The Truth is setting me free. #1

In 2010 I decided to take on a new endeavor. I determined to read through the bible in 1 year. If this video makes its way to you, I bet you have done that. I did my best to prepare myself to have an open mind, to let God show me what I needed to see. It was a meaningful endeavor. I did it again in 2011 & 2012.

During my 2010 reading, 1 subject, a protestant/evangelical teaching, bubbled up for me that seemed to impact me more than the other bubblings. For the next several years I wrestled against The Teaching. By 2019, I had left the evangelical church, committing to myself that I would never step foot into an evangelical church again (that was foolish). Then one of my friends told me he was converting to Orthodoxy.

Huh? What's that? Some ancient form of Christianity? Okay, I’ll look into it. While my love for the evangelical church was dead, my love for God, His people, and his creation was still alive and wanting more. My first litmus test was to see what the Orthodox church had to say about The Teaching. Turns out, they declared The Teaching heretical some time ago. But not too long ago, The Teaching hasn’t been around that long!

Anyway, sometime around 2011 somehow I heard this quote on the radio which is often attributed to Samuel Langhorne Clemens, pen name Mark Twain. Its says this,
“It’s easier to fool a man than to convince a man he has been fooled.” It was one of those moments I will remember into eternity. I had been fooled. Easily fooled. Looking back now, I can’t remember the topic of deception. Not a week goes by 14 years later that I don’t ponder about that quote and wonder, “where am I being fooled?” I suppose it doesn’t matter who wrote the statement. Ironically, when The Teaching first started taking root in the protestant world, Mark/Samual was 15 years old.

All this to say, according to the Gospel of Saint Luke, Satan has authority over all the kingdoms of the world. Interestingly, Jesus didn’t refute his claim. Saint John writes in his gospel that Jesus identified Satan as a murder “from the beginning” and he is a liar. Satan’s nature is to lie.

So, I suppose this question should be asked? If Satan has authority over all the kingdoms of the world, and he is a murder and a liar, is the entire infrastructure of this world designed by Satan to deceive and kill us? I think the next question is, what are the kingdoms of the world? I have an idea of what some of them are…

The Truth is setting me free.