How to Stay Above Deception Part 6

DANGERS OF SYNCRETISM

By Apostle Felix

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. Ecclesiastes 1: 9, 10

There is nothing new under the sun. This is a vintage expression to inform people across generations that the experiences are not new. Today’s experience is either a repeated practice or an improvement on the past practice. Most of the practices in church are past discarded dogmas and heresies that the church threw out. The church went back to the garbage place and picked up the old dogmas and heresies and called them new revelations. Church history helps us to shade light on most of the practices in the church today. Most of them are improvised old dogmas and heresies. They are not new.

The church is a product of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The foundation of the church is not vague, but is explicit in the scriptures. Jesus, Himself said that he is building the church on the foundation of Himself, as the Messiah. He emphatically said the foundation is Christ. The church has a history, just like any building has a history. It is very important to know the history of an institution in order to understand the present story and be able to predict the future. Most of the events of life are repetitions of the past. What is happening in the church today, can be traced back into the history of the church. Nothing is new under the sun.

The growth and expansion of the church came with its doctrinal challenges. The church comprised of people from different religious backgrounds. The church was born among the Jewish people, hence the church was initially Jewish with strong Judaism beliefs. The first challenge the church faced was the integration of non-Jewish people into the church. The Jewish brethren wanted the Gentiles also to embrace Judaism practices.

I, Paul, tell you: If you think there is benefit in circumcision and Jewish regulations, then you’re acting as though Jesus the Anointed One is not enough. Galatians 5: 2

With the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, circumcision and all Jewish regulations became obsolete. They were mere traditions of men with the capacity to make the word of God of no effect. Despite the presence of God and the move of the Holy Spirit, the church had an inclination to syncretism. Just like today, the church in Africa has an inclination to syncretism because of our background. A regular African is sensitized to ancestral worship and use of fetishes. This background poses a huge challenge to Christianity in Africa.