A couple interesting parts of the book, Broken: 7 "Christian" Rules That Every Christian Ought to Break as Often As Possible. Maybe you will be engrossed and want to read more. ;o)
"But first, if the devil is ever to slip in his own words as if they were Jesus' words, he must get us to trust him. You might think that would be quite a challenge, but in the end it is actually very easy. All he has to do is lie. The devil really has only one lie. The Lie. It's the same Lie he has been telling ever since the beginning (John 8:44; Genesis 3:4-5). As a result, he's very practiced at it. He's learned that there's more than one way to put a little spin on the same deception. He dresses up The Lie in new clothes, and he gives The Lie a new name. And at the drop of the hat, he can do it again. And again. And again. First he points you left. Then he points you right. But both directions are off the path and lead down into a bog, where the waters are muddy and fog blurs the sight. Slogging through those waters gets tough, but then along comes The Lie again (the same lie, but this time with a pretty wig and some fake eyelashes), whispering for you to try yet another direction. Not back to the path- no, never that! Just, 'This way.' 'Over yonder.'
"With each new step, the fog gets denser, and memories of the path grown dim. Your hands rub raw on the weeds and thorns. Your feet bruise on the stones sunk beneath the mud. Your conscience feels ragged and tired. Then here comes The Lie again (it's the same lie, but now with a top hat, monocle, and a refined, compelling accent), and this time he says, 'You know, you have that cursed path to blame for all of this. If you'd never been on the path in the first place, none of this would have happened to you.'
"You would think we humans, after all we've been through, might start to recognize that we've fallen for the same dupe so many times before. But the devil is the master of disguising his Lie. He is like a cook preparing immaculate masterpieces worthy of gobbling up to the last delicate crumb. To the unwary, each dish looks like a new creation, something never before seen or tasted. That is the true talent of The Lie. Even so, just as with any other kind of ingredient for a meal, there are only so many things you can do with The Lie. No matter how many spices you add to the tomato base, you can take it only so far, and after all that, it is still going to taste like tomatoes. For all the countless tweaks the devil stirs in to spice up his dish, at the end of the day it's the same old ingredients in the same old recipe" (Jonathan Fisk).
"Mysticism has found many ready listeners in American culture because American culture is a melting pot of trying to feel good. Humans have always made feeling good a high priority, but in our age we have made it an art form. Both Christians and non-Christians alike spend most of the waking day trying to feel good. When we feel bad (which happens a lot), we begin casting around the market for something new to consume in order to try and feel better. Once we find an answer, we remain as diligent in trying to make the feeling better last as long as possible. This is our way of life. It is our economy, our national pastime, and our greatest export. We believe, teach, and confess that the key to happiness is managing discomfort by increasing good feelings instead, and we are so successful at it that we've also come to assume God approaches religion the very same way. Why wouldn't God want me to be happy? Why wouldn't God want to meet my needs, take away my cares and worries, and life me up? Why wouldn't a truly good God want me to find Him by learning to feel the goodness of His presence? It only makes perfect, heartfelt sense."
"There are two main problems with this mystic pursuit of God through feeling. The first (and the biggest for Christians" is that Jesus never actually taught it. The Bible never tells you that the path to finding God lies hidden within positive experiences. It's not that Jesus has a problem with hearts and emotion in general; after all, He created them. But He didn't create them in order to speak to us through them. That was why He created words.
"The second problem with believing that we can find God in our hearts is that human emotions always have an unintended side effect: they wear off. Feelings can come with extraordinary strength. They can be as real and potent as the sun warming your face. They can fill you with confidence, conviction, and daring. They can motivate you, get you to turn your life around, and press you to achieve things you never though possible. But they inevitably also do what emotions always do- change" (Jonathan Fisk).
I would just keep typing and typing if I could, but I suggest you read this book yourself. I am not even that far, but it has opened my eyes with the little bit I have read.
The back issues I ordered of KBR finally came! Time to start reading. :o)
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