Discriminating against us

Hypocrisy Revealed - final installment

Over the last few days, I've discussed the animosity the world feels toward Christians. While I believe much of this is brought on by ourselves, I completely forgot about the words of Christ: "All men will hate you because of me." (Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:9, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17) It was foreseen that, even if we are not hypocrites, the world will hate us.

Why, then, do we need to give them more ammunition to use against us? We fight amongst ourselves, splitting into opposing factions like Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. We then split those factions into factions like Methodist, Baptist and Lutheran. And some of those factions are so prideful they dare to make a claim that they are the only ones 'doing it right'. Believe me. Satan doesn't need to work too hard among the non-believers. He only needs to work in the believers to splinter us - to show the world that Christians don't only hate the world, they hate each other.

Can we eliminate the discrimination among us? Is it possible for us to be completely accepted by the world? No. Christ said it was not possible. Can we, though, eliminate the non-Christlike qualities in the Church to remove a reason for the world to hate us? Yes, we can. In fact, I believe it is more necessary to address the disease rather than the symptoms.

Take the plank out of the church's eye. The problem isn't out there, it's in here. Show the world that it's possible for us to get along. Then show the world that we truly love them - even if they don't love us. It is only at that point we will no longer be shooting ourselves in the foot. It is only at that point the world will hate us for their own reasons, not ours.

Adios,
Clay

(äd-s) [Spanish adiós, probably translated from French à dieu. (I commend you) to God  : a, to (from Latin ad. See ad-) + Dieu, God (from Latin deus. See dyeu- in Indo-European Roots).]

Hate - in the Name of Love

Part 3 of "Hypocricy Revealed"

In June, 2006, I wrote a blog entry titled, "Hate in the Name of Love". This post is a re-hash of that post. Am I plagiarizing myself? Is that even possible?

Christians have long believed that their way is the only way. Well, it's true. Christ, Himself, said it was true.

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

- John 14:6-7, NIV
We are an exclusive, invitation-only group of believers. And this really makes us look bad among non-believers.

Problem is, we don't invite others properly. I heard the story about a prisoner who became a Christian. He was so enthusiastic about his new-found faith that he went out telling others they needed to become Christians as well. He used such persuasive methods as crescent wrenches and wire brushes - until he was told by other believers (after his release from solitary confinement) that this was not the acceptable procedure for conversion.

While we may not use beatings, those outside the flock see it the same way. In high school, I knew a lot of bible-thumpers. These were the people who waved their bible over their heads while threatening me with eternity in hell if I didn't turn from my evil ways. While speaking they would thump their bible into their free hand. No, they didn't hit me with it, but it sure felt like they were. And I didn't cotton to being beaten with a sword, so rather than bring me aboard, they turned me away at the door.

Neither do others like being beaten with the bible. When we refuse to see the plank in our eye, we forget that we were "loved" into Christ. We begin to think of ourselves as "saints" and the rest of the world as "sinners". What did Paul say to the church at Rome? "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Excuse me. I think I'm part of the aforementioned "all".

So, some Christians are forgetting their place in the world and reaching out to the lost with pride - not humility - in their hearts. The end result is, the world thinks all Christians think they're better than the lost. And the world, in their pride, retaliate by lumping Christians into a pile with the Taliban and Klan.

Final installment tomorrow!

Adios,
Clay

(äd-s) [Spanish adiós, probably translated from French à dieu. (I commend you) to God  : a, to (from Latin ad. See ad-) + Dieu, God (from Latin deus. See dyeu- in Indo-European Roots).]

Purges - Then and Now

Part 2 of "Hypocrisy Revealed"

After a good breakfast consisting of a pot of coffee and a bowl of HoneyComb cereal in strawberry yogurt, I'm ready to go! (if that ain't enough to get someone goin', I don't know what is!)

Yesterday, I listed a few of the acts of hate committed by various religious groups, including Christians, Muslims and Jews. I detailed the purge of Canaan under Joshua from the Old Testament book by the same name. This purge was commanded by God, according to scripture. But why was it commanded?

Purging the evil from Canaan was necessary, according to the Word, because the Canaanites would corrupt God's People from His way. (Since the Israelites did not completely follow through with God's edict and made treaties with some of the Canaanites, we know this to be true.) But wasn't there another way?

I have struggled with this for many years. I believe civilization, as a whole, is like a person growing up. In the beginning, civilization was immature. Young children are treated in a certain way. I know from experience that you cannot explain something to a three-year-old logically. They simply cannot comprehend it.

As civilization matured, the way God handled disobedience matured along with it. From corporal punishment, He moved on to something more meaningful to an older society - restriction (exile). When His people disobeyed, they were "grounded" for 70 years in Assyria and Babylon.

Now that civilization is fully matured, He uses logic (Logos, or His Word) to get our attention. In His inerrable conclusion, civilization, or society is now an adult and can be handled as an adult. "If you're going to live under my roof, you will obey my rules."

As of the time of Christ, purges were no longer the work of God, but the work of Satan. In fact, after Acts 10 (the conversion of the gentile Cornelius), the title of "God's Chosen People" was no longer restricted to the people of Israel. Therefore, hating gentiles simply because they were gentiles was no longer acceptable before God. In God's eyes, Christ and His followers were the new "God's Chosen People", and those who were left behind were not.

I believe that, in God's eyes, purges were acceptable at one point, but He believes them to no longer be acceptable. In the same way that a young child responds to a properly-delivered spanking as punishment - not retribution, a young civilization responds to purges. In the same way a teenager responds to restriction, an adolescent civilization responds to exile. In the same way a young adult responds to logical arguments, so does an adult civilization.

I hope this explains why purges are no longer necessary (and haven't been for at least 2,500 years), or desired in God's eyes. For more about this subject, tune in Monday.

Adios,
Clay

(äd-s) [Spanish adiós, probably translated from French à dieu. (I commend you) to God  : a, to (from Latin ad. See ad-) + Dieu, God (from Latin deus. See dyeu- in Indo-European Roots).]

Yes, another "Hypocrisy Revealed!" post...

Jesus & Mo cartoon, author unknown

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Oh, this is classic. I laughed at this 'cuz it's true. Christians and Muslims are discriminated against. But (and I'll likely get a lot of hate-mail on this one) we brought it on ourselves. Now, I'm not saying that each of us has done things to entice non-believers to hate us, but the vocal part of the group - the part the rest of the world sees - has.

Here are a few examples:

• Fred Phelps - "God Hates Fags!"
• The Ku Klux Klan - according to their website, they are "Bringing a Message of Hope and Deliverance to White Christian America! A Message of Love NOT Hate!"
• The Taliban - ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist, brutally oppressing women and Shia muslims
• Various Catholic and Protestant purges
• Al Qaeda
• The Crusades - purging Islamic occupation of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Holy Land.

Throughout history, religious figures have used hate to remove opposition to their message. This was true in ancient times, and is true today. In the Torah (Christian Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), God commanded Israel to "purge the evil" from Canaan. These books, and the book of Joshua, detail this purge. Jericho, Ai, the five Amorite kings (the sun stood still and hail fell on the enemies!), Makkedeh, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Horeb... The Israelites removed the Canaanites from the land under order from God.

This was ordered by God, and is a concept with which modern-day believers have a problem. How could a "loving God" order the destruction of an entire nation? How could a "loving God" order genocide? Does that mean we are to continue that practice today?

Read part two tomorrow!

Adios,
Clay

(äd-s) [Spanish adiós, probably translated from French à dieu. (I commend you) to God  : a, to (from Latin ad. See ad-) + Dieu, God (from Latin deus. See dyeu- in Indo-European Roots).]