearer to an end than ever it was. But your torment in hell will be immensely greater than this illustration represents." The Works of Jonathan Edwards -1785

"It is not a terrible thing to a wretched soul, when it shall lie roaring perpetually in the flames of hell, and the God of mercy himself shall laugh at them; when…God shall mock them instead of relieving them; when none in heaven or earth can help them but God, and he shall rejoice over them in their calamity" Richard Baxter "The Saint's Everlasting Rest"- 1846.

"Forever harassed with a dreadful tempest, they shall feel themselves torn asunder by an angry God, and transfixed and penetrated by mortal stings, terrified by the thunderbolts of God, and broken by the weight of his hand, so that to sink into any gulf would be more tolerable than to stand for a moment in these terrors. John Calvin (Who had some of his theological enemies burned to death in green slow-burning wood.)

"There is the cup of trembling and of wrath. Your hands must take it, your mouth must drink it. But you can never drain it. There is no last drop. Infinite vengeance ever fills it to the brim. Eternal wrath is ever bringing more. What is the curse? It is the endless accumulation of all the miseries which God's resources can command and God's power can inflict. It is the fiery torrent from the lake of fire. It is the pain which cannot be keener, despair which cannot be blacker, and anffguish which cannot be more bitter. It is eternity in the oneness of all torment." Dean of Glouchester - Christ In All.

"It would be difficult to measure the waters of the sea; but it is impossible to reckon the ages of a boundless eternity. After millions of years it have will only begun. God's wrath in hell will be always ‘wrath to come.' Many are so tossed in this world but they have some rest. There are few tempests without some lull between the storm. But there is no pause in that storm which falls upon the inhabitants of hell." Bishop Oxenden—Late Metropolitan of Canada.
Go to: Quotes from Christian Perpetuators of the Mythology of Hell or http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/hell-fire.htm for more which are too many to quote here.

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