Do You Have MTD?

There is a problem in the world today, and in the Church. We have become a people who deal in concepts and theologies that have differing meanings.

For example, Muslims worship a god, but so do Christians, Satanists, and Mormons. But we ALL worship the same god, right?

Wrong!

I have a young friend who is struggling with what she believes in. She says she prays, but to WHOM does she pray? We all have different beliefs. Who is right?

In today's Christian church there is an increasing belief that God just wants us to be happy and to do good things. It's called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD).

The term has been around since 2005 when Christian Smith wrote a book about it called Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Those teenagers are now adults and they're in sitting in our churches.

They believe that god wants them to be happy, so they can basically do whatever they want. It's very liberating, right? Everything is relative - sin, sex, drugs, personal behavior - morality in general is subject to the individual whim.

MTD people pray to a god when they want something and then wonder why he or she doesn't answer their prayers. Then they quit going to church because they see no advantage in it.

As the older generation fades away it is being replaced by individuals who believe in a false god. And we wonder why church attendance is down and apathy and lawlessness abound.

There is only one "happy" outcome to this problem. It involves repentance and Bible study.

1. Read the Bible!
2. Learn from it.
3. Modify our behavior to match it.
4. Worship the God that's in it.

Read the story of Elijah and The Profits of Baal and find out who the REAL God is.

God vs Baal

Here's an excerpt. Baal worshippers prayed to their god but no one answered.

"At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention." - 1 Kings 18:27-29

Then the God of the Bible stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park.

Pay attention to the god you worship. When someone says they will pray for you, ask them to tell you about the god they are praying to. You just might be surprised. And shocked!

Cooper Stuff clip - Alyssa Childers