And thus a century and a half They trod the footsteps of that calf. This forest path became a lane, That bent, and turned, and turned again This crooked lane became a road, Where many a poor horse with his load Toiled on beneath the burning sun, And traveled some three miles in one. And many men wound in and out, And dodged, and turned, and bent about And uttered words of righteous wrath Because ’twas such a crooked path.15 But still they followed-do not laugh- The first migrations of that calf, And through this winding wood-way stalked, Because he wobbled when he walked. And from that day, o’er hill and glade, Through those old woods a path was made. The trail was taken up next day By a lone dog that passed that way And then a wise bell-wether sheep Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep, And drew the flock behind him, too, As good bell-wethers always do. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby hangs my moral tale. Since then three hundred years have fled, And, I infer, the calf is dead. “The Calf Path One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home, as good calves should But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail as all calves do. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices Each approach ignores the fact that most of the New Testament was written to corporate bodies of people (churches), not to individuals.” All of them put you, the individual Christian, at the center. Which of these approaches have you used? Look again: Notice how each is highly individualistic. You sometimes close your eyes, flip open the Bible randomly, stick your finger on a page, read what the text says, and then take what you have read as a personal “word” from the Lord.(This is an ongoing addiction for many who preach and teach.) You look for verses that “preach” well and make good sermon material.You look for verses in the Bible to control and/or correct others.(Because of the proof-texting method, a vast wasteland of Christianity behaves as if the mere citation of some random, decontextualized verse of Scripture ends all discussion on virtually any subject.) You look for verses that will prove your particular doctrine so that you can slice-and-dice your theological sparring partner into biblical ribbons.

You look for verses that you can quote to scare the devil out of his wits or resist him in the hour of temptation.

You look for verses that tell you what God commands you to do.

You look for verses that tell you what God has promised so that you can confess it in faith and thereby obligate the Lord to do what you want.

Upon finding such verses, you either highlight, memorize, meditate upon, or put them on your refrigerator door. “How We Approach the New Testament We Christians have been taught to approach the Bible in one of eight ways:

Pagan christianity by frank viola