The idea for these next couple of posts came from a comment left by my friend, 'The Happy Feminist' in response to my Chick tract post. Here is her comment:
"Hmmmm . . . The Chick tracts are certainly very honest and don't pull any punches. But as a non-Christian, I have to confess my doubts as to whether the Chick tracts would be an effective way to get the message across . Of course, they did work in the case of that woman at the Chinese restaurant, so what do I know?
(Especially this part of her comment)
But they seem kind of scary and cruel. They focus more on the punitive aspects of conservative Christian belief, rather than the redemptive aspects. I would have a tough time worshipping a God who would cast people I know and love into a lake of fire. I realize that it's good to be honest about what you believe, but it seems as though focus on the positive would be a better first step. (Mrs. B, please let me know if I am being too contrarian for your blog.) "
First, I want to start by saying to The Happy Feminist, no, your comment was not offensive to me in any way nor was it too contrarian. I'm glad you voiced your concerns and I thank you for doing so in such a kind and respectful way.
Before I get into what I want to say, I wanted to share this letter. I read it about a month ago and really liked most of it......I've edited it (I didn't add anything but I took quite a bit out) but if you'd like to read it in it's entirety, click here. It was written by a man named Doug Perry.
Disclaimer: I know nothing about this man's ministry and linking to this letter is not an endorsement of him or of his beliefs....I liked most of the letter and want to give credit where credit is due, that's why I provided the link.
Open Letter of Apology to The World
I know you think that Christians are a big bunch of hypocrites. We say we're more "religious" and we're going to heaven and you're not, and then we drive our big shiny cars with little fishies on the trunk and cut you off in traffic as we race by the homeless guy on the corner. We average just 2% of our money to church and charity, despite that we say the Bible is the word of God and it says we're supposed to give everything. On average, we buy just as many big screen TVs and bass boats and fur coats and makeup and baseball cards and online porn as anybody else. Maybe more. You've seen leader after leader end up in jail or court or a sex scandal of one sort or another.
Well ... you're right. We're guilty of all of it. We've done it all. And, I'm really sorry.
You see our cheesy TV shows and slick guys begging for money and you get that there's something seriously sneaky and wrong here. A high-pressure call for money so they can stay on the air? Were we supposed to use Jesus as just another form of entertainment? Who do we think we're kidding? Where's Jesus in all this? Aren't we supposed to rely on him? Isn't He going to meet our needs if we're inside His will?
What happened to sacrifice and suffering and helping the poor? I'm just sick about this. I mean, the church leaders, they're not all bad guys, there are lots and lots of really hard-working well-meaning folks who love and care and are meeting real needs in the community. Some of them understand and love Jesus - but I'm just real sure those pastors don't drive Bentley's, have multi-million dollar homes and their own lear jets! I mean, what "god" are we worshipping? Money? Ego? Power?
We've got playgrounds and bowling alleys and basketball leagues. We've got Starbucks coffee in the sanctuary. We've got orchestras and giant chandeliers and fountains out front. We've got bookstores full of "jesus junk" with every imaginable style and flavor of religious knick-knack. But where's Jesus? Is this what HE wanted?
Look, I know you're mad. And you have a right to be. We've done you wrong for a LONG time now. There's some things about Jesus that people need to hear, but we've buried a beautiful masterpiece under hundreds of layers of soft pink latex paint. If you have a Bible handy, look up Matthew 23. Find it? Read it carefully, the Pharisees were the "religious" people of the day, the leaders of the faith. In this chapter Jesus SEVEN times says how pitiful and wretched and cursed they are for what they're doing to the people they're supposed to be leading. He even calls them "white washed tombs of dead mens bones" and a "brood of vipers"! I don't have time here, but read it and see if we're not doing EVERY single one of those things. Jesus can't possibly be happy about what we've done to you.
