Religion is 'madham' in Thamizh. This term is used for the condition that an elephant is in when it is in musth – extremely raging and uncontrollable. Highly religious mankind goes uncontrollable and runs into a rage when they are confronted by equally religious men of other religions as both are blinded by the inexplicable traditions and practices of one’s own religion.

Men tend to take refuge in religion to fill the void that can be filled by God alone. Religion is a set of beliefs and resultant actions that are to be strictly adhered to by its bhakthas / devotees. To this extent, men have also invented many rules, regulations, traditions, and practices in the name of religion all designed to receive the favor of the gods. They try to earn this favor by also contributing monetarily and by indulging in social work to negate their wrongs with their rights. They assume that they can earn their salvation through these self-righteous deeds. Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Saivam, Vaishnavam, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Roman Catholicism, and Evolution are some of the leading religions worth mentioning. (Saktham, Ganapathyam, Koumaram, and Sowravam are the other four that were born in India).

Hinduism is not a religion – it is a way of life, based on Manu Dharma which is racist in origin. This was brought in by the Jewish Aryans when they arrived in India crossing the Indus / Sindhu / Indu river. Hinduism divides the society into four classes with the rich high class dominating the other three – the last one being the majority and are treated as untouchables. (Hinduism is not a unifying force!) Castes are the offshoot of this classification. The Indian constitution breaks down all castes into Forward Caste, Most Backward Caste, Backward Caste, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribes. Thousands of sub-castes come under this classification. Indians inherit their caste by birth and there is no way they can “convert” to another caste. It is a sad state of affairs when many of the so-called Christians (and believers!) still adhere to this inhuman and idiotic Caste system.

The Holy God had instructed His people Israel to remain sanctified (separated/called out) from the surrounding idolatrous gentiles that had abominable and gruesome religious and social practices and lifestyles. The gentiles bowed to idols and the demons behind them, sacrificed (sometimes even their children) to idols by shedding blood or forcing their children to enter a fire, and became part of the idol by eating food offered to idols (and the flesh with the blood of the sacrificed animals), encouraged sexual immorality in the name of their gods (devadasi system) and defiled their spirits by occult practices. This sanctification / setting aside of Israelites for a holy purpose is entirely different from the caste system that breaks the entire community under social discrimination into various classes with the lower becoming untouchable to the higher – all based on their birth or the color of their skin. Incidentally, the Jews of Jesus’ time considered the Samaritans untouchable and people like the Canaanites less than a dog. Jesus was not a racist – he had Simon, a Canaanite, as one of His disciples. He stayed in Samaria, ate and slept there ignoring the social discrimination of the time. The episode of the Syrophoenician woman in the bible is not evidence of the racist Jesus but the opposite – the all-loving inclusive love He showed to mankind irrespective of their background. In fact, Jesus can’t be a racist as He, as God, created everybody equally in the first place.

• Christianity is no more exhibiting the life of Jesus – it has become yet another religion – superstitions, traditions, festivals et al. It is filled with blind men leading the blind.

• Jesus was blatantly against religion and the religious Pharisees and Sadducees. He condemned their haughty attitude and their hypocritical lifestyle. He was against traditions and meaningless practices that defeated the original purpose of the law that was given to man. You have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. – Matt 15:6. Christians today value tradition more than the word of God. No attempt is made to probe why a certain practice is still being followed although they have no root in the Scriptures.

• Reading the Bible regularly (not for any spiritual reasons), praying repetitively (not understanding that it is a conversation with God, the Father), and attending Sunday Church are considered enough qualifications for earning the favor of God, undermining His grace.

• Christmas, Lenten, Good Friday, Easter, and Halloween (All souls day) are considered Christian, but nothing is far removed from the truth than this. Pagan festivals celebrating their abominable gods and goddesses entered the Church in the third century when the Roman Emperor Constantine became a follower of a cross that he saw in his dream one night. The worldwide Roman Empire (hence the name Roman Catholic) was declared Christian the following morning. All idol-worshippers stuck to their practices. Observed closely, most of these practices have an equivalent in the pagan religions of today.

