What Happened to the Church?

Surprisingly, with such a great beginning, the church became corrupted fairly quickly. While it seems there were always lights within the church, the main church became increasingly corrupted. Eventually, the reformers spoke up, and that was met with force and resulted in physical conflict.

Most Christians at that time believed in divine revelation to some extent. Some believed divine revelation and infallibility were imparted to church councils. Some believed divine revelation was necessary to believe the Bible could be trusted. In other words, they gave God the glory for the fact that they trusted the Bible. Some believed divine revelation was necessary to interpret the Bible. Everyone had a mix of divine revelation and rationalism.

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Early Church Corruption

Looking into the history leading to the philosophy of Rationalism, nothing was as clear-cut as we would like.

Early in church history, disorders and disagreements developed. Gnosticism claimed secret knowledge and changed the nature of Christ and salvation. Marcion edited his own Bible to change the nature of God. The most confusing disruption was over Montanus, who believed in moving in the Spirit where direct, spontaneous prophetic guidance brought heightened spiritual vitality, repentance, and power. Some were troubled about any authoritative revelations in prophecy, although no Montanist oracles claimed to be superior to Scripture, and none of them conflicted with Scripture.

The church fathers of that day did a strange thing. In fear, they disregarded God’s orders in Scripture and moved toward humanly-designed systems that clamped down on the moving of the Holy Spirit. The result was increased authority and reduced participation. They stopped having meetings where each member had a song, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation, or a prophecy. They changed the order of the local church leadership too. God’s order was multiple local elders who were co-equal.

The office of elder, overseer, bishop, shepherd, and pastor was one office. They were not separated. Every elder was a bishop, which means overseer, and a pastor, which means shepherd. When trouble developed, they changed this order and separated the office of bishop from the office of elder.

Instead of more closely following God’s order for governing the church, church leaders rationalized a more complex structure of church polity. Instead of more closely following God’s order for meetings, church leaders rationalized a system that clamped down on ministry from the common people. Over time, more changes were rationalized. All that structure required money. With money came corruption.

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God Speaks Today

God tells us to trust Him and depend on His voice even when what He is saying doesn’t fit into our inner view of the world.

God Speaks. We can depend on Him. We cannot trust human intellect.

Romans 1:21 says that although people knew God, “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” This states that the natural mind malfunctions spiritually.

1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… he is not able to understand them.” Each of us has a carnal mind, and that mind cannot grasp spiritual truth.

Romans 8:7–8 says, “The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God… it cannot submit to God’s law.” This is not just weakness; it’s active resistance.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things… who can understand it?” In Hebrew thought, heart includes mind, will, and reasoning. Scripture says it is deceitful, sick, and unreliable.

1 Corinthians 1:18–25 contrasts God’s wisdom with human wisdom, calling the latter “foolish.” Human reasoning cannot climb up to God; God must reveal Himself and His wisdom and knowledge.

Romans 12:2 tells you to “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If the mind must be renewed, then in its natural state it is broken.

Psalm 94:11 says, “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.” Human reasoning is described as empty, vain, and insubstantial.

In 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 Paul says unbelievers’ minds are “blinded” so they cannot see the gospel. This is a spiritual incapacity, not just ignorance.

Ephesians 4:17–18, 22–23 says that unbelievers walk “in the futility of their minds,” being “darkened in understanding.” The solution is to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”

Proverbs 3:5–7 tells you to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” Scripture warns that relying on our own reasoning is spiritually dangerous.

In John 8:43–47 Jesus says people “cannot bear to hear” His word because they are not of God. The issue is not intellect but spiritual inability.

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Let’s Talk About Reason

Let’s talk about reason. Reason can be sound or unsound. Sound reason is based on truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. ALL wisdom and knowledge of the truth are hidden in Him.

Rationalism is unsound reasoning because it isn’t based on truth. So Rationalism urges us to trust the human mind, and Satan is behind that message even if that message is religious and sounds good.

God tells us to trust Him and depend on His voice even when what He is saying doesn’t fit into our inner view of the world.

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FREE: One semester spiritual transformation for children, young people, & adults
https://freegospelmusic.org/by-grace-through-faith-homeschool-course/

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The intersection of Reason, Christ, and Transformation
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Satan Uses Rationalism

You can rationalize anything.

Rationalism is one of Satan’s key tools to battle for control of your mind.

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The intersection of Reason, Christ, and Transformation
link also in my bio.
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Rationalism Exposed

Strict rationalism in philosophy means that human reason alone is the ultimate source of knowledge. Many people talk about “reason” but they really mean rationalism. When they say they are reasoning, they mean they are rationalizing. When you rationalize, you think irrationally but in a way that sounds rational. Rationalizing is the art of making irrational thinking seem rational.

