{"id":4523,"date":"2017-12-06T10:44:53","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T16:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/?page_id=4523"},"modified":"2019-06-06T06:22:49","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T11:22:49","slug":"religion-is-disease","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-disease","title":{"rendered":"Religion is Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>GOD&#8217;S WORD HEALS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP:\u00a0See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sickeness-disease-blindness-and-deafness\">Sickness, Disease, Blindness, and Deafness.<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\" aria-haspopup=\"true\">Death, Resurrection, New Life, Salvation, Heaven <\/a>before reading this page.<\/p>\n<p>In many places in the Bible, God says that he will bring or send many kinds of misfortunes on his people:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+32:15-25;+ezekiel+5:17;+isaiah+10:16;+ezekiel+14:19;+ezekiel+14:21;+leviticus+26:22;+revelation+6:8;+ezekiel+38:22;+ezekiel+33:27;+amos+4:6-10\">famine, plague, bloodshed, pestilence, arrows, wild beasts on his people. <\/a>He also says that he will bring diseases on his people:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+28:58-61\">Deuteronomy 28:58-61:\u00a0<\/a><span class=\"verse-58\">If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name\u2014the LORD your God\u2014\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-number\">59<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"verse-59\">the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-number\">60<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"verse-60\">He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-number\">61<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"verse-61\">The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>Here is a list of diseases mentioned in the Bible:<\/div>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\" border=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 5.64099%;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 6.10252%;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 44.1282%;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Baldness<\/li>\n<li>Blindness<\/li>\n<li>Boils<\/li>\n<li>Consumption<\/li>\n<li>Deafness<\/li>\n<li>Demon possession<\/li>\n<li>Dumbness\u00a0and\u00a0Impediment of speech<\/li>\n<li>Dysentery<\/li>\n<li>Epilepsy<\/li>\n<li>Fever and\u00a0Fiery heat<\/li>\n<li>Hemorrhage and\u00a0Issue of blood<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 44.1282%;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Indigestion<\/li>\n<li>Infirmity<\/li>\n<li>Inflammation<\/li>\n<li>Insanity<\/li>\n<li>Itch<\/li>\n<li>Leprosy<\/li>\n<li>Madness<\/li>\n<li>Obesity<\/li>\n<li>Pestilence<\/li>\n<li>Plague<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>It is hard to understand why God would purposely bring disease and misfortune on his people. But in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+28:58-61\">Deuteronomy 28:58-61<\/a>\u00a0he explains the reason:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span class=\"verse-58\">If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are w<\/span><span class=\"verse-58\">ritten in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name<\/span><span class=\"verse-58\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-58\">\u2014the LORD your God\u2014\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-number\">59<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"verse-59\">the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-number\">60<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"verse-60\">He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"verse-number\">61<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"verse-61\">The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed<\/span><em><span class=\"verse-58\">&#8220;.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This scripture may be summarized this way: People who do not listen to and obey God&#8217;s spoken words\/laws will suffer misfortune and disease. They have made the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/deuteronomy\/30.html\">wrong choice<\/a> about who to listen to. The words to which God refers are his spoken words &#8212; not his written words.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: The difference between the two kinds of words are discussed in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\" aria-haspopup=\"true\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice Part 1<\/a>\u00a0and in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice-part-2\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice Part 2.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>God&#8217;s spoken words contain the words of his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#spirituallaws\">spiritual laws<\/a> which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+hebrews+8:10-11\">writes on the hearts of New Covenant<\/a> disciples. God&#8217;s laws (i.e. words, commandments) embody his name (i.e. character). The &#8220;book&#8221; referred to in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+28:58-61\">Deuteronomy 28:58-61 <\/a>is\u00a0the heart of New Covenant disciples. We know this because the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+4:23-30;+deuteronomy+4:39;+deuteronomy+5:29;+deuteronomy+6:1-6;+deuteronomy+8:1-2;+deuteronomy+10:12;+deuteronomy+11:13;+deuteronomy+26:16;+deuteronomy+29:1-4;+psalm+37:31;+jeremiah+31:31-34;+jeremiah+32:40;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">heart is the where God writes his laws. This is how we come to know God.