There has been something churning around in the back of me head for awhile and I needed to get it out.
When it comes to "American Christianity" I really feel like an outsider looking in most of the time. I am wired differently and spend a lot of time scratching my head when it comes to some of the things that people fight over within the "American church". We have seen battles within our own local church regarding worship style (music, service order, *gasp* the pastor is playing with the worship group... etc).
The thing that has me most puzzled are those who think that our job as Christians is to take over the government and legislate Christianity.
I'll be blunt and honest... the Spanish Inquisition is OVER and never was a Christian undertaking!
That might seen harsh, but really, where in the Bible does it tell us to take over and rule?
Matthew 28 in no way states that were are to conquer and subjugate. We are to make disciples. This implies a willingness to learn on the part of the other person. It implies our training of the other person, not bludgeoning them into behaving by our rules.
Ambassadors carry messages from their home country to a foreign one. They should not try to impose their laws upon another country. Now, they can use the example of their lives and their country to try to influence another country.
What really brought this to a head was all the stories regarding the "outrage" over the removal of Christ from Christmas by stores, local governments, etc.
For some reason, last year, this situation started to gnaw away at the back of my brain and I could not figure out why. After spending quite some time trying to figure out why, it finally dawned on me...
*Extreme Ruffled Feathers Warning*
Why are we forcing a holiday that the church decided to celebrate (as opposed to the God ordained celebrations like Passover, the Feast of Booths, the Day of Atonement [which are no longer required due to Christ's finished work on the cross]) on non-believers? Why are we so offended when someone who does not recognize Christ's authority, chooses to ignore our holiday?
Are we really showing the love of Christ when we reach for the pitchforks and torches when one who is blinded to the truth dares to take "Christ out of Christmas"? Are we to break out the thumbscrews when someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"?
I know this post comes at a strange time, since it has been over two months since Christmas, but the principle behind this remains 24/7.
One last question. If we are so offended by Christ being taken out of Christmas by non-believers in December... Why are we not offended when we take Christ out of Easter and replace Him with a rabbit?
14 comments:
I feel like we are going about things the wrong way. We hold the standard of righteousness up like the Law. Have we read? It doesn't work!
I am for life. I am for honoring God. But when I see the shocking pro-life signs and the public outrage of disallowing "Merry Christmas", it makes me scratch my head, too, since I am always holding my actions up to the light of ... for better lack ... WWJD? I suppose we think that is taking a stand for righteousness in a unrighteous world when we actively stand for righteousness. Yet, when I look at the New Testament, I see something very different. I see divine love in action that is spelled out quite clearly in 1 Corinthians 13, with anything less being sounding brass and clanging cymbals. The only standard Jesus held up was to the Pharisees and He was holding them to their own standard of measure. As far as overturning the tables in the Temple, perhaps that was anger toward those who should have known better in allowing such activity.
Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one scratching my head and taking a second look at things. And I do so with the perspective of what is God's heart?
Kathy
http://cupakathy.livejournal.com/
Kathy,
Thanks for the comment. It IS reassuring to run across others who are bothered by such things.
I hear you regarding the Pro-Life signs. As Christians, we should be serving the lost, making abortions unnecessary, not wasting our time "protesting".
We are called to preach the Gospel, and then show the value of it by living the life. We do NOT show the love of Christ by beating unbelievers about the head with our Bibles.
As to WWJD, I've changed it a bit for myself... WDJD (What Does Jesus Do? - gotta be careful and just use this for me, because others might think it is What Did Jesus Do, and that alone [not that it isn't important to remember the part in the past...]). Helps me remember that He is an active advocate for us still.
Preach on. :)
Dec. 25th isn't even Jesus' real birthday. Why should any christian be offended that millions of people that don't believe in Christ, celebrate a day about him? Even non-believers hear something about Jesus around christmas time. It is another way of getting word out about Christ. How is that ofensive? If you are worried about Christ in Christmas, maybe you should have given up the pagan holiday date.
That's because Jesus' last words were, "When I die and rise again, I want everyone to paint and hide eggs."
Don't tell me you didn't know...
Excellent post.
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