I am sorely tempted to add a sub-heading to this post that reads “…who cares?”
In the last few weeks, whilst doing some research on the Net, I have come across an incredible number of submissions from people claiming to be Christians, arguing over their Christianity with [apparent] non believers, and even with other Christians. This behaviour extends from the evolution debate to heavy involvement in politics 1 and everything in between. Honestly – I am tired of reading it.
Jesus said ”If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”2. I think some Christians seem to take this as a licence to be as outrageous and offensive as they like, then retreating under the banner of being hated for Christ’s sake. Come on now folks – when will we stop trying to defend God and just get on with what he has told us to do?; that is – love. I guess some people would say ‘It’s because I love that person that I am trying to convince them of their “error”‘. Sometimes the best convincing comes not from what we say, but what we do. After all, people are probably more likely to watch how you actually live and contrast that with how you say you live. The old adage of “actions speaking louder than words” has some merit in my view.
I don’t believe it’s helpful to enter into senseless debates about issues of faith, or that require faith – that is, amongst believers, or with non-believers. Are there calls for distinction at times? Yes, I believe so – for the “weightier” matters. However even the weighty matters can cause much time wasting and angst when debated with people who view the preaching of the cross as absurdity 3.
The answer to this in my life is to refrain from debate as much as possible, love others as best I can, fearfully review my own salvation 4.
- I do not believe involvement in politics is central to the Christian agenda, or even necessary for God’s purposes to be fulfilled. Jesus did not first establish himself with a seat on the Sanhedrin or the Galilean government before he set about doing his father’s business ↩
- John 15:18 ↩
- 1Co 1:18 ↩
- Php 2:12 ↩
Thanks Gary. I am thrilled to have your perspective added. I stand firm against what I believe, and the general theme of my blog; but being a Christian since I was 18 I have heard every bit of nonsense and even participated in it myself over the years. The time for finger pointing, ungracious, self righteous talk is finished – in my view. Christians need to put up, or shut up. In other words, we Christians should practice what we so loudly preach.
Hey Jamie,
I wouldn’t usually bother, however with this blog author I have the comfort of knowing my comments will be taken in the right spirit and interpreted intelligently. As I’ve intimated previously, my spiritual path is an earth-centred one, typically blending traditions from my ancestral background (think in terms of Cornwall, witches, Druids and so on).
Now the one thing that has surprised me as I have explored this path is a deeper understanding (and perhaps respect) for the core message of Christianity, and indeed pretty much all faiths and spiritual paths globally. The main problems are brought about by humans and relate to fundamentalism, fanaticism and blind faith (as opposed to faith with open eyes). I’m not just talking about Christians; there are people who bring these issues to bear in all religions, including those of a pagan inclination. In fact there are practising Pagans who have a huge chip on their shoulder about “the burning times”; while that was a terrible period of history, clinging onto these things does nobody any good (take a look at the Balkans, Ireland or the Middle East for examples of what happens if you hold on to ancient history).
Another thing I’ve noticed, and this IS more of a Christian thing, is the number of people (particularly Americans) who use their religion as a selling point for their business. While most of these are probably in the network marketing realm, I’ve seen the “Christian” selling point used for more traditional small businesses as well.
To be honest, my perspective is that spirituality is something of a personal matter and while identifying yourself as being aligned to one group or another is fine, using religion as a badge or banner in the ways described above is unhelpful and misses the point. If people could expend half the energy they use debating, argiung and trying to convince, on personal development and contributing to society, the world would be a much better place for everyone.
Keep up the good work with the blog!
Gary