Thursday, June 12, 2008
Have Christians completely missed the point?
By the title of my blog, you might be thinking "What is wrong with being a Christian?" or "What is wrong with Christianity?". There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a Christian. I am a Christian myself but I feel that many of my brothers and sisters have completely missed the point in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus says to love your neighbor but we still have discrimination against women, we have intolerance against those with different sexual lifestyles, we have thoughts of racism pulsing through our veins when we see someone of a different skin color. I recently began listening to a preacher by the name of Rob Bell. Many people who are more accustomed to the fundamentalist teachings are absolutely appalled by the points that he makes. I was on Youtube the other day watching a NOOMA video that he made. The video basically expressed that maybe the bull horn approach isn't really working. Rob was referring to those who preach on the street corners and inform everyone "You are going to Hell! Repent!". First of all, who are they and what gives them the right to tell someone else what their eternal destination will be. If anything, I feel that approach is leading more people astray from Jesus rather than drawing people unto God. The fundamentalists have this notion that if you aren't telling someone to "turn or burn", you are denying them of the truth.I wish people would just stop with the scare tactics and love one another. There are times when I wonder if Jesus looks down upon us and says "They aren't acting any different from the Pharisees". In case you aren't familiar with the Pharisees, they were the religious people of the time who did not agree with what Jesus was preaching. The Pharisees were responsible for the capture of Jesus which led to His crucifixion. They didn't understand the significance of who Christ was but knew he was a powerful force in leading people in his teachings. I was talking with a good friend of mine who is working on his masters in divinity at Vanderbilt. He was telling me as he met people of different religions that most of them thought that Jesus was a good teacher and was very effective in what He did. Can you imagine a Christian saying that Muhammad had good teachings? We can be so arrogant in thinking that we are so much better than those of other religions and cultures. It just makes me sick that we constantly cause division because we think we are better or "have it right". I guess the main point I am getting at is that we should be accepting of those who are different. Love others no matter what they have done or who they are. This is what Christ did and expects us to do as we live for Him.
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