What is the foundation of your faith?

“"Flooded areas, Trenchtown, Maré favela"
Hope does not come from the sea.
Not even from TV antennas.
The art of living by faith.
It's just not clear what kind of faith they have.

The lyrics of the song "Alagados," recorded in 1986 by Paralamas do Sucesso, sound like a prophecy destined to be fulfilled in modern times: people searching for something to believe in, something that gives them meaning, a direction for their existence... and this greatly favors the faith market that has existed since the beginning of time.
However, the main point of this article is not to exploit the naive faith of many people, which many take advantage of to gain power and wealth: what we propose here is an exposition of the existential emptiness of many people, which leads them to seek something to fill this void.
In other words, an attempt to understand the causes of this absolute, almost bovine, credulity in leaders and institutions—including some who use the label "Christian"—which leads many people to an even greater spiritual void, hidden by the illusion of belonging to a group and submitting to an authority.

Some time ago, many Catholics rejoiced upon seeing the interview in which actress Cássia Kiss, who was a Spiritist, spoke to journalist Fátima Bernardes about her recent conversion to Catholicism: Fátima and her program are known for their open support of the progressive "virtue signaling" of today, and therefore, the more radical Catholics (and even some Evangelicals) were very pleased to see the journalist's barely disguised indignation at Cássia's statements in defense of her faith.
However, for those familiar with biblical faith and who have paid attention to the details more objectively, two of Cássia's statements are certainly quite revealing: “Faith only exists within Catholicism.“ e “My practice consists of praying the rosary every day and attending Mass on Sunday.“…

This demonstrates something very specific and equally worrying that will be mentioned later, but it's worth remembering that Cássia had been a Spiritist since 1989 and, before that, she was already Catholic. Therefore, she simply returned to the same place she came from.
Anyone familiar with Cássia's story—marked by numerous family problems since childhood (and she admitted to having had an abortion)—shouldn't be surprised by her leaps from one "branch to branch" in search of spirituality... the concern mentioned earlier is exactly what the Paralamas' song lyrics express: faith in what?

We can also cite the example of Andressa Urach, who, after having a near-death experience, also joined a church—in her case, the Universal Church—and later experienced numerous problems with it (due to money issues), eventually abandoning it and saying that she would worship Jesus "even with her butt hanging out.".
Currently, she earns her living on an adult content platform…

In what, exactly, did the two place their faith?
Was it really the author and perpetrator who carried it out? Or is it the institutions?
All outward evidence points to the second option…
Does Cássia truly believe in the Jesus of the Bible, or does she think that masses and rosaries will pay for her sins and "shorten her time in purgatory"?
Can someone who truly believes in what the Scriptures teach believe that true faith only exists within the institution they attend?
And it's not even being stated here that the Roman Catholic Church claims there is no faith—and consequently, no salvation—outside of its ranks, because there are also evangelical churches with the same level of proselytism!
And Andressa… how many times has she been seen talking about salvation and eternity with Christ after her declared conversion?
She was usually seen talking about the blessings she had received in terms of earthly life, but not about eternal life in the presence of Christ!
That's why the question is:

Faith in what?

Judging by outward evidence, it's not difficult to imagine that all of Cassia's fervor will soon cool down and she will cease to be so committed to the practice she has adopted: at first, this type of submission to an institution seems to fill the void and alleviate the weight on her conscience for sins committed, but in no way does it prevent the person from committing new and new sins.
The apostle Paul is clear and explicit in condemning this kind of thing, the act of following purely human precepts believing that, in this way, one is pleasing God:

Considering that you died with Christ for the human traditions and the false religiosity of this world,
Why do you still submit to such ordinances as if you belonged to this value system?
No longer obey rules like these: “Do not touch!”, “Do not taste!”, “Do not handle!”
All these rules are destined to disappear through use, as they are based on merely human ordinances and teachings.
These regulations do indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed religiosity, false humility, and strict discipline toward the body, but they are of no value whatsoever in restraining the passions of the flesh.

(Colossians 2:20-23 – KJA)

And what about Andressa?
He claims to have found Jesus, but says nothing about eternal salvation and, moreover, seemed unconcerned about participating in a "church" that defends abortion.

The faith that both possess may be absolutely sincere, but it is based on something totally wrong: the alleged faith is focused ON THE INSTITUTIONS they attend, instead of being focused on what really matters.
The truth is that neither of them knows what it truly means to have faith… at least not the faith revealed in the Bible!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
Let us rid ourselves of everything that hinders us and the sin that entangles us.,
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
staring intently at The Author and Finisher of faith: Jesus,
who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
I reflected deeply on Him who endured such great opposition from sinners against His own person,
so that you may not grow weary or discouraged.

(Hebrews 12:1-3 – KJA)

I'm not one to vouch for anyone, but so far, I believe that if we can cite people who have been examples of true faith, these are two who also came from the artistic world: Felipe Folgosi and Karina Bacchi.
Neither of them makes a fuss about denominations and, on the contrary, they talk about salvation, the person and work of Jesus, and how it changed their lives.
Furthermore, and at least so far, their actions reflect exactly what they preach, unlike Cássia's proselytizing and ritualism and Andressa's lack of commitment.
In short, what's reflected on the outside comes from what's on the inside: the difference is that Cássia and Andressa gave their hearts to institutions, while Felipe and Karina seem to have given them to Jesus… and that makes all the difference!

Cássia and Andressa don't know what they truly believe in.
Felipe and Karina know.
Although they may have moments of distress—and Karina went through a divorce even after her conversion!—the difference is that, when they fall, the Holy Spirit gives them strength to get up and move forward.
Therefore, the question "faith in what?" has not yet been answered for the first two, while it has been answered for the last two.
And in reality, it's not "in what," but rather "IN WHOM"!

For this reason, I also suffer, yet I am not ashamed.,
because I know in whom I have believed
And I am fully convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that Day.

(2ⁿᵈ Timothy 1:12 – KJA)

May Cássia and Andressa — like so many others who still place their hopes where there is no hope at all — receive the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and discover where, in fact, the ultimate victory lies: in the person and work of Jesus, and in nothing and no one else.

In the Bonds of Calvary

Eduardo Pydd Teixeira

ORIGINAL TITLEFaith in what?

Coincidences (or not) aside, it seems that the end times are revealing themselves more and more rapidly, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already observe signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist consolidating not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.