Video from Desiring God
Look at the Book: Spiritual Antibodies Against Delusion Colossians 2:4–5
Polite Villains of the Universe
"For some reason I always assumed false teaching would be unsophisticated, even crude.
This speaker’s message, however, sounded like a skillfully painted sunny day at the ocean. The water caressed the shore, the sun stood overhead, her rhythmic voice entranced as waves crashing against the shore. She painted with deep blues and vibrant yellows. She held it out to her hearers, most of whom welcomed it fondly, smiling and nodding with gratitude. She called the art “Christian.”
As I listened, I thought, What a charming painting. Yet the longer she talked, the angrier I grew. If it were uglier, I might have found more patience; hideous lies are less believed. But because this woman had not only painted over God’s Masterpiece of the hurriedly referenced but otherwise ignored verses of Scripture in front of her, she proceeded to pawn hers off as the original. Her followers seemed to be blinded to the horror in its beauty.
The Scriptures she was quoting did not teach what she did, but people fixated so much on the pretty colors and pleasant landscape, few seemed to notice. Man’s wisdom stood propped upon the isle; God’s wisdom was lost in the background.
That Hideous Beauty
Satan, I was reminded, is more the wolf from Little Red Ridinghood than modern depictions of Frankenstein’s monster. Instead of stomping around clumsily announcing his arrival, he dresses up as what he isn’t. He disguises himself, putting dark for light, wickedness for righteousness, down for up, hell for heaven. He lies down in bed appearing innocent, while trying to hide his fangs..." from the article: Polite Villains of the Universe