“And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”.
There is a vast difference between faith and delusion, by literal or linguistic meaning and scriptural implication, even though the concepts may be scientifically proximate being both phenomenon that involve belief and occur in the minds and souls of men. My pocket Webster’s Dictionary defines faith as “belief without evidence, confidence; trust, belief in God, the Bible etc, a specific religion, anything given adherence or credence…allegiance; faithfulness” and delusion as “the act of deluding or the state of being deluded, a false, irrational and persistent belief” (to delude being “to mislead the mind or judgment of; deceive”).
According to the Vine’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible, the basic meaning of faith or “pistis” is primarily “firm persuasion” in relation to “faith in the (invisible) God or Christ or things spiritual” as distinct from “faith” in man. The word implies trust, trustworthiness, fidelity and assurance, with its elements being firm conviction of truth; personal surrender; and conduct inspired by such surrender. On the other hand, delude or delusion is defined as “to reason amiss”, wrong opinion and/or error in religion or morals. The meeting point of faith and delusion may thus be that where faith is unfounded, erroneous, false or even contrived, it may be actually delusional! The other point as may be discernible from my initial quote is that God himself may “send them” delusions!
When Paul (with Silas and Timothy) wrote the second epistle to the Thessalonians, they started with thanksgiving and prayer for the Thessalonians growing faith and love, and the suffering and persecution they were enduring for the faith. Paul declared that “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled” and then warned them against some false teachers who had come to deceive the Church with wrong theology concerning the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, before providing an explanation for the conduct of the deceiving preachers and those they were successfully deceiving-because they refused to love the truth, “God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie”!!!
I suspect that many today live in delusion (and captivity and oppression) rather than faith! I may of course add the clarification that I refer only to faith in the invisible God rather than in men, mammon or religion!!!In Biblical times, when God’s children had serious reproach in their lives, they put on sackcloth and wailed in the temple before God, and he always answered them. Today many utter empty words-“it is well”, “God is good”, “I am blessed” even as it is evident that they are not confronting their real issues before the true God. A brother or sister may be afflicted with poverty and lack, but instead of asking God for a fundamental intervention in his condition and changing his behavior, he develops a theology of poverty (just as prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God’s blessings, poverty is not necessarily evidence of righteousness!) and engages in “holy” begging. A sister is unmarried and over 40-there is something wrong-spiritually and with her character and behavior, but instead of making required adjustments, she is the loudest in Church and an evangelist on social media. Many are denied the fruit of the womb and instead of following the examples of valiant and faithful women like Hannah, Elisabeth, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, etc whom God answered and removed their reproach, they invent an alternative theology and rationalize their oppression and denial. Many’s dreams are frustrated and they attend Churches wondering when their problems will be resolved, but instead their problems are multiplied, while their Pastors boast to them daily of the blessings of God in their own lives. And the sorrowful child of God waits and waits…
Someone told me of a conversation that was a classic example of gross delusion, three “brothers” engaged in “holy” gossip about someone whose marriage they alleged was in trouble. Knowing the three, I wondered about their locus standi-one in his second marriage after divorce; another’s marriage was childless after over two decades, a medical case of confirmed impotence and depression; the third also in a second marriage, after widowhood, and in the habit of boasting how God took away his deceased first wife with his permission!!! The three regularly speak excellent “Christianese” and continue in their delusions!
God’s truth is evident and clear in the scriptures-when people refuse to believe those simple, unchanging truths, God allows them to believe in lies! According to Prophet Isaiah, God says “Just as they have chosen their own ways …so will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered”. There are examples concerning idolatry and homosexuality-Paul wrote to the Romans disparaging those who refused to glorify God instead worshipping images of men, birds, animals and reptiles “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness” and allowed them to worship and serve “the creature rather than the Creator”; and those who “God gave them up unto vile affections” whereupon men lusted after men, and women after women! For those of us who are neither idolaters nor homosexuals, we may of course note that down the passage, other categories of reprobation were mentioned-wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless…may God have mercy on us all!!!
This article was first published in BusinessDay Nigeria on February 5, 2014
