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The Two Ditches: Atheism on the Left, Imperial Dictator God on the Right

The Two Ditches: Atheism on the Left, Imperial Dictator God on the Right

God is Creator — builder of all reality (space, time, energy, life) — and God’s laws are the laws upon which reality are constructed to operate — the laws of physics, health, and the moral laws.

One cannot break God’s design laws and remain in harmony with life. All deviations from God’s design for life unavoidably result in injury, pain, suffering, and ultimately death — unless remedied by God.

God’s law cannot be changed in any form or fashion. To change even the slightest element of God’s law would cause the universe to fall apart and cease to exist.

Rejection of the truth about God and His design protocols for life always results in pain, suffering, and death — regardless of whether that rejection is to the left (Atheism) or to the right (Christian fundamentalism with an Imperial God-construct).

Evidence that rejection of God to the left (Atheism) damages and destroys:

  • The French Revolution: In the late 18th century, the French parliament voted to reject God and embrace the Goddess of Reason. The result? A combination of horrible hedonistic debasement, cruelty, and violence. The country was torn by the Reign of Terror in which tens of thousands were executed in both internal and external wars.
  • Communist Soviet Union and Communist China: Both countries rejected God and His methods and principles. Instead they promoted the doctrine of a godless universe with a principle of “Survival of the Fittest.” Millions died as a result of the evolutionary idea that the strongest should survive and dominate the weak, even though it was presented through the Marxist mantra.

Rejecting God, and moving to a godless frame for society, unleashes the basest passions infecting humanity — fear and selfishness. Only the power of love, emanating from our God of love, is capable of restraining these destructive forces. When we reject God, He grants us freedom and we reap what we have chosen. His restraining power is removed and selfishness, exploitation, violence, and destruction ensue.

While recent history has given us ample evidence that rejecting God altogether (moving to the ditch on the left) results in destruction as the infection of fear and selfishness breaks out unrestrained, there is greater evidence from history that the ditch on the right (Imperial God-concepts) is equally damaging.

What are Imperial God-concepts? The idea that God’s law is functionally no different than the types of laws humans enact — imposed rules, rather than design protocols. Such imperial rules require the ruling authority to use its power to enforce adherence to the law and thus punish rule-breakers. In this construct, God is presented as the source of inflicted pain, suffering, and death, all under the claim of “divine justice.”

Because of one of God’s design laws, the law of worship (or modeling), we are actually changed to become like the god we admire and worship. Thus, when the dictator views of God are taught, people become more authoritarian. They will eventually use the methods of coercion to punish those they view as breaking God’s laws. History is replete with this type of behavior:

Evidence that rejection of God to the right (Imperial God-constructs) damages and destroys:

  • The Dark Ages: those who believed differently were burned at the stake.
  • The Inquisition: An authoritarian church aimed to root out and punish heresy through torture, imprisonment, and death.  
  • Conversion from Islam: Muslims who convert to another religion risk being punished or even killed for their decision.
  • The Rwanda genocide: More than one million people were killed in 4 months during the Rwandan Civil War in the 1990’s. The primary killing zones were churches. People from every denominational group participated in the killing and were convicted of war crimes. In the aftermath, researchers found the common denominator, which separated those who participated in the killing from those who protected the refugees, was the god-concept held. Those who had an authoritarian god, with imperial law that inflicted punishment for law-breaking, participated in the killing. But those who worshipped a God of love, who seeks to heal and save people (consistent with design law), protected the refugees. It didn’t matter what denomination, how they were baptized, what day they worshipped upon — the only factor that mattered was whether they rejected the truth about God’s character of love and His design law methods.

While rejecting God and moving to a godless view of the universe (the ditch to the left) results in pain, suffering, and death, accepting a false view of God as dictatorial and His law as imperial rules that require Him to inflict punishment for breaking His law (the ditch on the right) is just as damaging, if not more so.

Satan, the master deceiver and trickster, gets people in both the left and right ditches to attack each other. Both groups are suffering without remedy to their terminal condition. They see the lie of the other ditch and feel relieved not to be deceived by that lie, but remain trapped in their own ditch, never realizing they, too, are dying without hope.

If we want genuine healing of mind, restoration of heart, happiness, cooperation, love, and unity — an actual healthy and vibrant life — then this is only possible by living in harmony with God’s design protocols for life.

We must reject the lie on the left that there is no God, but we must also reject the lie on the right that God is a dictator and His laws are imposed rules that require Him to punish sinners.

