This is for every Christian who wants to read this. It’s time for us to stop our smug, arrogant, patronizing view of the world. I no longer call myself a Christian not because I’m ashamed of Christ but because I’m ashamed and even disgusted by the actions of those who supposedly believe in the same God that I do. I thought we were supposed to hold each other to a higher standard. But apparently I was mistaken, given that humanity will never stop sinning anyway. Why should we expect any Christian to not behave like the world does, at any time? If humanity will never stop sinning, then we should just accept it when Christians act like the world and commit rape, thievery, and murder. After all, who are we to judge?
And apparently, it’s now a sin to speak out against evil. And there is evil in this world, not just from Satan, but from other people. All people may have God’s image, but there are those who reject it when they commit truly Satan-inspired acts. Let’s start accepting the world as it is and not how we want it to be. Let’s stop pretending that there aren’t evil people in this world who do not have a conscience and will not accept your forgiveness no matter how much you offer it. Forgiveness is offered freely, but it still has to be received. The mere word now is associated more with cheap grace than any form of genuine repentance.
Like it or not, people have to repent before they can be forgiven. You cannot pick and choose which parts of the bible you want to accept. We need to stop preferring our comfort to the truth. We need to be willing to get our hands dirty. If you are not angry at how fallen this world is, you are not human. You can no longer use your faith as an excuse to not do anything. You cannot keep holding onto false hopes if you want to make a difference.
You want to stand for God? Then start loving the world like he did. Quit treating the depressed, the doubting, and those with mental illnesses as demon-possessed. Quit treating those with same-sex attraction like they are the most despicable people on earth. A lot genuinely want it to go away, but apparently you’re not willing to put yourselves in their shoes. You’re not even willing to ease their loneliness given your idolatry of the nuclear family, and having everything in church life revolve around it, and elevating it so highly that divorce becomes the unpardonable sin.
You want to save marriages? Start treating women like equals. Women have been lied to and treated as less than human in the name of Christ, and it needs to stop. Stop shaming women who get pregnant before marriage, and stop heaping horrendous amounts of guilt on women who’ve had abortions. Women are autonomous human beings, not breeding machines. And being pro-life doesn’t mean just being concerned for unborn babies.
You bemoan how sexualized our culture has become. But you’ve failed to see that you idolize sex too, just in a different way, that of idolizing the nuclear family as mentioned before. And in some cases, you do idolize it the same way the world does. Quit indulging yourselves with porn, which thrives on human trafficking and demeaning both men and women, not to mention people who aren’t emotionally secure in their marriages. Quit turning away single people who want marriage. And quit treating sex and sexual urges like they’re the most diabolical curse in this fallen world.
You want race relations to improve? Start actually helping people of color in terrible conditions they can’t just claw out of. Denounce anything even remotely demeaning to these people. They bear God’s image as much as you do. They are your fellow human beings. Whether or not they have the same faith or political beliefs doesn’t matter. The church is called to help them regardless.
You want mass shootings to stop? Then start calling for changes to gun policies instead of clinging to your beloved firearms like they’re the bible itself. Guns by their nature are designed to kill, and you must make sure you are absolutely willing and responsible enough before you ever consider owning one. Don’t wait until your own child dies before helping other people who’ve lose theirs. Guns are weapons and tools for violence, whether you like it or not.
Quit treating the works of the early church fathers like they’re on par with the bible. They were flawed human beings just like you and me. And they advocated false and destructive beliefs that many people still hold as gospel truth. How about you start reading the bible for yourself? For that matter, instead of simply praying, why don’t you do the things that need to be done to make the world a better place? Instead of giving a rapist a mansion, put him in a jail cell where he belongs. Instead of just forgiving all those evil people who committed these mass shootings, start demanding change and better gun policies. You are not above the law just because you’re a Christian.
I’m challenging the church to own up to and repent of its overwhelmingly massive failures and start doing what the bible says. I’m challenging them to admit and repent of their culpability in every kind of oppression. I’m challenging them to own up to and repent of preferring perpetrators to victims. I’m challenging them to own up to and repent of demonizing not just liberals and democrats but anyone who disagrees with them. You want to be a light to the world, church? Start actually being one.
God is not a white male nationalist. He doesn’t care about America any more than he cares about any other country. We are not “special.” What we are is blindly privileged. If you’re willing to appoint clearly immoral people to powerful political offices, you’ve traded your allegiance to the Kingdom of God for the world. And Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world.
You can challenge me all you want, say my claims are unbiblical, maybe even say I’m not a true Christian. But I’m at least willing to admit when I might be wrong, I’m at least willing to not blind myself to evil in the name of faith. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. Jesus warned us that a Day of Reckoning will come, when he will deal with not just evildoers but those who were complicit in it (i.e. cowards), whatever their intentions. He’s not going to listen to any of your excuses. He doesn’t care about your reputation, your money, your background, or your position. Let’s heed that warning before we start acting like the nation of Israel, who thought God would bless them despite their evil ways, yet ignored the warnings he gave them if they went astray.
