This irks me
Twice now since I've left for college, I've attended a church and heard lies from the pulpit. Not just minor theological differences, not just mere wishy washy Christianity, but outright lies. Those preachers that I heard do not believe in the Christian God. Too often now Christians believe that since God is love, love is also God. And if the Bible says that God is both loving and just, than "Christ gave us the true insight to God, that he is love, and the rest must be mistaken or misinterpreted." This I quote, from a preacher. And if God indeed had wiped out humanity in a flood, then He must then have "gained new wisdom" and "regretted his mistake," and found a way to save people. This I also quote, from a preacher.
Twice now I have heard Truth, amazing life-altering Truth, denounced from the pulpit, for the sake of 'love.' God loves you, and if you only say so you'll go to heaven. We have no worries now, we're saved, everything's good.
Twice now I have wanted to stand up and shout "No! God does love us and we are saved, but at the sacrifice of Christ! For God is also Just, he demands nothing less than complete perfection. But in his Love is sacrificed Himself that justice might be upheld. Everything is not 'all good' now either. We still are imperfect! God's justice did not go away. But neither has the sacrifice of Christ. Love and Justice endure. Constantly we fall, and constantly we are forgiven. Because our unchanging God has allowed us to be. Make no mistake, our God has gained no 'new wisdom.' Our faith is in a being that cannot be changed, a God of all knowledge and wisdom. Otherwise we believe in an imperfect god. The fondation of our faith must be solid and unmoving, else we can have no faith at all."
Twice I've wanted to do this in a church. And many many more times than that, I've realized that I should have.
I've been asked several times recently why I believe in what I do. I've resorted to philosophy and theology, mostly because I can't find a way to explain the wonder and joy I feel in a relation with God. I explain my basic beliefs, and I've wondered at the surprise I see on the faces of many of the people I talk to. I thought "is this so new? I thought most people knew about Christianity, even if they don't believe in it." I thought that the problem was just general misconceptions of Christianity. Now I find that, along with those conceptions, the words coming out of our own pastors, and thus our own people, are the problem. I mean, if I have been tempted to walk out of a service, how can I expect anyone else to stay and believe in what we both agree are lies?
*sigh* I want to be a pastor because I care about God's people. Now, I also want to be one because I fear the message that will be preached in my place if I don't.
Wow that sounds dramatic and depressing. I think I'll stick with the first reason, and let the rest take care of itself.
posted by krissy at 14:33
3 Comments:
*hugs*
I may not understand Christianity, but I do know that feeling of complete love and devotion one gets from having faith. I also know what it's like to have things you beleive misinterpretted. Don't stress about things too much, it will all work out.
11:10 AM
Krissy, I totally sympathize what you have said about liars in the pulpit. "Let God be true and every man a liar." Find a good solid Bilble believing, Bible preaching/teaching church instead of the others. Also be careful yourself about what the Bible says about women preachers/pastors. To many try to say Paul was speaking from his point of view when we know he was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There are many wonderful areas of service for godly women such as yourself, the pulpit just doesn't happen to be one of them. I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to be what you write in your blog, a man of God who puts God's Word above men's opinions.
1:20 PM
Paul said what he did about women pastors because at the time they were captured and killed by the Romans at much higher numbers than male pastors. Remember the Bible says, "Respect thy father AND thy mother."
Just like when Jesus said to "go the extra mile," it was because Roman soldiers could enlist Jews to carry their packs for them for a specified distance. After that distance, the Roman soldiers would get into trouble, so by "going the extra mile" Jews were performing an act of civil disobedience that resulted in the punishment of the Romans.
It's all about historical context.
11:39 PM
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