• Innumerable cults have invaded the Church of Jesus Christ and have managed to deceive people – even the Elect, with another “man/woman” or another “book” around which they build their doctrines.
o Roman Catholic – is not Christian, it is Maryian
o Jehovah's witnesses deny the deity of Jesus Christ
o Seventh-day Adventists follow legalism and want to hold on to the Sabbath to earn God’s favor – not depend on His grace.
o Mormons bring in another “Bible” alongside the Scriptures and turn the grace of God to lasciviousness.
o Unitarians deny the trinity of the Godhead thereby denying the manhood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• All or most of these denominations mentioned below have made Christianity their religion instead of a glorious relationship with God through His Son. All these started spiritually but have become carnal.

o Lutheran evangelicals can’t get out of the roman catholic beliefs that depend on self-righteousness through good works
o Other Protestants (CSI and CNI in India) and Baptists hold on to Christ as an alternative to the gods of other religions.
o The Methodists are focused more on the methods (traditions) and practices and are low-key on experiential life with Christ.
o The Brethren and the Laymen are more focused on the fruit of the Holy Spirit and play down God’s gifts to the Church.
o Charismatics play down the fruit of the Holy Spirit and focus on His gifts – many are filled with a spirit not holy.
o The Pentecostals believe in Christ for a prosperous and trouble-free, persecution-free, sickness-free life here on earth.
o The “The” Pentecostals exclude everybody else from Heaven

• The so-called Church is not a theocracy anymore, the Lord being its Head. It has become a democracy governed by laws instituted by a committee (most of the time made of people who are not even born-again) and manipulated and enforced by the majority in the committee. Any radical corrective activity by an elected head or member is deemed unconstitutional and the “rogue” is impeached at the first opportunity. Elections to these “church”, and “pastorate” committees, and General Bodies are corrupted by money (gifts), might, and manipulation tactics.

• A local church-gathering centers around a prominent personality who replaces the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ in all matters that relate to His Church. Appallingly, in many churches, the “personality” is a “woman pastor” – unheard of in the biblical Apostolic Church of God.

o Shepherding a church is a long-lost responsibility while bossing around and being authoritative is the norm and trend.
o Accountability in matters concerning not only money but also spiritual health, nourishment and growth of the sheep is zero in many congregations. “I am accountable only to God” is a standard statement of today’s “ministers”. Pastors refuse to remain under a Church government composed of other gifts to today’s church by the Lord Himself – prophets, evangelists, teachers, and other responsible elders, deacons, and overseers. (Not pastorate committee members!). Apostles have completed their part of the responsibilities by laying the foundation.
o There is a wide gap between the pulpit and the pew – not just in the way the church sits but also in the way the pastor wants to keep the people at bay by creating fear in the minds of the believers, threatening them with dire consequences if they fail to comply with his whims and fancies or if they question his overbearing attitude.
o Believers are forced to see a halo around the pastor’s head and are given an impression that the Lord prefers communicating with him rather than with the believers themselves, ultimately creating a dependency on him for all matters not confined to spirituality alone. Some “pastors” also openly tell the believers that even having a direct encounter with him is a blessed privilege as there are millions waiting for their “dharshan” outside. Instead of becoming a man of God, they are becoming god-men and Man-gods.
o Spiritual growth of the individual takes a backseat as prosperity and “wiping off the tears” are predominant subjects preached and fake healings are stage-managed by “the gifted”.
o Money-swindling technics in the name of building funds, missionary sponsorship, and special offerings on various occasions in the lifetime of a believer are employed to increase the wealth of the pastor who keeps adding assets to himself and his generations in the name of church property all the while promising a prosperous life for their flock.
o The wife/son/son-in-law of a pastor is nominated as the successor to the ministry irrespective of whether the person is saved or has a calling for ministry.
o Doctorates and positions offered by men are sought after by the “Servants of God” and some even tend to adopt questionable methods and tricks to earn such “Dr.” and “Bishop” titles – all intended at earning the “greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi”.

