is a call for action to African Americans to reform their religions, social practices, and culture for recreating new attitudes and behaviors in both themselves and America, and introduces him into the mainstream of Black critical thinkers and motivators.

Here is a sample chapter.

Essays from Church, Volume 1
by Daniel Hardman

Chapter 21

St Mark 9v38-41

"And John answered him saying, 'Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and he was not of our company, so we stopped him because we did not recognize him as one of us. But Jesus said, 'Don't forbid him. There is no man who shall do a miracle in my name and afterward lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us; and whosoever gives you even a cup of water in my name, knowing you belong to me, I say to you that truly he will not lose his reward."

Why do we have Christians, Muslims, Catholics, Buddhists, and so many religious sects? Why are there so many varieties of the same thing? Because there are so many different people. But in our society today, this American society, variety allows for competition. Does the old saying, "Variety is the spice of life" have a deeper meaning when it comes to religion in America? I think so.

America is based on democracy, which in turn is based on capitalism. Capitalism means the pursuit of money or things of value. Not values, but things of value! Long ago, in a land far away, certain men found a way to connect the two ideas, religion and money. It has exploded into what we have today, a system of beliefs centered around the most valuable of valuables, money. People trade diamonds, gold, food, medicine, even other people for the chance to gain money!

Is it any wonder that the church today has become the collection point for such massive amounts of capital? Is it any wonder that 99.9999999% of all ministers and pastors teach their congregations to give their money before they are even able to pray for themselves? The very day you visit a church for the first time, you are expected to contribute money without even knowing anything about the pastor or the church!

The church today is nothing more than a business opportunity for the so-called minister, who is nothing more than a religious entrepreneur using the unsuspecting churchgoer to carry the burden of sustaining his/her business venture. Variety is the spice of life indeed, because it gives each person who claims to called by God into ministry the favorable circumstances needed to strike out on their own. In many cases, using an orchestrated disagreement with their pastor, or an imagined spiritual leading as justification to start yet another business. I mean uh, church. We need another church like we need a hole in the head.

My question is this: Has God ever led anyone to join his/her church with another church in a bid for unity? The Bible says 'God is not the author of confusion,' but what we have is total confusion today. (Things that make you go, "Hmmmm.") So by normal reasoning, not great intellectual depth or spiritual insight, one can see that God did not inspire these actions or this line of thinking, period. This is obviously man's doing.

Jesus told his disciples to leave those alone who seemed to be different from themselves, but were yet doing the will of God. Can't the great spiritual leaders of our day comprehend this truth? I tell you that God is not in this thing at all! Being Buddhist is one thing, but being Methodist, Baptist, Southern Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, Mormon, Catholic, Apostolic, etc. . . . is quite another.

For God to have given man this idea of xerox pietisms is, as Mike Tyson would say, ludicrous! Jesus gave the direct order forbidding sectarianism. What is sectarianism? It means "a religious group deviating from a generally accepted tradition or intended purpose." But because of the lure of wealth, men have completely ignored his words and gone about their own way, determined to use the church for raising their own financial status.

We often wonder why the world is in such turmoil. It is because we have allowed it to happen. We, YOU and I, are responsible! We looked the other way pretended we did not see anything. We just sat back and let it happen because it is so much easier to feign ignorance than to take responsibility for our world. So when things go wrong we say we didn't know, thereby ducking the consequences, or so we think. Just because you elude your charge for a time does not mean you can dodge the consequences forever.

People are beginning to realize this now and they are furious! They now realize they have been using the wrong measuring stick to evaluate those who claim to be ministers. That is why we have so many Jim Bakers, Robert Tiltons, Reverend Ikes, and such. There are many among the clergy who fit this description and you will begin to see them more and more as we move toward the climax of this drama.

People don't give themselves enough credit and so end up vulnerable since they are in need. The power is with the masses of the people, but we don't listen to ourselves. We take heed to every voice except the one we need to take heed to, our own inner voice. The reason sectarianism is so negative is because God is in all of us and it doesn't matter what you call yourself, you are God in the flesh! That sounds like treason and heresy, but we fear God instead of respecting God. There is a huge difference, and when we learn what that difference is, we will become who we were meant to be.

I said earlier that I have been a minister since 1987. I no longer call myself a minister. I am a regular person who has taken it upon myself to learn and do for myself. I do not want to be a part of the world I just described. If there is a heaven, I will make it there due to my relationship with my creator, not because of my membership in any church. Nor because I follow any preacher, or because I am a member of Promise Keepers or any other organization. I will make it based on my own actions, so why should I let any man interfere when they can neither add to nor take away from my ability to achieve heaven?

If you want to see a change in institutionalized religion, stop going. It's that simple. Those who are in it for the money will soon leave and find some other way to make a living. Those who really are called by God will stay and revamp the entire system so that it will begin to meet the needs of the people it is supposed to serve, instead of the people meeting the needs of the church. On the other hand, if you don't want to see a change, continue as you are and watch things get even worse.

Since I have stopped going to church on a regular basis, my life is much fuller. I am learning about myself and my creator. I said earlier that I don't believe God is accurately represented in the Bible, or any other book that claims to be God-inspired, but it, like those other books, does contain a lot of truth. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is within you. He also said that we are gods! Stop listening to those who want you to believe it is impossible to comprehend what God is saying without their help. Remove the middleman.

Free your mind and think for yourself. God gave you your own mind, and it's time you began to use your own reasoning and intuition. It might be scary at first, but once you get the knack of it you will begin to build your confidence and realize that truly 'with God, all things are possible.' I'm not worried about what people say about me. I remember when I used to try and be like them, how they talked about me. Now that I am learning to be what I was created to be, who cares what they think? I am free to set the course for my own life rather than letting someone with impure motives influence me to do what they want me to do.

We can only blame ourselves for letting evil people take us in the wrong direction. We can only blame ourselves if that direction isn't changed. Jesus was the supreme example of how to guide your own destiny. Renew your minds and get back on the right path.

Copyright (c) 2005 by Dan Hardman

Essays from Church - Volume One
Daniel D Hardman
Penknife Press (Chicago, IL) www.penknifepress.com
Purchase at Edincorporated.com
ISBN 0-9741949-6-4; $10.95

© January 2006 By Afromerica

Brother Dan Hardman will be keeping the Black community informed on issues concerning the church and righteous living. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

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