July 20, 2004

Letters from Babylon

To:                   Lucifer, Prince of Darkness, Angel of Light

From:               Dracma, Overlord of Babylon

Subject:            Operation Clergy/Laity

Angel of light and My most Glorious Master,

It is with deep humility that I give you an update on my activities here in Babylon, aka Amerika, the land of the “free”.  I have been very busy lately getting ready for the “end game” as we like to call it.  Yes, when we began this game so many years ago, I was called Drachma and I was the Overlord of ancient Babylon…. But times have changed and yet everything still seems the same, except my name which dropped the “h”.  

These humans are still as easy to lead around as ever.  Most are ‘dead’ and don’t even know it.  The rest, the so-called “born agains” are a little more problematic.  However, they are controllable as long as we keep them in their place – mere observers, the dutiful audience for the professionals who challenge them week after week to find greater self-fufillment.  The new mega churches are the entertainment centers of the future.  As the congregant walks in, he doesn’t hear any of those dirge hymns of yesteryear – but hard rocking music like you would hear in a concert.  The new “seeker friendly” service never mentions the three letter “s” word any more.  It is just too negative and won’t attract the poor heathen!  Meanwhile, the multimedia is astounding – huge screens all around which let the people feel the action!

They actually goes door to door in the neighborhoods with marketing surveys finding out what people really want.  Now this works out real well for us because people want to be pampered, challenged a little and have their needs taken care of (their children, marriages, or interest groups).  They have golf and tennis ministries, sewing and quilting – everything you can imagine.  They have to be very careful to give the folks what they want or they will go to the mega church down the street so they have to be very careful.  They keep it nice and superficial.  Every now and then, we may lose a soul, but not that often because folks don’t ever hear much about sin, repentance, sanctification, etc.  Those words are just too big to understand or give much thought to.  KISS, “Keep it simple, stupid”, is the order of the day.  Besides, these old fashioned concepts are way too negative!!! 

Now, the leadership wants obedient followers so they insist that the rank and file sign a covenant to support the pastors.  This is one way the mega churches exact obedience out of people.  If they don’t get with the program, they are invited to go to the church down the street.  The other way to hit them is for a senior apostle or prophet to come along and anoint one of the leaders as apostles.  Now these guys are the “heavy weights”.  Anyone who disagrees with them are disagreeing with “God’s anointed” on the earth.  What a concept!  We thought we lost the hierarchies when the Reformation came along.  But now, there are hierarchies of self-appointed apostles who speak what we used to call “ex-cathedra” and these guys think they are the “rhema word” or the “oracle of God” on the earth!

You go visit the extreme charismatic church and you find people who are told to check their minds out at the door, leave their Bibles at home and let their minds go blank.  We know what an open mind and a dead spirit is – the devil’s playground!  We have these folks twitching, rolling in the isles, barking, howling and laughing up a storm – drunk in the “spirit” they call it – holy ghost drunk!  Then they go on to the main service that a hypnotist would be proud of as people slain in the spirit fall left and right, throw their crutches away and run through the isles!  Elmer Gantry would be proud of what gets done these days in the name of G..d!

So this is what the modern church is coming to – sanctuaries of self-fulfilled, SUV owning, two income, hard working American families who get entertained and go home feeling pretty good, to the chips, beer, barbeques and ball games.  There is a small minority we have to worry about but most are effectively neutralized.  No one demands much of them and the “church” staff takes care of them. 

If anyone dares to dissent, they are isolated and labeled as rebellious laity who don’t know what they are talking about.  How dare them oppose the apostles, prophets, pastors and priests who represent G..d’s authority!  Who do they think they are?  They are mere lay people!  They don’t know anything!  They’re just common people, mere sheep!  What seminary or Bible School did they go to?  What are their credentials?

You see, the seeds we planted due to the lazy and naturally religious nature of man, have led to the marginalization of the laity – unskilled, uneducated, unqualified people who need the professionals to take care of spiritual things for them.  As in the beginning, so shall it be in the end – lambs led to the slaughter.  They have no idea the things we have planned for them!  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!

Your Humble Servant,

DRACMA, Overlord of Babylon

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