food for thought
Had an amazing conversation with Ben the other night. Hashed through a bunch of stuff that'd been on both of our minds lately. For me, mainly I've been struggling to make sense of my place as a follower of Christ in a world of republican vs. democrat, fanatical religious right vs. radical left, etc...
Where has the american church gone wrong to the point to where we believe we can change hearts through legislation? I thought we'd originally left Britain because of a longing for freedom to worship the way we wanted, a longing for a new nation where the power to legislate and regulate morality wasn't in the hands of the government. Is the gospel about bullying "seculars" and "sinners" into submission and salvation through laws and regulations? Just thinking out loud.
I'm reading a book, Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock by Andrew Beaujon, and it's been fascinating. Fascinating because it was written by a non-believer. A non-believer who couldn't help but wonder what the deal was with christian music, whether christian rock, pop, rap, or metal. What are the origins of this subculture? What are the motivations behind it, and are there more to the stereotypes than we think?
This passage in particular hit me really hard. I tend to agree with him, and it hurts to say so. He's been explaining the origins of the dispensationalist(rapture and end times) movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the implicit(he thinks) shift in priorities subsequent to the movement.
Ballmer says this idea "relieved evangelicals of the obligation to labor for the amelioration of social ills" and that they "increasingly stood in judgment of culture and awaited its destruction, which would follow their translation into heaven."
This way of thinking lends itself to political conservatism, but it's had an economic implication as well, as Christians have built an alternate culture to sustain themselves while they wait out the last days. Christian plumbers service pipes installed by Christian contractors in housing developments built by and for Christians who attend Christian concerts, read Christian books, and watch Christian television with Christian friends.
and this part kills me:
But then there's the great commission, the mandate in Matthew 28:19 to make disciples of all nations. Which is kind of difficult to do if you're holed up in your compound in Idaho growing your own food until the rapture comes.
is this the state of the evangelical church? followers of Christ reticent to reach out and engage their neighbors and get involved in culture, even the secular kind(which, btw, there is no such thing as "secular"if you really believe in the sovereignty of Christ), but when a pet "sin that shall go un-named" like gay marriage gets coverage, they leave their caves and shake their spears and try to vote change and love into the hearts of real people struggling with real sin in need of real love and a real savior?
Where has the american church gone wrong to the point to where we believe we can change hearts through legislation? I thought we'd originally left Britain because of a longing for freedom to worship the way we wanted, a longing for a new nation where the power to legislate and regulate morality wasn't in the hands of the government. Is the gospel about bullying "seculars" and "sinners" into submission and salvation through laws and regulations? Just thinking out loud.
I'm reading a book, Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock by Andrew Beaujon, and it's been fascinating. Fascinating because it was written by a non-believer. A non-believer who couldn't help but wonder what the deal was with christian music, whether christian rock, pop, rap, or metal. What are the origins of this subculture? What are the motivations behind it, and are there more to the stereotypes than we think?
This passage in particular hit me really hard. I tend to agree with him, and it hurts to say so. He's been explaining the origins of the dispensationalist(rapture and end times) movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the implicit(he thinks) shift in priorities subsequent to the movement.
Ballmer says this idea "relieved evangelicals of the obligation to labor for the amelioration of social ills" and that they "increasingly stood in judgment of culture and awaited its destruction, which would follow their translation into heaven."
This way of thinking lends itself to political conservatism, but it's had an economic implication as well, as Christians have built an alternate culture to sustain themselves while they wait out the last days. Christian plumbers service pipes installed by Christian contractors in housing developments built by and for Christians who attend Christian concerts, read Christian books, and watch Christian television with Christian friends.
and this part kills me:
But then there's the great commission, the mandate in Matthew 28:19 to make disciples of all nations. Which is kind of difficult to do if you're holed up in your compound in Idaho growing your own food until the rapture comes.
is this the state of the evangelical church? followers of Christ reticent to reach out and engage their neighbors and get involved in culture, even the secular kind(which, btw, there is no such thing as "secular"if you really believe in the sovereignty of Christ), but when a pet "sin that shall go un-named" like gay marriage gets coverage, they leave their caves and shake their spears and try to vote change and love into the hearts of real people struggling with real sin in need of real love and a real savior?
posted by Ethan at 9:28 PM
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