Third post in one day. I know, I know, it is a bit much. But who cares.
I like to keep this blog light hearted and fun. However, today I want to talk about something that has been on my mind for a while that is a bit heavy. It is not a new concept but it is very bothersome for me and I think for other people as well.
As most of you know my family has been going through a bit of a dark spot lately. If you don't know (if you live under a rock...just kidding) my mom was diagnosed with a very rare cancer a few short weeks ago. We all saw this diagnosis as a blessing in disguise as it was found at stage two when normally this specific, rare, cancer is so hard to find, it is usually discovered only after it is too late to do anything but wait until the inevitable. Well this situation has forced me to re-examine my faith.
I have always prescribed to the Christian faith, and still do, however, I am struggling. Before you write me off, please continue reading. I hope what I am trying to convey comes across the way I mean for it to.
One of my favorite quotes is,
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ" ~Mahatma Gandhi
What I have been struggling with is how can Christ and Christianity in general be such a loving religion when many followers are seem so unloving?
There are enormous example of Christians publicly announcing hateful views and harmful threats towards different parts of society such as Homosexuals, Muslims, even Democrats.
I don't understand how certain Christians can be so full of hate.*
Let me give an example of what I am talking about. Within the past few weeks there have been two more pastors, in two different states, who are advocating for the killing of homosexuals. Don't believe me? Here is a link to the story about it.
How can they spread the word of God when they are advocating mass murder of human beings?
When I was in church school I was taught Jesus was about love.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:12-13
'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. - Leviticus 19:18
Also, didn't Jesus hang with the sinners?
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17
Now I never went to divinity school and I, admittedly, don't read the bible as much as I should, but I am pretty sure Jesus never said hate those who don't repent, hate those who you don't agree with, and most importantly, kill those who you think are wrong.
Also, since when did being a Democrat automatically signify you as a heathen, a non-believer, "evil"? Remind me, which party had congressional power when Jesus was alive?
I'm NOT saying you have to agree with homosexuality or abortion or Islam or Buddhism or any other religion or act that you, personally, believe to be seen as "sinful", that is for you to decide, but why do you have to hate? Why hold that in your heart? How come you have the power to choose who gets to be a Christian and who doesn't? I have always thought if you want to spread the word of God, doesn't a message of love work better?
Further, if we are all sinners from birth, as the bible says we are, then where do we get the right to judge which sin is more "sinnier" than the other or which sinner goes to straight to hell and who doesn't? Isn't judging a sin? Isn't claiming one sin as worse than another a bit "holier-than-thou" and isn't acting like that a sin? So what is the point?
Thus, my struggle with Christianity isn't whether or not to believe, but is how can I worship with people who can hate so strongly in the name of God?
For every person standing up and screaming hate at those who do not share their beliefs, how many are there who love their brother and are tolerant? It seems to me that public perception drives too much of people's beliefs about Christians. Though we are all imperfect, we are not all the same. Just as for every public gay person there are several more who hide their feelings, there are many loving, caring Christians whose story is never heard by the media because it's not controversial and it doesn't get people's attention. As much as we all love the "storybook ending", hate sells more.
ReplyDeleteThis is Elizabeth R. I had to post anonymously because I don't have an account. :)
ReplyDeleteMindon is right. I also would like to add that I felt exactly the same way until I left home and went to college (at UD). I still experienced the same kind of doubts frequently, particularly with people who preached in a way that did not reflect the teaching of Christ. Any of my friends will back me up when I say that I had the worst roommate ever. She would not talk to me because I was Protestant and I let my fiance (who I married) in my room. She didn't believe in a mixing of the genders. What I realized is exactly what you are saying. Jesus hung out with way sketchier people than I was. What I also realized was that that chick only had God to answer to. Just as it was not her place to judge me for my decisions, it was not my place to judge her for her ultra-hyper-conservatism. The best that you can do is be the best person that you can be as a testimony for Jesus and always seek out the "Jesus" in everybody's hearts. It's a shame that Christians get such a bad name because of those people, but you can show the world a different perspective. The fact that you are troubled by these things already tells me that we need to get together more often. You should come to my church, which is awesome.
