• those who attend church services most often support torture against suspected terrorists much more than those who don’t attend church.
• evangelical Christians are the most torture-tolerant of all (62% supporting torture often or sometimes), followed by Roman Catholics (51%), mainline Protestants (46%), and—least of all—religiously unaffiliated/agnostic/ atheist (40%).
So the Christians who are the most vocal about following Christ—those of us who call ourselves evangelicals— seem to have the least Christ-like attitude in the current cultural debate. (Of course, I’m assuming that Jesus would not approve of torture—an opinion solidly anchored on the Sermon on the Mount) Those of us who are mainline Christians have a substantially lower rate of torture-tolerance, but still not as low as unchurched folks. The irony is rich.
The famous Indian prophet Mohatma Ghandi once said, “I like your Christ, but not your Christians.” In fact, in what should make our evangelical hearts break for squandered possibility, Gandhi also quipped, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”
So why is it so hard to live ‘according to the teachings of Christ’? Honestly? Because they’re hard. It takes a lot of faith to be vulnerable and principled when we’re innately programmed to want security more. The Peace Corps produces great stories, but when we’re scared it’s the Marine Corps we want. We’re happy following the Bible when it talks about other people changing or risking, but not so much when it talks about us. In fact, we Christians often describe the Bible as infallible and mandatory when it comes to other people’s issues (homosexuality comes to mind), but dismiss the Bible as impractical and inapplicable when it hits closer to home (‘turning the other cheek’ or ‘doing unto others’—apparently especially if the ‘others’ are Muslim extremists)
Maybe the truth is we Christians aren’t really as Bible-based as we like to claim. Last fall, a Mercer University poll showed that 44% of white Southern evangelicals rely on life experiences and common sense to determine their views about torture. Which are, to be fair, pretty good criteria in many ways; they’re just not the only criteria Christians are called to use. No, just 28% of those Christian responders said they relied on Christian teachings or beliefs.
Our mission at Kaw Prairie is to change lives with Jesus’ love. That doesn’t just mean getting people to come to church. Or to read the Bible more. Or to join a small group. It means changing the way we think, the priorities we use in making decisions. As Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Religious people who say one thing and do another—that’s not a new phenomenon, of course. I’m one of them. And so are you. In fact, years ago a bunch of us gave the green light to torture and kill a middle-east religious radical. His name was Jesus of Nazareth.
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires….Humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. --James 1:19-21
3 comments:
Very,Very, Very good insight!!!!!!!
There you go again...
No, I'm not channeling Ronald Reagan (not that there's anything wrong with that). It's just that darn near every encounter I've had with Kaw Prairie touches on something that's particularly poignant for me. In a positive way. I just finished reading the mid-week newsletter, and your message did it again.
As a consultant, I encounter a lot of new people on a regular basis. Sooner or later, most of them figure out that I'm a practicing Christian. There are a couple of patterns in people's reaction to that realization that I've noticed. First, it's very, very rare that other Christians I encounter talk about religion. Which is weird, because if the same people find out that I'm a fan of the same sports team as they are, bam! all kinds of discussion ensues. "Dude, you're a Broncos fan too?!? Wasn't that Elway something?" But the fact that we're both fans of the same Savior doesn't stimulate any discussion. "Dude, you're a Jesus fan too?!? Wasn't that Sermon on the Mount something?" Doesn't happen.
By contrast, it's not at all unusual for the unchurched to initiate religious discussions with me. While those discussions can cover any number of specific topics, at least 90% of the time, part of the discussion echoes the sentiments of Gandhi. These people know enough about what Jesus taught, and they know enough about what Christians practice to notice that there's often a discrepancy. More often than not, I find myself agreeing with them. Which makes it really hard to answer their questions and counter their assertions. So I usually just blame Satan and/or the liberal media and steer the conversation towards the upcoming NFL season. Ok, not really, but sometimes it takes some hard work to paint Christ and Christians in a good light.
The other sub-point you made in this week's message that really hits home for me, is the tendency for some Christians to single out specific groups or categories of sinners. Drives me crazy some days. It's kind of hard to bring some one into the fold when you walk up to them and say "Jesus loves you. But I don't."
Anyway....From the first time we visited KP, it was obvious where the priorities and values are. That's what made it so easy for us to join. The fact that those priorities and values are so consistently preached and executed continually confirm our decision to join.
Jon
Your post makes you sound sympathetic to Ghandi's religion. To some, this may make you appear to be open minded and intelligent, while to others like myself, shake their heads and wonder, "how long will God let his name be blasphemed?" Why not make the quantum leap and shake free of the embarrassment that people who can't seem to follow Jesus correctly and join the Unitarian Universalist movement? You will stand a better chance of coming across as a free-thinking and intelligent person. It may pay a little more as well. As for me, I'll take the Jesus that is represented in the Holy Bible without apology. I don't care if I look unintelligent.
I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world has to offer... including esteem.
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