Anger, correction and cheap Grace

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This was a week of conversations with Christian friends and acquaintances, old and new. It was also a week of reflection. From these conversations I am developing some insights I will share over time. For now, I’ll share what I think I may have learned so far. I say “I think” because all knowledge is contingent on new information and wisdom requires an acknowledgement to oneself that knowledge is not truly certain without Grace.

This week I had conversations with Christian friends and acquaintances of the “angry” variety, those folks who are perpetually angry about some sin or another, or some news bit or political event they find troublesome. Ending the week, I also had a conversation with an old High School friend from which I developed the beginnings of an insight as to why they may be so angry.

Understanding Christians who do not act like Christians

Today much of the criticism of Christians we tend to hear is not of our beliefs per se but of our failure to live by them consistently. Folks know what we believe, and many know the Bible as well if not better than we do. On this Christ spoke volumes. His largest battles were not against non believers, these he sought to comfort and to guide, but rather against those who claim to speak for God yet spoke of Law and not of its meaning or purpose. His battles against the Pharisees & Scribes were not merely a historical event nor just a means to an end, but also an example for all who choose to follow Him.

Today, I happened by my friends Facebook in response to a post. I saw alleged Christians spout ignorance based hate at folks they do not know and could not be bothered to learn of. When I speak of ‘hate’, I mean the real words “I hate…” such and such. Hate, despite the beliefs of certain alleged Christians, is not a Christian value. Needless to say these folks were of the political variety. The cause and the folks they attacked are irrelevant. For context, however, it was a group perceived as anti gun rights that seeks an end to gun violence against children. One in fact sees this ignorance blended with poorly applied piety on any number of issues. The issue itself matters not, the principle is the same, regardless.

Now I recall the words, in Mark, that  Christ spoke to His followers about the place Christians should have for the Government of Man in their hierarchy of values versus what role our Christian values and our fealty to God should play in our lives. These were to be given each their due. It is my belief that we can not affect the time frame that God has ordained for Christ’s return and for the arrival of a God established Government here on our plane. I also believe that our involvement in government should be limited, that in our hearts, minds and actions we should render to Caesar and to God their appropriate due. We should render in resources, in actions and, most critically, in our spiritual interest each their appropriate due.  We should not presume that our affairs here on Earth will have any change on the time line He has chosen.

The testimony of a veteran of a hidden war

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For this testimony I will break from my general rule. My journalism training taught me to speak neutrally, and preferably in the third person. Since this is my testimony  I will break from that standard.

There is a war going on out there. I say this as if anyone doesn’t know it already. It is a war against moral order – against the notion of recognizing that there is right and that there is wrong. This war is best illustrated by today’s catch phrase “don’t judge”.

Seriously? If one is not allowed to judge, over time one cannot understand right from from wrong.

When you hear “don’t judge me”, you can be sure the person saying it wants to be absolved of what he or she doesn’t want to be judged for. That being said, as Christians we know that we are called upon to “just not, lest ye be judged.” What this means is that if we must judge – if the situation requires moral  judgment –  we best be sure we have our moral house in order. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is not a call to abandon judgment, but to recognize people are sinful and should be given the opportunity to correct themselves. If the situation demands moral judgment we judge knowing that our eye better not have a rafter in it. We will be judged by the same standard that we are applying to others.

On with the testimony.

This is only the second time I’ve given testimony. The first time I didn’t even realize I was doing it!

I do not like to speak publicly in personal matters, I’m a private person. While I honor those who gather in Church to speak and to listen,  I believe Christ meant it when he said we should come to God in private. As the intellectual father of the Revolution, Thomas Paine, said:  “my own mind is my own Church.”

There comes a time, though, when one must give one’s testimony. If we want to be understood – if we will allow ourselves to be open for judgment and perhaps for forgiveness – we must let others know the things we bring to our Creator and the things that brought us to Him.

A Church that surprises

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The recent hype over Pope Francis’ ‘surprising’ public confession prompts “And Then The Darkness” to ask: “exactly how do folks see the Church?”.

To an article, these reports use superlatives like “shock” and ‘stunned’ to describe how folks reacted to Pope Francis’ act of humility. The incident harkens back to folks who were similarly surprised when the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics replied “who am I to judge?” when asked about gay people and the alleged ‘gay lobby’ in the Vatican.

Again, how exactly do people see the Church?

A Pope (or, indeed, a priest, minister, or lay Christian) expressing acts of humility ought surprise no one. We  are, after all, called upon to be humble in spirit (2 Chronicles 7:14 ;Matthew 18:4;  Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). 

Is it possible we (and our Church leaders) have become so removed from the call to remain poor in spirit that when the leader of the world’s Catholics does what he does every day (confessing and asking for forgiveness for his sins) it shocks people?

As most of these reports note the Pope does, after all, confess daily as all Christians must.

Perhaps the public nature of his confession is unusual, but if so the very newness of this public confession is a problem for all of us. A humble, seeking Church, a publicly humble Church, is after all one left less open to accusations of secrecy, arrogance, or hypocrisy.

Are we so far removed from our humble calling and origins we resemble to some the High Priests and Scribes of Christ’s day? It would seem so given the reactions of many to the Pope’s ‘gay lobby’ interview and given the public perceptions of the Church that are often provided in media accounts covering the faithful.

In the recent words and actions of Pope Francis we have a Church which  surprises. For many out there, especially for those who up until now have seen the Church in a negative light, this surprise is a positive change.

Yours truly looks forward, however, to the day when the Body of Christ feels no need to surprise. And Then The Darkness imagines a day when a Christian who living in humility surprises no one.

That will be the day when the Church will truly lead the way for the Flock.

 

daily zing

 

 

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“Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy’s hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love. In such love there is not inner discord between the private person and official capacity. In both we are disciples of Christ, or we are not Christians at all.” –  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A Church brought to its knees

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How many times do we have to hear from Christians, non Christians, and news sources alike that the death of evangelical Christianity is imminent before we do something? Outside of an ad nauseam debate on whether such an imminent death is true, or staying on the current course and current message of evangelism, can or should anything be done?

In a remarkable book  positing a Christlike ‘new’ (read: original) message of evangelism, one Christian evangelist offers, in typical humble fashion, a radical solution to one problem facing the Church, the accusation that so many ‘Christians’ behave hypocritically, failing to live in the manner of Christ’s teachings: repentance.