We must embrace the truth that the punishment for sin comes from sin itself, from being out of harmony with God and His principles of life and health. We must realize that only God can heal, only God can save, and only God can fix what is wrong with us and restore humanity back to perfection.

And this can only happen when we reject these lies and return to the truth about who God is.  Then, invite Him into our hearts to heal and transform. I invite you to reject the lies about God and experience the freedom, love, and joy that living in harmony with our Creator and His protocols for life bring!

 

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I’m a youth leader in South Africa. We as a youth group are currently using a lot of the material on the Come and Reason site. Since we’ve started using the material, our youth group has grown.

R. V. N., South Africa

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA

 

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We listen to your bible studies lessons in our class in Montana. You actually were the main reason I decided to get a laptop, so I can go to your site and listen, read, learn, and print the class notes. I am so grateful to learn the correct view of God and his character. Now, to just have others have an interest in knowing, so I can share it with them. Good thoughts your way.

R. N., MT, USA

 

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The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 26

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

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I have been really blessed reading your response to the various questions on your site.

K.C., OH, USA

 

Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

My heart thrills when I listen to your bible study lessons. Literally I have gone from death to life. It is a journey I look forward to every day, as God reveals areas this distortion affects. Praise GOD! I will ever be grateful to God for this ministry and your cooperation with the Spirit!

Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA

 

Testimony 6

I got the book “Could It Be This Simple?” a few months ago and the reading was wonderful and I was fascinated. I lent the book to a friend at work. She is having a difficult time and the book is helping her to find Jesus and I found this very exciting. She has asked me questions and I can see her life changing.

H. S., Australia

 

Testimony 11

I would love to have a copy of “Healing the Mind” DVDs to have in my therapy office. I enjoy having clients check out materials to enhance their therapy experience. I have sat under Dr. Jennings’ teaching at an American Association of Christian Counselors convention and respect his work greatly.

K.B., LA, USA

 

Testimony 32

The message [of Come And Reason Ministries is] for all Christians (and those who may become Christians) and not just Adventists or any other group. It is difficult to imagine why any [anyone] with intellectual and spiritual honesty could find fault with the way you explained the healing substitution concepts and the truth about God’s character, though I know some will reject and criticize. On behalf of those in our group near Tacoma, WA, thank you and your staff for all of the hard work and for sharing the Gospel in this manner. God’s message of healing love will be carried to the whole world and then Jesus will come – He promised it.

Terry U., Tacoma, WA, USA

 

Testimony 10

I personally download and listen to each of Come And Reason Ministries Bible study class lessons and PDF study notes to use when teaching my class. Really appreciate the class especially when Dr. Jennings is teaching. Thank God there are persons like him doing His work and traveling to share His beliefs.

B. L.M., North Plains, OR, USA

 

Testimony 30

God lead me to your book “The God-Shaped Brain” while I was searching for another book about the brain and then to your interview about your book on HeartWise Ministries [where] I found out about [Come And Reason Ministries]. I’m now devouring the webcasts of your Bible studies. I have been so greatly blessed and I thank God so much for your courage to speak the Truth in love no matter what. Listening to you contrast the two opposing systems (laws) and digging deep to unearth the hidden treasures in the Bible makes me so incredibly happy and I feel very blessed to be part of your Bible Study Group although I live far away. I am just so excited that there is a group of people that is spreading the Truth about the character of God and it saddens me how few realize what our Father in Heaven is really like.

Kessy B., Australia

 

Testimony 53

I was so blessed by a friend who gave me your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” while I was sitting in church asking God to please help me learn more about Him and help me not to be so confused and scared. That was about 2 years ago. Your books have helped me to love God even more. I’m not confused or scared anymore! I have listened to all of your bible study classes and feel like I know the wonderful people that attend every week. Thank you for all that you’re doing in spreading the true message about God and His law of love. God bless you and your whole class.

Elssy P., Modesto, CA, USA

 

Testimony 19

I truly believe that to know who God really is the first step to understand ourselves in a balanced and kind way, so the healing can take place. Your approach really makes sense – Thank you for your ministry!

A.M., Pittsburg, PA, USA

Testimony 13

I borrowed “Healing The Mind” DVDs from a friend and showed them at my home for a small gathering of women friends. Neither of my friends are Adventist, but they both enjoyed and embraced the messages you taught. In fact, one of the ladies prayed out loud in our group and that was the first time she had ever had public prayer.

J.B. ,Dalles, OR, USA