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by Betty J. Russell (Author)
From the womb to the grave our identity is challenged by the words of others, the words of ourselves, and the words of God. Mankind's authentic identity is flawlessly displayed in Jesus, and Jesus is the authentic and flawless Word of God. Religion has given us a distorted view of God's character. Only when we have an accurate view of God, will we recognize ourselves reflected in Jesus.
Indoctrination is a process of teaching one to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. Critical thinking is the process of separating Truth from lies. We would do well to heed God's words spoken in Scripture, recorded in the Book of Jeremiah 8:8 (ESV); "How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie." Jesus spent His entire ministry on planet earth refuting the distortions and lies taught under the religious leaders of the day. Only 2% of the population were literate in this culture and therefore depended on the educated to guide them into truth.
Jesus is truth in His very essence. He is described as "the WORD of GOD" in John chapter 1. Religion has equated the Bible to be the word of God. This has led to a myriad of interpretations, translations, and denominations all claiming to know the truth. Jesus said to the Religious teachers, and I believe is still saying this of many of our religious leaders today: "You scrutinize the Scriptures tirelessly, assuming that in them you embrace the life of the ages-yet I AM what the Scriptures are all about." (Mirror Study Bible). Jesus is the LOGOS (Word). Let me put it another way. Jesus is the Logic of God. "Logic is an absolute . . . for existence cannot BE what it is, and NOT BE what it is. It is obvious therefore that TRUTH and LOGIC are inseparable." (Roger Smalling D.Min)
We dare not sacrifice truth on the altar of indoctrination. Why do you believe what you believe? This is a crucial question to ask yourself. Know this. You will never be met with offence from God in questioning what you have been taught...even from "Biblical Scholars". God's Spirit is your teacher, and resides in ALL mankind before time began. This indwelling is not by invitation (God did his part now I must do my part). Jesus, God and Spirit reside in us by proclamation and declaration before we were born. God is eternal. We were created in His image and likeness. God is love. God is Truth. God is Light. Believe in the absolute truth of your original design. Your identity is entwined in a matrix of love and grace devoid of any expectations and/or conditions to receive such. When our identity becomes entangled in laws and commandments, we loose sight of our true identity. Words of Judgement and condemnation, rejection, accusation or separation from any source, are not words of God. Remember this important fact! Believing does not make something true, therefore unbelief cannot make something not true.
