Anonymous left a note on my church post, and it bothered me. Maybe because that post felt pretty open on my part. Not putting church down. In fact, respecting that it means a lot to many people--people who blog here and post here. So this seems a bit harsh.
Anonymous wrote: "--Maybe you don't care about the church because all you read is criticism of it--" Perhaps. No doubt I blog more about the frustrations I have than the positives. Part of that is the blogger's prerogative. Some people blog very carefully--working and crafting an essay until it is ready to go. Others are more emotional. That is me. I write often when I am frustrated. It helps me. So, I often write those posts for me--not you.
But am I too hard on the church? Perhaps. I think I acknowledge that many people have churches they love and care about. And I respect that. My problems are more with the cultural and political arenas. I don't apologize for that. And I am not convinced I am wrong about it.
--maybe because you don't read the Bible and believe it-- Wow, what a loaded comment. Do I read the Bible daily? No. Do I believe the Bible? Depends on what that means. Do I believe it to be the innerrent word of God? No. I am certainly not alone there. Many of the church-going Christians who read this blog will agree with that statement. Does that make me right? No. But I think there is a wide range of people within the "orthodoxy" of the faith who also don't see the Bible as inerrent.
--maybe because you are not clear about God's purpose for the church so it makes it difficult to know the difference between the real thing and those that pretend-- Not sure about the second part. I think I can tell the difference between the real and the fake. RLP writes about that a lot. So do Greg and Kristen and Micah. So does Educat. So does Kevin and Kevin. Bootleg Blogger. Anglican. They all write about real experiences in legitimate churches. I accept and respect that.
As for the first part, I plead guilty. I don't know what God's purpose is for the church. I admit it.
--maybe you don't love what Christ loves-- I have no idea what this means. I read of a poll lately that said that Democrats were losing ground among people of faith, because they talked only about poverty and social justice issues. If they wanted to make ground, the article said, they needed to stop defending abortion and homosexuality. Actually they said dems need to not be "shills" for radical abortionists and the gay agenda. Here is the thing. I may not read the Bible daily, but I am conversant with it. Jesus talks an awful lot about the poor and the meek. He spends a lot of time addressing our own sins of self and our necessary approaches to others. He talks about loving others and turning cheeks. He talks about the least of these.
I don't know of any mention of abortion or homosexuality. I am not saying Jesus likes abortion, but he didn't talk about it. He does talk about poverty. A lot. So, I am not sure Anonymous is right here.
4 comments:
I *heart* Streak
SOF
--maybe you don't love what Christ loves--
--none of the comments were written to wound, it appeared you were looking for clues as to why you don't relate to the church and asking anyone to help you to uncover the reasons. This possibilty was taken from Ephesians 5:25 . . .Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, . .
I must say that makes no sense to me. Jesus died, not for the brick and mortar church, but for the body of the church? I participate in that, just not within a physical church. It stil sounds like because I don't like Sunday School, I don't love what Christ loves. I don't buy that.
Is it possible that at least some of my problems with church are because of the institution of church? Is it unreasonable for me to find the modern church hard to relate to?
Evidently.
Streak- Keep in mind that each of the "maybe" statements can all have "or maybe not" as their endings!
--Maybe you don't care about the church because all you read is criticism of it--or maybe not. MAYBE your criticism is fueled by personal experience in the institution itself. Maybe you see and read about Christians with power and influence using said power and influence to oppress the "least of these". Maybe you see power and political agendas cloaked in religious language and funded by tax deductable contributions
--maybe because you don't read the Bible and believe it--or maybe not. Maybe you take the Bible, or at least the words of Jesus, quite literally. "As you have done to the least of these..." "Greater love hath no man than this...", "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise." or maybe not.
--maybe because you are not clear about God's purpose for the church so it makes it difficult to know the difference between the real thing and those that pretend--or maybe not. Maybe your criticism is of those who pretend. Maybe you ARE clear about God's purpose for the church and what upsets you so much are those who see the church as their ticket to power and affluence at the expense of said purpose. Or maybe not.
--maybe you don't love what Christ loves--or maybe not. Maybe you DO love what Christ loves. Maybe, like Christ in the temple, you see the powerful and self righteous manipulating people's desire to seek God in order to enrich and empower themselves. Maybe your discontent and criticism is your expression of the outrage we see in scripture as Christ tosses them out. Or maybe not.
In the end, it's easy for Anonymous or me to put words in your mouth and offer false choices as the answer to your question. It's interesting that Anonymous only offered negative possibilities as answers to your inquiry if they were truly not "meant to wound' and were to "help you uncover the reasons".
Later
BB
Post a Comment