Ashamed
I have recently hit a new low in my so-called Christian experience. I think I am ashamed to be an evangelical, in fact I think I want to renounces the adjective.
I have been watching the Republican nominations with great interest and I in no way want to be associated with those people. So much so that I would probably even renounce Christianity if I did not think that the Holy Spirit would just go and drag me back.
The ideas and the policies being put forth are nothing short of a proverbial middle finger at scripture. I find it strange that those who are most concerned about hell and doctrinal purity are those who are the least concerned about doing what Jesus said they need to do to avoid being sent there. The cold, hungry, thirsty stranger mentioned in Matthew 25 could more accurately be translated as the the illegal or undocumented Mexican. Those who are most concerned about hell want to shoot and kill illegals, or Jesus, as they cross into the United States. I guess Kris Kristofferson is right Jesus really would just get nailed up if he came down again.
Homosexuals are people. I may disagree with their identifiable behaviour but that is nothing new for me, in fact it is normal. I am a corrections chaplain, I regularly deal with people whose identifiable behaviour I have problems with. I am less concerned with keeping homosexuals from marrying than I am with being able to befriend them and not being a barrier to the Holy Spirit working in their lives, which is what I fear public condemnation does - turns them off of the Holy Spirit before they even have a chance to encounter him.
Those who claim to be the most devout followers of the man who dared to touch the lepers are now the ones who condemn the lepers. I know a man who is struggling to find his place in this society, a modern day leper. He is a registered sex offender, a homosexual paedophile, and when I have asked, begged actually, for help from the evangelical community I have been met with indifference at best and hostility at worst. Meanwhile a friend and colleague of mine, a minister who denies the virgin birth and other “core” doctrines, has had no problem getting help from her community. Like I said I am ashamed.
The last point I should address is why this matters not only in the United States but globally. Unless I am mistaken, the largest Christian publishing houses in the world are all located in the United States, as are the most prolific and influential authors. Unwittingly, but nonetheless certainly, the vile poison that the American political system has become is infecting Christianity and particularly it’s more conservative variants. For about three years now I have been asking pastors and other Christian leaders to name me three well known and respected Christian authors who are not American citizens I have yet to have one pastor or leader answer my question.
Just as the protestants of old were, and some still are, concerned about Rome’s influence on Christendom so too must we be concerned about the influence American politics has on Christendom.
I have been watching the Republican nominations with great interest and I in no way want to be associated with those people. So much so that I would probably even renounce Christianity if I did not think that the Holy Spirit would just go and drag me back.
The ideas and the policies being put forth are nothing short of a proverbial middle finger at scripture. I find it strange that those who are most concerned about hell and doctrinal purity are those who are the least concerned about doing what Jesus said they need to do to avoid being sent there. The cold, hungry, thirsty stranger mentioned in Matthew 25 could more accurately be translated as the the illegal or undocumented Mexican. Those who are most concerned about hell want to shoot and kill illegals, or Jesus, as they cross into the United States. I guess Kris Kristofferson is right Jesus really would just get nailed up if he came down again.
Homosexuals are people. I may disagree with their identifiable behaviour but that is nothing new for me, in fact it is normal. I am a corrections chaplain, I regularly deal with people whose identifiable behaviour I have problems with. I am less concerned with keeping homosexuals from marrying than I am with being able to befriend them and not being a barrier to the Holy Spirit working in their lives, which is what I fear public condemnation does - turns them off of the Holy Spirit before they even have a chance to encounter him.
Those who claim to be the most devout followers of the man who dared to touch the lepers are now the ones who condemn the lepers. I know a man who is struggling to find his place in this society, a modern day leper. He is a registered sex offender, a homosexual paedophile, and when I have asked, begged actually, for help from the evangelical community I have been met with indifference at best and hostility at worst. Meanwhile a friend and colleague of mine, a minister who denies the virgin birth and other “core” doctrines, has had no problem getting help from her community. Like I said I am ashamed.
The last point I should address is why this matters not only in the United States but globally. Unless I am mistaken, the largest Christian publishing houses in the world are all located in the United States, as are the most prolific and influential authors. Unwittingly, but nonetheless certainly, the vile poison that the American political system has become is infecting Christianity and particularly it’s more conservative variants. For about three years now I have been asking pastors and other Christian leaders to name me three well known and respected Christian authors who are not American citizens I have yet to have one pastor or leader answer my question.
Just as the protestants of old were, and some still are, concerned about Rome’s influence on Christendom so too must we be concerned about the influence American politics has on Christendom.
posted by rene the rugrat at 7:08 AM
1 Comments:
I do not want to re-edit this piece, but I should retract my comment about only getting indifference at best. I have actually received some pretty aggressive assistance on a couple of occasions. It just seems like it was for not because the assistance ended in a dead end.
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