Regarding my long post from last Thursday, Jeff wrote:

"Especially interesting was your insight that even though more people were attending there were less people in service to others.

This of course also happens in the Catholic Church where people go chasing after alleged apparitions and not to the protection of life or the service of the poor."

I agreed immediately as soon as I read this. And it got me wondering, what is it that makes people operate like this? What happened at that church I used to go to seven years ago that made people crazy for what I would call an injection of false power? Why is it that some of their Catholic counterparts neglect the basic obligations of the faith in favor of things that only offer the semblance of holiness?

Jeff speculates, "There might be a doubting Thomas element of people trying to prove their faith through the personal observance of the miraculous."

I can see that. I think, indeed, in some cases, people are more susceptible to these sorts of things. Can't you just picture them saying, "If only I witnessed a miracle, then I would never doubt again." Or, "If only I felt a touch from God, my life would be changed forever and I would never have trouble living out my faith again."

But that begets another question. Aren't these people just on a quest for holiness? They want more faith, they want more of God's influence on their lives. That's what I want, too. I want to shrug the "old man" and live a pure and holy life. That's what the Saints wanted, too. And isn't the Holy Spirit constantly calling us to greater holiness?

The quest for holiness in and of itself can't be wrong. So why does it go wrong for some people?

I can't speak for the Catholic folks Jeff mentioned, who "chase after alleged apparitions." I don't know any Catholics like that right now. All I can do is testify as to what I witnessed in that protestant church-gone-haywire I blogged about. And in that particular situation, the prevailing sense you got from people was, "Me, me, me!"

Back there, people would have done anything to "get the power." They crowded into the church building every day a service was offered. They stood in long lines at the altar. Some went through all the motions of having received "the blessing," willing it to be true even if it wasn't in the hopes of making it happen somehow. As the emotional frenzy heightened (carefully orchestrated, I might add, through choice of music, increased volume and what not), they became more and more desperate. Sometimes, people would push others out of the way as they clamored for a touch from whoever was leading the service. An unwritten hierarchy formed, with the people who had received supernatural signs elevated to the top, and that led to what I can only call a competition among the congregation. People starting judging others based on how much, how often the "blessing" had been evident in that person's life. You started to hear people saying, "If he was touched that way, then I'm long overdue." And, "I'm getting it today. I'm not leaving without receiving the 'blessing'."

I believe these poor, frantic people started opening themselves up to "Anything." And "Anything" can have sinister consequences.

But that didn't matter to them. They needed the power. They needed something magnificent to happen to them, and they no longer cared where it came from. "Me, me, me!" they begged.

They wanted all the power without any the personal sacrifice. And certainly no submission to God. They wanted to command the Holy Spirit where and when to operate. They wanted to have the power to heal, the power to impart faith, the power to see the future and prophesy. They wanted to be equal to God.

Just like Eve. Just like Adam.

Original sin still dogs us all. If we don't turn our backs on original sin, we can't pursue holiness -- it's just impossible. If you try to gain holiness without turning away from original sin, you get a twisted falsehood.

God calls us to holiness. Christ died to make it possible. The Holy Spirit indwells us to guide and protect us. And the key between true holiness and the false bastardization of it is always to humble ourselves and to serve God and our fellow human beings. To make ourselves nothing like Christ made Himself nothing by taking on all our sin at Calvary.

Siiiigh. I have a really long way to go.

--Sparki