Xanga Archive

So the internet is down at school right now, but I am inspired to write an entry, and so I am going to, internet or no internet 😉 So yeah, writing this in word, and pasting it in when the net’s back up (which it is now, obviously, since you are reading this. Crazy how that works.)

The question of the moment for a lot of people seems to be something along the lines of “Are Christians being who they are supposed to be?”, or “Why aren’t Christians who they are supposed to be?,” or many other things along those lines. Just finished reading Heather’s post shortly before the internet went down. Her last 2 posts are talking about this. Last night at the Stavesacre concert, I listened to Mark Soloman tell about why Stavesacre has departed the Christian music scene.

My short answer to the question can be found in a comment on heather’s site. (http://www.xanga.com/item.asp?user=billythestick&tab=weblogs&uid=6548228). My extended answer can be found right here, right now (crazy how that Southeastern slogan comes up like that.)

Basically, if you ask me, primary problem with the church today is that nobody has the slightest hint of a clue of who Jesus was, what he did, what he stood for, etc, etc, etc. If they did, they either would be completely different then they are, or they certainly wouldn’t call themselves Christians. I read this on the Project 86 message boards the other day…:

“Some christian-labeled guys were asking a Muslim sitting in front of me why he did not believe in Jesus. He answered them with another question, “Do YOU believe in Jesus?” Needles to say, they promptly answered with a YES.

He smiled, chuckled, and shook his head. “No you don’t. If you really did, you wouldn’t be doing half the things I see you do…””

He may have been slightly off. Yes, they believed in “Jesus,” just, they know absolutely nothing about him. They believe in a “fictional Jesus.” The Jesus they made up in their minds. I think if Jesus was here today, he would be judged and condemned for the things he would be doing by Christians everywhere. There was only one group of people, in fact, that Jesus was really harsh of, and that is the legalistic and hyprocritical and “religious”. Yet that is exactly what most Christians today are. So I think that now… every day, I become more like Christ, and, therefore…. Less like a Christian.

Second problem is ignoring the greatest commandment, and rather focusing on legalism. Forgetting the heart of the law and condemning people for not following the letter of it. The greatest commandment is love. To love God and to love your neighbor. Everything else is secondary to that. Yet commonly in the church we look down on people. The most prominent example I can think of is people looking down on homosexuals. Yes, I believe homosexuality is a sin, but I believe that it is no more of a sin then lying. And if the greatest commandment is love, then certainly, if anything it is a GREATER sin to look down on someone for being a homosexual then it is for them to practice homosexuality. The judgement of “Christians” has never resulted in anything good. Two best examples I can think of are the crusades and the Salem witch trials. More recently, I feel that this played a role in the convictions of the West Memphis Three. After finding out specifics of the case, I feel very strongly about it. These three guys, who were teenagers at the time, were accused of killing the 3 boys as part of a satanic ritual. This was just a little over 10 years ago, and it’s not too far off of accusing someone of being a witch and hanging/burning/drowning them. They were convicted with no real evidence, and none of the 3 practice Satanism. Yes, Damien Echols has an interest in the occult. But guess what Christians…. There is a difference between that, and Satanism. I certainly do not think it is a good thing, and I think that the power of it stems from an evil source…. But that doesn’t make it the same as Satanism. The question is, is Damien’s situation just? Because he has an interest in the occult, is that deserving of his having been in prison a little over 10 years now, and does he ultimately deserve to die for it? (he is on death row). As far as I can tell, this is the REAL reason why he was convicted. The other 2, Jessie and Jason, seem to have just gotten dragged into it along the way. Both of them are serving life sentences. I got sidetracked there, but.. I think it’s very important. People need to show the love of Christ. Not make wild allegations against people.

I guess that’s really all I have to say about it all for now. If you want to comment on anything, or have any questions, feel free.

Godspeed.

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