• Service is fixed for a certain time usually on Sunday. Christians are in the service of their Lord every moment of their lives. They are supposed to offer themselves continually as a living sacrifice which is “reasonable service”. – Rom 12:1. Assembly of saints is for growing in apostle’s doctrine, fellowshipping, breaking of bread, and praying – not to bow to an idol like the unbelievers do. “Don’t you know that you are the temple of the Holy Ghost?”.

• Worship is a time of loud and speed-singing with heavy music (with the rhythm section in the lead) and emotional experiences with outcomes like shivering, shouting, dancing, laughing, barking, and howling. The “minister” dispenses the “spirit” by touching the gullible “bhaktas” with their DVDs, books, coats, or just plain hands. “Believers” with no born-again experience receive “the anointment” and fall being “slain” in the “spirit”. The word of God instructs, “Let all things be done decently and in order”. It is not the minister who dispenses the Spirit; it is the Lord Himself. And, He is a “gift” and is intended for the born-again believer to receive comfort, strength, and instruction. The Spirit can’t be used as a marketing tool for DVDs and books. Animal noises, “holy” laughter, and vomiting black stuff are satanic. LOL and ROFL is not “filling”.

• Baptism in water is in itself the born-again and salvation experience. The salvation and born-again experience is independent of the baptism in water. A person first must believe in the salvation that Jesus has provided for him through His death and His resurrection. He/she must repent of his / her sins (turn away from the old sinful life) and agree with God (believe) to accept Jesus as the Saviour. Salvation is a gift; it is by grace through faith. It is only then that the person is born again; he/she has placed his faith in the Word and His word which is the seed. Baptism in water follows this essential moment. An empty baptism can’t save any soul. And, baptism in water is always by immersion everywhere in the Bible. Baptism in water is not an essential qualification to go to heaven.

• The supposedly mature believers keep speaking in “tongues”; Some, audaciously, take the Lord’s name in vain to “prophecy”, some of which is based on the info they have already collected about the individual or from the books and news. Most of today’s “prophecy” is informed guesswork gleaned from the www. “Tongues speakers” usually look down on others who don’t “exhibit” this “gift”. Pride! Observed closely, they are vain repetitions of meaningless phrases that are artificially spoken to sound like a language other than the speaker’s native language. (Many are inspired by evil spirits that take hold of the person’s tongue to speak “rubbish” involuntarily.) A person filled with the Holy Spirit will be sober and exhibit “improved” judgment, not “impaired” judgment as a drunkard. While speaking in tongues is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Lord, through Paul prohibits the use of this “personal” gift publicly in the absence of an interpreter of the language in which the words are spoken. There are more “fruits” that must show up in a spirit-filled believer than just the “tongues”; there are also other “gifts” that a believer is endowed with when one is filled with the “gentle” Holy Spirit. Prophecy must direct the church and the believers towards spiritual maturity by condemning sin and directing the people of God in His purpose and plan when they tend to stagnate, backslide, choose the wrong direction, or fall into “self-direction” and self-destruction.

• Tithing and offering money and donating to the Church are supposed to earn favor from God. This is a sure means to a “prosperously blessed” life. Tithing is Old Covenant; Offering oneself completely (including all money) is the New Testament principle and this must be done cheerfully – not with a grudge or duty-bound. And God does everything to a believer because of grace, not as a return on investment. You won’t fall sick or face a loss because you don’t give to God. You fall sick probably because you are not a good steward of God’s money and are spending it on sinful stuff and gluttonous living. God does not want one’s money that is borrowed (from an office or the bank for various material purposes).

• The communion table is observed as a tradition with wafers and grape juice. Instead, the Lord’s table is an everyday experience of drawing life, nutrition, and energy from the Lord. Apart from being a memorial of the Lord’s death and resurrection that brings one into a spiritual fellowship with Him, the partaking of the bread and wine (actually, the staple food of the Mediterranean Jews of Jesus’s time) must also prepare the believer for the Lord’s return. Those who partake in this table without the spiritual experience, (to show off or hypocritical) are damned.