<\/a>\u00a0Thus, people whose hearts contain God&#8217;s spoken words have God&#8217;s name (i.e. character) written on their hearts. Their hearts are created in God&#8217;s image.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/third-commandment\">Third Commandment<\/a> for more about God&#8217;s name. Also see\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\">Place Where God Will Place His Name.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Putting all the above together, we conclude that God brings misfortunes and diseases of all kinds on people who do not have his name\/character in their hearts. And they do not have his name\/character because<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+29:1-4;+ezekiel+12:1-3;+ezekiel+40:1-4;+mark+8:14-20;+luke+10:21-24;+romans+11:1-10;+isaiah+6:1-10;+isaiah+43:1-8;+jeremiah+5:20-21;+matthew+13:13-18;+mark+4:8-18;+luke+8:1-10;+john+9:39-41;+john+12:37-40;+acts+28:17-28\"> God has not given them eyes to see or ears to hear his voice<\/a> which is the medium through which he writes his laws on hearts.<\/p>\n<p>But we must ask why God opens the eyes and ears of some people and not others? They answer is that they have chosen to eat <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil<\/a> instead of the <a href=\" http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Fruit of the Tree of Life.<\/a>\u00a0In Biblical symbolism, this choice is represented as going down to Egypt.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/egypt-and-babylon\">Egypt, Babylon and Canaan <\/a>for understanding of Egypt.<\/p>\n<p>When people choose religion over listening to his voice, God lets them have what they want. It is the principle of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+37:4;+psalm+21:2\">God giving people the desires of their hearts<\/a>. If their hearts desire to listen to false prophets and desire to practice religious traditions, he does not interfere with that choice. We see that principle in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/5\">story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The diseases of Egypt mentioned in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+28:58-61\">Deuteronomy 28:58-61<\/a>\u00a0are symbolic references to religion in all of it various manifestations.<\/p>\n<p>What God does, in effect, is punish people by allowing them to be religious if they choose to be religious. So, the matter of suffering from the diseases of Egypt (i.e. religion) is not so much a matter of God bringing disease and misfortune on people as it is a matter of the choices people make. They can either <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+28;+deuteronomy+29;+deuteronomy+30\">choose life and blessings by listening to God&#8217;s word, or they can choose death, disease and cursing by being religious.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The reason God punishes people for practicing religion is that he wants them to listen to his voice. They will not listen, however, until they learn that listening to the voices of false prophets who preach religion leads them into bondage. See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-injustice-and-slavery\">Religion is Injustice, Slavery, Oppression and Affliction.<\/a> The principle here is that they will not be able to understand and appreciate true freedom and true love until they have experienced bondage and fear. Or, to put it another way, it is impossible to fully appreciate good health until we have been sick to the point of death.<\/p>\n<p>What we see, then, is that punishment\/discipline has a purpose. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+32:34;+leviticus+26:18;+leviticus+26:28;+hosea+8:13;+hosea+9:9;+hosea+12:2;+isaiah+13:11;+isaiah+26:21;+jeremiah+9:9;+jeremiah+9:25;+psalm+89:32;+hosea+4:14;+amos+3:2;+amos+3:14;+zephaniah+1:12;+zephaniah+1:9\">punishes them for practicing religion<\/a>. He does this to turn people from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/ezekiel\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+14:1-11\"> listening to idols<\/a> (i.e. false prophets) so that they will listen to his voice. Only then will they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+4:23-30;+deuteronomy+4:39;+deuteronomy+5:29;+deuteronomy+6:1-6;+deuteronomy+8:1-2;+deuteronomy+10:12;+deuteronomy+11:13;+deuteronomy+26:16;+deuteronomy+29:1-4;+psalm+37:31;+jeremiah+31:31-34;+jeremiah+32:40;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">know God<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\/study-for-discipline\">Study for Discipline<\/a> for understanding of why God punishes\/disciplines his people.<\/div>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>SYMBOLISM OF SICKNESS AND DISEASE<\/strong><br \/>\nThe reason God punishes his people is that they do not listen to his spoken voice. He symbolically represents the consequences of not listening as disease. Therefore, when the Bible refers to any kind of bodily ailment or handicap, it symbolically refers to religion.