Originally posted by newday
I find at the very beginning three issues of disagreement:
A ) His understanding of the meaning of the phrase - "sword of the spirit"
It appears to be shallow and lacking a fuller vision of its intent.

The way he describes the sword coming out of Christ's mouth and taking out the evil army doesn't sound shallow to me... Could you please explain in
a bit more detail what you mean by this statement?

B ) His usage of the word - " Church"
It implies that the Christian religion is the Church of God which is also shallow and lacking

Interesting, yet another rather empty statement, sounds deep, but doesn't really hold much ground... Also the USA and a few other countries maintain
more Christians than any other religion making Christianity the majority... Doesn't mean you have to follow it, but I'd say if 80+% believe in Jesus
Christ and Christianity in one form or another, we must be onto something...

C ) His understanding of religion vs reality
What I mean is, both God and Satan exist in reality they are not philosophical constructs, they effect reality in specific ways which the teaching
lacked those specifics keeping the listener from recognizing the workings of Satan or God in their own individual lives where any real impact for the
better could be made.

Where do you get this information? Please explain further... Is this something you learned from your studies or otherwise?

religion removes the individual from life and living and places them in a alien environment.

Huh? If anything the word of God breaths life into you... I'd say if you didn't have God in your life you would be in an alien environment... You'd
be out of your onion in my opinion...

Improving that environment is nice, but it has no effect in the day to day life of a person, only on their religious activities which are
meaningless in reality to God.

True to a certain extent... The word does say you can practice under any rock... Which to me means you do not need to gather at church to worship the
lord, but can do it on your own anytime you wish... Does not mean no worship is necessary... Also does not mean meaningless...

Religious practices, that is rights and rituals and such, are of more use to Satan than God.

True, since God is the creator and the source of all creativity, Satan has none of his own, so he copies or creates to mimic God... Unlike with the
lord his rituals aren't worth crap...

The Devil's desire is that he would have God completely removed from our daily activities and placed only in a religious context, in order to
deny the individual a vital working relationship with God, which is the desire of God, for the greatest benefit and blessing of the
individual.

I'm glad you're aware of this, because he is doing this and has been for a long time... If you are aware you can steer clear, but otherwise you're
driving right into his trap...