There's no doubt about it -- we Americans are a people who love our freedom, and we want nothing to get in the way. In fact, many of us resist God and want nothing to do with the church out of fear that we will be robbed of that precious freedom. Sadly, as Eugene Peterson writes in his introduction to Galations in "The Message,""When men and women get their hands on religion, one of the first things they often do is turn it into an instrument for controlling others, either putting or keeping them "in their place." The history of such religious manipulation and coercion is long and tedious. It is little wonder that people who have only known religion on such terms, experience relapse or escape from it as 'freedom.' The problem is that the freedom turns out to be short-lived." But let's not confuse God with the mistakes of His followers! God always gives us free choice, and to choose God is to discover a freedom that nothing and no one can ever take away. |
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