<\/p>\n<p>Religious disease is spread by false prophets who\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=genesis+6:1-5;+genesis+8:21;+ezekiel+13:2;+ezekiel+13:17;+deuteronomy+29:18-19;+deuteronomy+31:21;+nehemiah+6:1-8;+proverbs+18:11;+psalm+36:1-4;+jeremiah+3:17;+jeremiah+7:24;+jeremiah+9:13-14;+jeremiah+11:1-8;+jeremiah+13:10;+jeremiah+14:14;+jeremiah+16:11-12;+jeremiah+18:12;+jeremiah+23:16-17;+luke+1:51;+acts+17:29\">prophesy out of their own minds with the\u00a0imaginations of their evil hearts<\/a>. They speak <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+1:18-27;+1-corinthians+3:18-21;+2-corinthians+1:12;+james+3:13-18;+1-corinthians+2:1-14;+jeremiah+4:19-22;+isaiah+5:20-21;+isaiah+29:14;+isaiah+47:10;+jeremiah+8:9;+proverbs+3:1-7;+romans+1:22\">worldly wisdom and knowledge &#8212; not Godly wisdom and knowledge<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\/5\">Two Kinds of Knowledge<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/3\">Identifying False Prophets<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/11\">Checklist for Identifying True Prophets<\/a>\u00a0for more about the differences between true prophets and false prophets.<\/p>\n<p>The one and only antidote for the disease of religion spread by false prophets is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2;+john+7:16;+john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+14:24-31;+john+16:13;+1-corinthians+2:12-13;+psalm+143:10;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:17-20;+mark+13:11;+1-thessalonians+2:13;+exodus+4:12;+deuteronomy+18:18;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+6:68;+john+8:28;+acts+4:29\">word of God spoken by true prophets<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/how-to-hear-gods-spoken-voice\">spoken by God himself<\/a> to the hearts of people.<\/p>\n<p>The words of false prophets bring spiritual sickness, disease and death, while the words of true prophets and God bring healing and restoration to life. This is why God is the healer, and it is why Jesus and his disciples were able to heal and raise people from the dead. There is nothing about them personally that has power to heal. What they do have, however, in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">God&#8217;s anointing<\/a> to speak words of life which will heal people from religious disease. This is why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+6:63;+john+6:68;+john+12:49;+john+5:24;+philippians+2:16;+1-john+1;+1-john+2:14;+revelation+12:11;+revelation+19:13\">it was said of Jesus that he has the words of life.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This paradigm of life and death is symbolically represented in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5\">two covenants.<\/a>\u00a0God gives us the choice about which covenant we want to be in. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5\">Old\/First Covenant religion is a covenant of death and a curse, and the New Covenant is a covenant of life and blessing.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>God frames that choice in the imagery of the fruit of two trees: <a href=\" http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Fruit of the Tree of Life<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.<\/a> One choice leads to spiritual life and the other choice leads to spiritual death. It is a simple choice. Which one we choose depends on who we listen to. Do we listen to the words of Jesus and other <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophets<\/a> and Warriors, or do we listen to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">False Prophets?<\/a>\u00a0The power of the words spoken by true prophets and false prophets is symbolically represented as the power of the tongue to give life or death.<\/p>\n<p>Truth is the antidote for disease and sickness spoken by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+58:3;+psalm+63:11;+isaiah+59:4;+jeremiah+9:5;+daniel+11:27;+hosea+7:13;+ezekiel+13:9;+psalm+116:11;+micah+6:12;+revelation+21:8\">false prophets who speak nothing but lies<\/a>. Jesus and other true prophets always speak the truth because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2;+john+7:16;+john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+14:24-31;+john+16:13;+1-corinthians+2:12-13;+psalm+143:10;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:17-20;+mark+13:11;+1-thessalonians+2:13;+exodus+4:12;+deuteronomy+18:18;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+6:68;+john+8:28;+acts+4:29\">they speak for God<\/a>. Thus the words they speak on God&#8217;s behalf are the way to spiritual life, and the words spoken by false prophets are the way to spiritual death.\u00a0Another way that the Bible symbolizes this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/dichotomy\">dichotomy<\/a> is in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=proverbs+18:21;+proverbs+12:13;+proverbs+13:3;+matthew+12:37\">power of the tongue to produce life or death.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOD&#8217;S WORD HEALS STUDY TIP:\u00a0See\u00a0Sickness, Disease, Blindness, and Deafness. and Death, Resurrection, New Life, Salvation, Heaven before reading this page. In many places in the Bible, God says that he will bring or send many kinds of misfortunes on his <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-disease\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":160,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4523","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4523"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7994,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4523\/revisions\/7994"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}