Going Rogue : Practical Faith for the 21st Century

You must be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it. (Deuteronomy 12:32 (HCSB)) The ordinances that God gave Moses in the Torah, which included the ten commandments and about 613 total commandments, were given to Israel, mostly to maintain freedom and civility to one another and to teach them the acceptable worship of God. In the Scripture above, it was strictly warned not to add or take away from those laws. By the time of Christ, however, the religious rulers had added hundreds if not thousands of ordinances and interpretations which served to bring the Israelites under control of the priests' and Sanhedrin's rule. These additions were the cause of conflict between Christ and the Pharisees. He refused to live under that yoke and taught the people a new way of life which set them free from their current circumstance. The Pharisees branded Christ a blasphemer as much for speaking out against their religious hierarchy as for declaring himself the Son of God. Today, we have "freedom of religion" but due to the current dogma and traditions that have been added for one denomination to compete with another or due to the intent to reign their congregations into living life the way the church desires, many of us are as much or more in bondage than before becoming believers. You have to eat what I eat, drink what I drink, don't drink what I don't drink, don't read what I don't read, don't listen to music that doesn't meet our approval, etc. If you believe in speaking in tongues, you're wrong, and if you don't believe in tongues, you're wrong. Do you wear shirts and ties? Do you have a tattoo? Is your hair short enough or long enough? The list goes on and on and on. We don't need freedom of religion, we need "freedom FROM religion." Using everyday language and several humorous stories and examples, "Going Rogue" uses Scripture to break through the prevailing church attitudes and manmade traditions and asks you to "try Christianity again, for the first time." Why do we need salvation? Is God love? Does the Bible mean different things to different people? Do I even have to go to church? Find the answers to many questions like these and the wonderful things in store for us now and in the future as we learn to live the way Christ meant for us to live.