There are many ways to rationalize, but they all have one thing in common. None of them are based on truth. All of them are based on some form of made-up stuff. It’s the made-up stuff posing as true stuff that makes rationalism irrational. Rationalism is always based on made-up stuff. Rationalizing is hiding the fact that the rationalizations are based on made-up stuff.

There is one way to escape rationalism and thinking based on made-up stuff. You need truth. To have truth, you must know a Person Who knows all things and Who can’t lie. That Person is Jesus Christ. Listen to Him. Learn to discern.

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FREE: THE QUEST FOR TRUTH JOURNEY a Whiteboard Animation
The intersection of Reason, Christ, and Transformation
link also in my bio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5q0Fw7hiog&list=PL1YAA-DMTsLgTqLlzJf4TuFhx1Sl5DZkl

Skeptics Don’t Question Rationalism

Skeptics of divine revelation and of God aren’t skeptical of rationalism. And there are many shades of rationalism, some being more extreme than others. Rationalism is a way of interpreting experiences, observations, or the Bible. The main characteristic of rationalism is that it assumes the human mind can create knowledge of truth somehow. Sometimes, this is stated as common sense, but different groups of people make different assumptions and have different worldviews, so they have different common sense. In other words, there’s nothing in common about common sense between different groups of people.

However, there’s only one Jesus. All who sincerely and persistently seek Jesus find Him. Jesus leads, teaches, and corrects all who follow Him. All wisdom and knowledge of the truth are hidden in Him. It would be impossible for Him to lie or get it wrong. If you get it wrong but continue to seek His wisdom and understanding, He will correct you in time.

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FREE: One semester spiritual transformation for children, young people, & adults
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FREE: THE QUEST FOR TRUTH JOURNEY a Whiteboard Animation Exploring the Intersection of Reason, Revelation, & Transformation
We trust our minds to reason, but the mind cannot reach truth on its own, and reason collapses without truth.
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Watch the complete journey through the link in my bio.
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Only Two Other Options For Thinking

If we don’t follow Christ and listen to His voice, we have only two other options.

In the occult world, witches, warlocks, fortune tellers, and others receive revelations from demons. Some people believe in some other god, maybe Muslim, Hindu, Satanist, or New Age, and many of those are involved with the occult. These are working with demonic power. However, not listening to Christ is an open invitation for even Christians to be influenced by deceptive spirits.

Then we have the other option of leaning on human understanding. That includes the secular world and the cessationist world. The formal philosophy of Rationalism came out of what is ironically called The Enlightenment. Although, the roots of rationalism go back to the Garden of Eden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil—the forbidden fruit, and the fall into sin. Rationalism is the irrational philosophy that says the human mind can manufacture knowledge of the truth without the benefit of observation, experience, or divine revelation.

FREE Books:
“The Nuts and Bolts of Being Rational”
“How God Will Transform You”
“Encyclopedia of Logical Fallacies”
“Real Faith & Reason”
“How to Walk in God’s Glory”
“Your Metamorphosis”
“Exposing the Real Creation-Evolution Debate”
https://realreality.org/downloads/

FREE: One semester spiritual transformation for children, young people, & adults
https://freegospelmusic.org/by-grace-through-faith-homeschool-course/

FREE: THE QUEST FOR TRUTH JOURNEY
A Whiteboard Animation Exploring the Intersection of Reason, Revelation, & Transformation
We trust our minds to reason, but the mind cannot reach truth on its own, and reason collapses without truth.
Join the quest and explore the intersection of reason, revelation, & transformation.
Now streaming on YouTube.
Watch the complete journey through the link in my bio. bit.ly/QuestForTruthJourney
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CARNAL THINKING

Satan wants you to depend on your own mind. The carnal mind has been in slavery to Satan since Adam and Eve obeyed Satan and ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The mind you were naturally born with has knowledge, but that knowledge is tainted and corrupted.

Christ IS the Truth, and ALL knowledge and wisdom are hidden in Him. ALL who sincerely and persistently seek Him find Him. He leads, teaches, and corrects all who follow Him.

COMING TOMORROW, FRIDAY, 10/23 THE QUEST FOR TRUTH JOURNEY
A WHITEBOARD ANIMATION EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION OF REASON, REVELATION, & TRANSFORMATION
We trust our minds to reason, but the mind can’t reach truth on its own, and reason collapses without truth.