My wife makes her own bread, from scratch. She has her own “starter” made from flour and water that sizzles away producing all the necessary goodies for bread to rise, and all she has to do is “feed” the starter with a touch more flour when it’s bread-making time, chuck some of the starter and salt in her homemade bread mix and that’s it, no added yeast or any artificial or chemical additives needed.
And that’s what stirred the title, because store bought bread requires additives, not only to replace parts of the original grain that were removed, but also for shelf life. And what a pity, because tasty, nutrient rich bread comes from the raw grain, and only water and salt are needed to bring it out.
Which stirred the thought, “Does this apply to Christianity too?” Because the “bread of life,” as Jesus called it, came from the raw grain of his teaching (John 6:63), but over the centuries Christianity has picked up an awful lot of additives, that have separated Christians. It’s a fascinating study seeing the differences these additives have made, because we now have thousands of Christian denominations that can differ widely in their traditions, rituals, interpretations of Scripture, and their formats when meeting together.
And it’s these differences that have become the identifiers of each denomination. So instead of a church simply being “Christian,” it becomes Catholic, or Protestant, or Pentecostal, or Evangelical, etc. And if you wish to be a member of any of these churches, then you’re expected to take on the things they do that identify them as different to the other churches.
All sincerely based on a desire to obey God, I assume, but the Pharisees in their desire to obey God came up with all sorts of additives that they expected their followers to obey too. But these additives weren’t commanded by God. They were simply “the traditions of men,” Mark 7:8. And, unfortunately, they took priority over the word of God (verse 13).
So, when saying the word, “Pharisee,” it’s their added required traditions that are more likely to come to mind first. What a pity. But isn’t it the same today? When asked if we’re Christian, for instance, and we answer, “Yes,” the next question so frequently asked is: “Oh yes, and what church do you go to?” – because it’s become so important nowadays to identify Christians by their denominational identifiers and additives.
We’ve done it to ourselves, unfortunately, which is such a pity, because in Christianity no additives of any sort are needed (John 6:63).
Buck To Basics 