Sure, we like to kid ourselves and pretend everything is OK - but it's not. We're hated. Now, please understand, Jesus was hated, too. But that was because he said hard things and sometimes people don't like hearing the Truth. And he promised we would be hated if we were like him. But that's not why we're hated at the moment. We're hated right now because we're a giant pack of lying hypocrites that say one thing and do something else altogether. If we were hated because we were like Jesus, that would be one thing, but that's not it at all. You see right through our happy music and fluffy services and you can tell there's something desperately wrong here. We're no different than anybody else - except that we say we're better than you.
It was never supposed to be like this. Jesus asked us to care for the widows and orphans, to feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit those in prison, reach the lost. He wanted us to love our enemies and pray for them. He cared about human justice and suffering, the lost and lonely. But I don't think He would have marched on a picket line - He had His mind on much bigger problems. He wanted us to focus on the eternal things, not the everyday. He never once said to go into all the world and build big buildings and divide up into factions and buy Bentleys. Just the opposite! I get that you're mad at us and I think you have a right to be, but please understand, you're mad at what we've made under our own power, you're mad at "Churchianity." That's different than Christ and what he wanted. Don't be mad at Jesus! This mess wasn't His idea!
Look, I'm really sorry. I accept responsibility for my part in having hurt you. But I'm committing to you all, dear Members of the World, that I'm not going to do it any more. Not a single penny more. I'm not going to put my faith in "Churchianity" or any leader or program or TV show -- but in Christ Jesus and His salvation.
It took centuries to build this monster, so it's not like it's going to just turn around overnight. But the times are changing and we're way overdue for something new. Big bad things are happening - like the tsunami in Asia - and I think more are coming. I don't want any more time to go by without having said this. I'm sorry for all the time and money I've wasted. But Jesus saves. Really. Jesus is the real deal. He lived and He died for my sins and He rose again. He is who He said He was and He cares about me - and you. He's our only hope.
Please don't think all Christians are just posers. Some of them really mean it when they say they belong to Christ. The problem is mostly in the West where we're all comfy and complacent and seem to like it that way. The Christians in China and other places are deadly serious. There's no room for anything but Jesus when you're on the run from the government. They are dying every day for their faith and doing crazy-hard things because they're absolutely committed to Christ. These are martyrs. People willing to crucify little pieces of themselves every day to be more like Christ. People willing to set aside everything they want to do what Christ wants. People willing to rot in prison or take a beating or die if that's what it's going to take. People that act in pure love and never back down. I'm not worthy to tie their shoes. And there are some like that here, too, and I hope we can get a lot more people to start living that way. It's way overdue.
If you're talking to someone and they tell you they're a Christian, ask them if they're the kind of Christian that really means it all the time or the kind that just means it on Sunday. The Bible says we'll know them by their "fruits" - by the faith and purity and love in their deeds and words. When you find one that proves Christ is in them by how much they love you, ask them to tell you all about Jesus. If you know one of those fearless martyrs that speaks nothing but pure, clean, hard Truth - ask lots of questions. Truth is a lot more rare than you would think. But don't settle for soft, fluffy and comfortable anymore - that's not in the Bible."
written by: Doug Perry
I edited quite a bit out (but I didn't add anything) because I didn't agree with all of it....but I liked the gist of it. I would also like to add some things.
An apology because modern-day Christians have sugar-coated Christianity to try and talk people into 'accepting Jesus as their Saviour'......to make 'accepting Jesus' more palatable. I think, for the most part, our intentions were good but the results have been disasterous. We (Christians) have presented only a part of who God and Jesus are. Yes, God and Jesus are love but not the mushy, gushy, warm-fuzzy type of feelings that we, humans, have tried to call 'love'. God showed His love to the world through the sacrifice of His Holy, Righteous, Sinless Son.
**1 John 4:9-10 "In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (emphasis mine)
**John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (emphasis mine)
God didn't sacrifice His Son because He had a 'warm-fuzzy' feeling towards us....He did it to provide for us a way to be able to live with Him forever. God is holy and righteous and cannot be in the presence of sin.....EVER.
I plan on posting part 2 of this tomorrow (Tuesday).
