Hosea today

I read Hosea last night. VERY interesting book. I was particularly struck by the prophet calling out the priests and leaders for their complicity in leading their people away from God into spiritual whoredom. How the priests had decided that their war machines could protect them better than God. How they thought that their ways were better than what God had taught them.

I thought about how the "christian" leaders with the biggest voices tend to teach that war against the infidel is holy and that their way is the only way to God even though they ignore so much of what I read in Scripture. One verse talked about how self-satisfied the priests were with their performance ( my interpretation, not the words used ) and how much God loathed what they were doing. Another place talked about offerings that just meant the priests ate. Humpf. Sounds like name-it-and-claim-it people who coerce people into giving all they have so they can live well but the people can't pay their bills.

I combined that reading with something I heard in a sermon ( 87% of people 18-35 hear the word "christian" and think "self-righteous" ) and was concerned with how much of a role I've played in being one of those priests who thinks they're pleasing God but isn't living out God's teachings. Not that I'm a priest, but still...

The ones who are teaching things that sit well in my soul are mostly those who are looked at as not being theologically correct enough by the priests and leaders of our day. Yet they are the ones I hear teaching what I'm reading in Scripture.

I think I'll go with the ones thought to be on the edge of orthodoxy and ignore the ones who are loud and consider themselves "right".