Pentecostals are born again and seem to have a lot of the fire and enthusiasm of the early church - to greatly simplify.
Your view of the trappings is close - the pride some have in their education and training puts a wall up. The rituals or 'ordinances' can be a vehicle to visit the spirit as long as they are not the focus.
Early Christians literally risked their lives to preach the gospel so it is indeed disappointing that so many 'men and women of the cloth' consider their so-called safety more important than the Word.
Overly simplified but I think you get the point otherwise we could go on for days.
Ya, I know we could go on for days, and I hate have religion be a distraction. But in this case, I believe religion must play a very real part in the resistance to, and the defeat of the derp state.
This church ban is the perfect opportunity for them to play a part.
I'll say one more thing as an illustration.
In the book Shogun (which I think accurately depicts some aspects of history), the Catholic Church, Jesuits in particular, were in Japan when westerners first went there. They were political and power hungry, and were aiding Spain in their attempt to bring Japan into their sphere of influence.
There were also Fransiscan monks there, who were only in the business of converting the Japanese to Christianity. They did not have 'trappings' and tended their 'flocks' in threadbare robes and bare feet.
The Jesuits destroyed them, locking the monks up.
Anwyay, that was in Shogun. A great book, by the way and I highly recommend it.
Okay, religion off.