None of us are above the Israelites in our actions and lack thereof. We are not exempt from these warnings just because we’re the Church. But it’s not too late fellow Christians. I just pray that we act as we should before it is.
And apparently, it’s now a sin to speak out against evil. And there is evil in this world, not just from Satan, but from other people. All people may have God’s image, but there are those who reject it when they commit truly Satan-inspired acts. Let’s start accepting the world as it is and not how we want it to be. Let’s stop pretending that there aren’t evil people in this world who do not have a conscience and will not accept your forgiveness no matter how much you offer it. Forgiveness is offered freely, but it still has to be received. The mere word now is associated more with cheap grace than any form of genuine repentance.
Like it or not, people have to repent before they can be forgiven. You cannot pick and choose which parts of the bible you want to accept. We need to stop preferring our comfort to the truth. We need to be willing to get our hands dirty. If you are not angry at how fallen this world is, you are not human. You can no longer use your faith as an excuse to not do anything. You cannot keep holding onto false hopes if you want to make a difference.
You want to stand for God? Then start loving the world like he did. Quit treating the depressed, the doubting, and those with mental illnesses as demon-possessed. Quit treating those with same-sex attraction like they are the most despicable people on earth. A lot genuinely want it to go away, but apparently you’re not willing to put yourselves in their shoes. You’re not even willing to ease their loneliness given your idolatry of the nuclear family, and having everything in church life revolve around it, and elevating it so highly that divorce becomes the unpardonable sin.
You want to save marriages? Start treating women like equals. Women have been lied to and treated as less than human in the name of Christ, and it needs to stop. Stop shaming women who get pregnant before marriage, and stop heaping horrendous amounts of guilt on women who’ve had abortions. Women are autonomous human beings, not breeding machines. And being pro-life doesn’t mean just being concerned for unborn babies.
You bemoan how sexualized our culture has become. But you’ve failed to see that you idolize sex too, just in a different way, that of idolizing the nuclear family as mentioned before. And in some cases, you do idolize it the same way the world does. Quit indulging yourselves with porn, which thrives on human trafficking and demeaning both men and women, not to mention people who aren’t emotionally secure in their marriages. Quit turning away single people who want marriage. And quit treating sex and sexual urges like they’re the most diabolical curse in this fallen world.
You want race relations to improve? Start actually helping people of color in terrible conditions they can’t just claw out of. Denounce anything even remotely demeaning to these people. They bear God’s image as much as you do. They are your fellow human beings. Whether or not they have the same faith or political beliefs doesn’t matter. The church is called to help them regardless.
You want mass shootings to stop? Then start calling for changes to gun policies instead of clinging to your beloved firearms like they’re the bible itself. Guns by their nature are designed to kill, and you must make sure you are absolutely willing and responsible enough before you ever consider owning one. Don’t wait until your own child dies before helping other people who’ve lose theirs. Guns are weapons and tools for violence, whether you like it or not.
Quit treating the works of the early church fathers like they’re on par with the bible. They were flawed human beings just like you and me. And they advocated false and destructive beliefs that many people still hold as gospel truth. How about you start reading the bible for yourself? For that matter, instead of simply praying, why don’t you do the things that need to be done to make the world a better place? Instead of giving a rapist a mansion, put him in a jail cell where he belongs. Instead of just forgiving all those evil people who committed these mass shootings, start demanding change and better gun policies. You are not above the law just because you’re a Christian.
I’m challenging the church to own up to and repent of its overwhelmingly massive failures and start doing what the bible says. I’m challenging them to admit and repent of their culpability in every kind of oppression. I’m challenging them to own up to and repent of preferring perpetrators to victims. I’m challenging them to own up to and repent of demonizing not just liberals and democrats but anyone who disagrees with them. You want to be a light to the world, church? Start actually being one.
God is not a white male nationalist. He doesn’t care about America any more than he cares about any other country. We are not “special.” What we are is blindly privileged. If you’re willing to appoint clearly immoral people to powerful political offices, you’ve traded your allegiance to the Kingdom of God for the world. And Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world.
You can challenge me all you want, say my claims are unbiblical, maybe even say I’m not a true Christian. But I’m at least willing to admit when I might be wrong, I’m at least willing to not blind myself to evil in the name of faith. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. Jesus warned us that a Day of Reckoning will come, when he will deal with not just evildoers but those who were complicit in it (i.e. cowards), whatever their intentions. He’s not going to listen to any of your excuses. He doesn’t care about your reputation, your money, your background, or your position. Let’s heed that warning before we start acting like the nation of Israel, who thought God would bless them despite their evil ways, yet ignored the warnings he gave them if they went astray.
None of us are above the Israelites in our actions and lack thereof. We are not exempt from these warnings just because we’re the Church. But it’s not too late fellow Christians. I just pray that we act as we should before it is.
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