As I passed by a church recently, I spotted the following on its bulletin board:  “It is by grace that you will be saved.  Not by works, but by faith.”

This highly questionable translation of Ephesians 2:8 is a great excuse for people to do whatever they want.

Want to steal from someone?  Go ahead.  Want to lie, cheat and steal to win an election?   That’s okay.  Want to fabricate evidence to take your nation to war?  You can simply pray your sins away.  Have faith and ye will be saved.

What ever happened to the 10 Commandments?  And the Golden Rule?

If this is what many of our Christian brethern now believe, is it any wonder that there is so much anger and violence in the world?  Is it any wonder that much of the Christian right is now armed to the teeth?  Is it any wonder that so many Christian televangelists have run off with their congregation’s hard-earned money? Is it any wonder the Bible is being used to justify the denial of rights to gays, lesbians and others?  Is it any wonder that the so-called faithful have memorized Bible verses to justify their own narrow-minded agenda. 

In doing so, they’ve overlooked the core teachings of their savior.

That’s the very convenient thing about the Bible.  You can find a verse to justify almost anything you want to do or believe.