In the recent Catholic Peace Weekly's Peace column, the director of news gives us a look at a problem with pseudo-religion during this Coming Easter season.
Religious society becomes murky due to the activities of pseudo-religious groups, especially at this time of the year celebrating again the Lord's Resurrection Day.
Pseudo-ism and heresy are different. Heresy is considered deviating greatly from the orthodox tenets of established religion, pseudo-religious groups abuse the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution.
Pseudo Religion destroys both the spiritual and physical lives of those who become followers. They placate the followers with disguised interest and false love, distort the Bible and doctrine, induce blind faith in the religious leader, and brainwash the believers. If they leave, they attack and terrorize, and make them tremble in fear
A common characteristic of pseudo-religious leaders is that they claim to be 'messiahs', and gods. They distort the resurrection faith of Jesus and deceive the believers to satisfy their private desires through sexual violence, and extortion. 2000 years ago the resurrected Jesus has returned to delegate them the mission of the Second Coming. So they came up with the bizarre logic that only by believing and obeying them can they be saved and go to heaven.
So how did Jesus actually resurrect from the dead and foretell the Second Coming? The Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ are described in all four Gospels of the Bible. There are additions and subtractions in each Gospel, but the time, process, and words of the resurrection are all consistent.
Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He died about three o'clock in the afternoon with a loud cry. "My God. My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34), "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23,46).
This is how Jesus was buried. Joseph of Arimathea, who had followed Jesus as a respected member of the Jewish Council, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body to be handed over. Upon Pilate's permission, Joseph took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in linen, placed it in a new tomb hewn out of the rock, and blocked the entrance to the tomb with a large stone.
The resurrection of Jesus took place at dawn on the first day of the week after the Sabbath. It was the third day since he died. Early in the morning, when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, the stone had been removed and the body of Jesus was nowhere to be seen. Peter and the other disciples who came later confirmed this. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, who was left alone in the tomb, Also that evening, he appeared in front of his disciples and gave them a new mission, saying, "I will be with you until the end of the world" (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus' ascension was accomplished in such a way that after blessing his disciples at the place where they were gathered, he ascended into heaven, and the figure of Jesus disappeared from sight as a cloud enveloped him. The Acts of the Apostles mentions the words of two men in white to the disciples during Jesus' ascension. "This Jesus, who has ascended into heaven, will return before your eyes in the same way as he ascended into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
Pseudo-religious leaders who claim to be the 'Second Coming Jesus' distort and adapt the "Lord’s Second Coming and Judgment" using metaphors and symbols, promoting mysticism, and then deifying themselves.
We are not to understand the words of the Bible only as symbols and metaphors and interpret them arbitrarily. Like a pseudo cult, you can fall into delusions and hallucinations. You must read, listen, and interpret the Bible correctly so that you do not fall into pseudoscience. The cross is a symbol of righteous resistance and sacrifice. Jesus is always resurrected in us. We need to be better imitators of Jesus if we want to see the disappearance of pseudo-religions and give relief to their followers. Happy and Blessed Easter.
