Spiritual condition in Israel during the Judges

The Curse on Micah

V 1 - 4

God has given us 3 institutions in society

Home

Government

Worshiping

Micah stole from his mother 1100 pieces of silver

his mother pronounced a curse on the preson

he was so superstitious he gave it back

mother dedicated to God all the money

but only used 200

Mother and son are both thieves, liars, Idolaters, covet,

The Home is Foundation for society

ccc2207 The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.

in a good home

the parents teach good behaviors

respect authority

hard work

how to get along with others

to be fair, honest, and charitable

Former acting attorney General Robert Bork

Former acting attorney General, Robert Bork in his book Slouching towards Gomorrah

Slouching towards Gomorrah

during every generation civilization is invaded by hordes of untamed barbarians—by this he meant that babies are born, and that without the influences of the family and then of the community, these babies might overthrow a civilization, having no will to maintain the moral order necessary for both stable society and individual liberty when they come of age.

look at Micah’s home life V 1-4

Micah stole from his mother 1100 pieces of silver/ didn’t bother him

his mother pronounced a curse on the preson

he was so superstitious he gave it back

Taught by his mother to steal

dedicated to God, all the money

but only used 200

Mother and son are both thieves, liars, Idolaters, covet,

He has no respect for authority, Parents,

following the 10 comm is not happening

Has no respect for Gods authority, Shiloh is very close

Has his own priest

Cant really blame Micah for who he is, taught by mom

Where is the dad in his life?

The Home, the foundation of society is crumbling

Each One Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes

V 6

the shrine, priest, idols, smattering of Almighty God

Supersticious

his mother pronounced a curse on the person who stole

he was so superstitious he gave it back

V 13 a Gen-u-ine Levite priest

now I know, that God will bless

He is so sure he is right

if he only knew,

Satan had him blinded to the truth

A new medical term RELIGIOUS TRAUMA SYNDROME

Valery Tarico Religious trauma syndrome : how some organized religions leads to mental health problems

In addition to anxiety, RTS can include depression, cognitive difficulties, and problems with social functioning. In fundamentalist Christianity, the individual is considered depraved and in need of salvation. A core message is “You are bad and wrong and deserve to die.” (The wages of sin is death.) This gets taught to millions of children through organizations like Child Evangelism Fellowship, and there is a group organized to oppose their incursion into public schools. I’ve had clients who remember being distraught when given a vivid bloody image of Jesus paying the ultimate price for their sins. Decades later they sit telling me that they can’t manage to find any self-worth. After twenty-seven years of trying to live a perfect life, I failed. . . I was ashamed of myself all day long. My mind battling with itself with no relief. . . I always believed everything that I was taught but I thought that I was not approved by God. I thought that basically I, too, would die at Armageddon. I’ve spent literally years injuring myself, cutting and burning my arms, taking overdoses and starving myself, to punish myself so that God doesn’t have to punish me. It’s taken me years to feel deserving of anything good. Born-again Christianity and devout Catholicism tell people they are weak and dependent, calling on phrases like “lean not unto your own understanding” or “trust and obey.” People who internalize these messages can suffer from learned helplessness. I’ll give you an example from a client who had little decision-making ability after living his entire life devoted to following the “will of God.” The words here don’t convey the depth of his despair. I have an awful time making decisions in general. Like I can’t, you know, wake up in the morning, “What am I going to do today? Like I don’t even know where to start. You know all the things I thought I might be doing are gone and I’m not sure I should even try to have a career; essentially I babysit my four-year-old all day. Authoritarian religious groups are subcultures where conformity is required in order to belong. Thus if you dare to leave the religion, you risk losing your entire support system as well. I lost all my friends. I lost my close ties to family. Now I’m losing my country. I’ve lost so much because of this malignant religion and I am angry and sad to my very core. . . I have tried hard to make new friends, but I have failed miserably. . . I am very lonely. Leaving a religion, after total immersion, can cause a complete upheaval of a person’s construction of reality, including the self, other people, life, and the future. People unfamiliar with this situation, including therapists, have trouble appreciating the sheer terror it can create. My form of religion was very strongly entrenched and anchored deeply in my heart. It is hard to describe how fully my religion informed, infused, and influenced my entire worldview. My first steps out of fundamentalism were profoundly frightening and I had frequent thoughts of suicide. Now I’m way past that but I still haven’t quite found “my place in the universe.

Why are all these people suffering?

they were indoctrinated into a religion

they were scared into saying a prayer

Satan, with the help of religious people, have filled their minds with half truths= all lies

and now they suffer,

And their only hope is Jesus

God is not the author of confusion, but peace

The truth is Jesus, and the truth will set you free

this grieves my heart that the “christian church” did this

They did what was right in their own eyes

the preacher/teacher was teaching the Bible correctly in fully convinced their own eyes,

But is was not the truth

Micah’s Day... is Today

What can be done?

Pray- this is a mess only God can fix

Love- Only the love of Jesus, through us can reach

Stop blaming the children for who they are love them and teach

Stop blaming society Satan is in the world they do what he says

2 Timothy 2:15 AV

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Study to show yourselves aproved unto God

Pray- this is a mess only God can fix

Love- Only the love of Jesus, through us can reach

Don’t be disheartened God is still on the throne

Be like Noah dont stop until the door is closed