This is Kelsey B.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is full of "Christians" who aren't really Christians. Often our culture in America says that if you aren't a Buddhist, Muslim, etc. then you are a Christian. That is false. A true Christian is one who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that GOD raised him from the dead (Romans 10:13). Just believing in GOD and believing that Jesus existed isn't enough for someone to be called a Christian. When someone truly believes this, their life reflects that. (I will point out to the previous commenter, in a loving way, that there is no 'Jesus' in everybody's heart- it is a choice to believe or a choice not to believe.) Jesus also says that he is "the way, the truth, and the life" and that "no one comes to the father except through [him]" (John 14:6). This means that true Christians believe in the exclusivity of Jesus for salvation and attaining access to heaven. A true Christian cannot believe that other religions also have a way for someone to gain access into heaven. This offends many people in our politically correct society, but it is truth and must be stated as such. It must be stated with love. Those in the media that are claiming to be Christians and yet are verbalizing hatefulness and threatening to harm others are not speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Hateful speech needs to be clarified though. It is not hateful just because a person says something is wrong or sinful. It is hateful speech only if it belittles or brings reproach upon someone else. Saying someone is wrong, but loving them anyway isn't bringing reproach on them. I believe that those who are truly Christians and have a true relationship with GOD do not act the way many publicized groups of so-called 'Christians' are currently acting. According to Galatians 5:22-23, a Christian can be known by the following 'fruit': love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Now, Christians are not perfect. No one was perfect except for Jesus, but they should be continually striving to live their lives in such a way that they look more like Jesus every single day. Those who show none of these fruits should probably examine their hearts to see if they truly do believe. The moral of this post is: Jesus did love everyone and calls his followers to do the same, but he also called people out on their sin. Sin is black and white and is clearly defined in the Bible. When telling others that what they are doing is sinful, according to the Bible, we must do it in love. Toleration is not the same as acceptance. We tolerate something in so far as we can share the love of Christ with someone. We do not accept their practices or beliefs as truth.
Hey, it's Josh M.
ReplyDeleteThere are two things to remember about "being a christian"
1) The early Christians didn't call themselves Christians, they were KNOWN AS or WERE CALLED Christians because of how they lived their lives. I can CLAIM to be a member of anything that I want to, but if I can't demonstrate that I am then my words mean nothing. To demonstrate that you are a Christian, you are to live like it. To lead a Christ-like life and to be willing to talk to even the sketchiest people about the love that is waiting for them. The people who claim Christianity and then promote hatred (Westboro Baptist Church usually springs to mind here) are in fact anti-christs because they are acting opposite to what Jesus taught.
2) Only God is THE Judge of you. This is different than "Only God can judge me" which isn't biblical at all but is said to make people feel more secure in a bad situation. The difference is actually very key to becoming a better Christian. Everybody judges everybody. Period. If they are people who are judging (aka critiquing) us in a positive manner and what they say lines up with what God has taught us, we are to use it to become a better person - to learn and grow from the observation and judgement of others (read about Moses and his father-in-law for learning from good judgement, Exodus 18:1-24). When people pass a harsh or cruel judgement on you to try and get you to act in a way that harms yourself or distances you from God, you are to pray for that person and keep doing what Jesus taught to be the right thing (pretty much any time the people of Israel try to rebuke/accuse Moses of something, Numbers:14 and 16 are good examples).
God being THE Judge of you means that ultimately He is the one who will learn all the facts of what you have done and He will pass judgement on you to mete out your punishment - if you live a Christian life and truly believe in Jesus, then your punishment has already been suffered. This however isn't free pass to do whatever you want because "your homeboy Jesus 'got you covered" (I've heard that line before verbatim more than once), because that demonstrates that you don't actually understand what Jesus taught, you aren't actually saved and you aren't actually a Christian.
The important part of both of these is to learn from the Bible and not from religions. You can't earn your salvation, as many religions teach - it was a gift freely given out of love with one condition, you love others the way He loved us - WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS. To give freely of who you are, to show the world the light of Christ that burns in you, to draw others into his warm embrace by showing what joy it brings to life. Jesus passed judgement on numerous people rebuking them, trying to point them in a better direction - the wise men took his direction happily and became wiser, the evil and the foolish dismissed his words and continued on their own path of destruction claiming to know God. One of those two can be classified as a Christ-like mindset - those are the Christians.
One final piece of good news, the Bible gives us a way to test these people so we can be a good judge of them. Rebuke them. Criticize them. Question their beliefs. Proverbs 9:7-9 essentially tells us that if you rebuke someone they will have two reactions: 1) they insult you, abuse you or deny what you have said rather than address it - they are a fool and don't warrant further rebuke because they aren't willing to learn anyway. 2) They learn and grow - this shows wisdom and a desire to be a better person i.e. somebody leading a Christ-like life. Now you don't need to be a Christian to satisfy number 2 in that option and you shouldn't give up on number 1 because they may change in the future - but until they want to improve themselves rebuke won't benefit them at all.