STUDY TO SHEW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD

Studying to show thyself approved unto God. Studying does not mean regurgitating a Western ideology that you've been fed; studying requires investigation, inquiry, research (John 5:39, John 5:46), examination (2 Corinthians 13:5), and analysis of what one believes. It also requires the same critical analysis when discussing subjects with which one disagrees, such as those labeled as evil, demonic, witchcraft, or sinful. One can make a false doctrine by using scripture to demean and demonize culture because they only know and can relate to Western culture. And it is because of that bias that one can't be an effective missionary, an evangelist, nor can they present or represent the Great Commission spoken of in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-48, John 20:21, and Acts 1:8. These are " Christians" who travel to and talk about other country's culture and condemning them for such things as wearing paint on their face but you wear L'Oreal all up on your face. You condemn a culture for skin markings and piercings, but yours is ok because you wear yours only in your nose or ears (male and female). You condemn someone for having a bindi (a dot on a woman's forehead representing marriage status). Yet, Western Christians wear a wedding ring, which originates from ancient Egypt and holds cultural and symbolic significance, albeit with no spiritual meaning. You make uneducable assumptions by condemning a wide range of therapies/ Alternative medicines that are holistic and have no side effects because they are not part of conventional Western medicine. Still, you pop a pill with all kinds of side effects for everything that ills you. They try to apply the Western dress code as “Christian” when the Middle Eastern Muslim-like dress code is closer to that misnomer.

And don’t let me get on the topic of music, especially this thing called “Christian” rap, which I personally don’t care for (merely a matter of preference) but I respectfully do not condemn it. But I do like some of Dee-1's work but have some issues with some of his collaborations. However, I will make an observation: If I were a person, an unbeliever in particular coming off the street and couldn't tell the difference or didn't know if I was stepping into a Christian concert or a rave, then there might be a problem. Conversely, everything that has the word “Christian” in front of it doesn’t make it Christian, and we in the Western world should know this, especially as it relates to Western history.

Why do you think Paul, one of the greatest missionaries of his era, talks so much about condemnation and being judgmental? Paul realized that he was talking to and teaching believers from an assortment of cultures and ethnicities and had to be careful not to impose his Jewish culture and traditions on those who were not Jews. He is not referring to sin but to the condemning and judgment of others' culture, and this belief that the religious and secular ideology of one culture was the only way to be saved when Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." As a case and point (and studying), do you know that when Scripture says, "Luke was a physician," physicians back then were more holistic in their approach to healing and health; using such things as balm' to treat sores (Jeremiah), Fig as a cure for a boil (Isaiah), and Mandrake as a fertility remedy enabling Jacob and Leah to have a fifth son (Genesis). Physicians, sometimes referred to as healers, studied herbal remedies for healing and wellness, as well as modalities such as cupping and bathing therapies, with much of their training originating from Ethiopian and Egyptian cultures. And no, this is not a Black thing; it's a fact thing. Make no mistake: there is sin and evil in the world that Scripture speaks against, and there is evil in every culture. However, culture in and of itself is not evil; it may be different, and it may be something you are not accustomed to; it may not even be your cup of tea, but neither of those things makes it sinful or evil. Therefore, believers should not only study Scripture but also study world culture to rightly divide the Word of God, avoiding the misuse of Scripture to create false doctrine by equating light with darkness and darkness with light, or bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter. So, in conclusion, I will leave you with this: that it is imperative that believers, especially leaders of the faith, study and not regurgitate what they have been fed.

Be well and stay blessed,

Ray Mingo