Well, that might tweak some of our readers… especially the Christian readers.
Have you ever gone on a website where members freely blog about religion? You see many strange responses, very intense, sharp words used as bullets to inflict pain against the opposing side, and well… you see statements that just are not true.
For example, I have seen an abundant amount of blog messages where the writer says this, “Christianity has caused more war than secularists without religion or a belief in any god.” Others will say, “Christianity is full of hatred because of the Crusades and now their fight against abortion or homosexuality.”
The worst statements come like this, “I don’t belong to a church because they are full of hypocrites!”
Are these statements true? Let me throw out a thought that might not sit well initially.
Have you ever gone on a website where members freely blog about religion? You see many strange responses, very intense, sharp words used as bullets to inflict pain against the opposing side, and well… you see statements that just are not true.
For example, I have seen an abundant amount of blog messages where the writer says this, “Christianity has caused more war than secularists without religion or a belief in any god.” Others will say, “Christianity is full of hatred because of the Crusades and now their fight against abortion or homosexuality.”
The worst statements come like this, “I don’t belong to a church because they are full of hypocrites!”
Are these statements true? Let me throw out a thought that might not sit well initially.
Christianity is not dependant on your character… those who are called Christian – past, present, or future.
C. Michael Patton says it this way, “Christianity is not determined as valid or invalid upon the character of its adherents.”
In other words, if Christians do not act a “good” way, then Christianity itself is discredited. To explore this we need to see the cultural view of Christianity and the meaning of Christianity.
Culturally, Christianity is a religion – the way one practices and believes. The true meaning is “a specific follower of Jesus Christ” and can also be defined as “a Christian is a disciple of Jesus Christ.”
When the culture sees a church behave improperly (from their perspective, by the way) they discredit Christianity on the whole. Take for example the Christian who bombs an abortion clinic. Suddenly, to be a Christian is to be an extremist who hates from the cultural point of view.
The true meaning of Christian (a specific follower of Jesus Christ) is discredited when a minister or believer falls to immorality. But should it? Does Christianity receive validation (or invalidation) upon the character of its adherents?
Have you heard someone say, “Christianity is validated by how we treat one another.”? But is it validated by the way I as a Christian treat you?
The answer (I believe strongly) is “no”, Christianity is not validated by how we treat one another. “Christian” is not discredited by the Crusades of past millennia nor is Christianity invalid by the one who bombs a clinic and says he is a Christian and God told him to bomb the clinic.
Now, I am going to leave you hanging…
My next blog will reveal a truth that I believe the church has lost sight of and I know the world has not understood. For now, look again at this statement, “Christianity is validated or invalidated by how we treat one another.” What do you say? I would like to see some thoughts we can post on this blog and can have a dialogue.
If you are undecided but would like to add an example of why Christianity is valid or invalid based on the character of its adherents I would love to see some of these thoughts.
Until next time… I leave you hanging!
God bless,
Pastor Fred Caudle
C. Michael Patton says it this way, “Christianity is not determined as valid or invalid upon the character of its adherents.”
In other words, if Christians do not act a “good” way, then Christianity itself is discredited. To explore this we need to see the cultural view of Christianity and the meaning of Christianity.
Culturally, Christianity is a religion – the way one practices and believes. The true meaning is “a specific follower of Jesus Christ” and can also be defined as “a Christian is a disciple of Jesus Christ.”
When the culture sees a church behave improperly (from their perspective, by the way) they discredit Christianity on the whole. Take for example the Christian who bombs an abortion clinic. Suddenly, to be a Christian is to be an extremist who hates from the cultural point of view.
The true meaning of Christian (a specific follower of Jesus Christ) is discredited when a minister or believer falls to immorality. But should it? Does Christianity receive validation (or invalidation) upon the character of its adherents?
Have you heard someone say, “Christianity is validated by how we treat one another.”? But is it validated by the way I as a Christian treat you?
The answer (I believe strongly) is “no”, Christianity is not validated by how we treat one another. “Christian” is not discredited by the Crusades of past millennia nor is Christianity invalid by the one who bombs a clinic and says he is a Christian and God told him to bomb the clinic.
Now, I am going to leave you hanging…
My next blog will reveal a truth that I believe the church has lost sight of and I know the world has not understood. For now, look again at this statement, “Christianity is validated or invalidated by how we treat one another.” What do you say? I would like to see some thoughts we can post on this blog and can have a dialogue.
If you are undecided but would like to add an example of why Christianity is valid or invalid based on the character of its adherents I would love to see some of these thoughts.
Until next time… I leave you hanging!
God bless,
Pastor Fred Caudle
IMPORTANT: TITLE OF ARTICLE IS USED FROM C.MICHAEL PATTON'S ARTICLE IN THE JANUARY NEWSLETTER OF "RECLAIMING THE MIND MINISTRIES"
Posts
1 comment:
Christianity is not validated upon the character of its adherents. If it were, all Christians would be in trouble. Everyone fall short of the glory of God. Christianity is based solely on an individual (and his acceptance of Christ) and what Christ did (took upon our sins of the world, died on a cross and on the third day rose from the grave). Paul tells the Church of Corinth” Christianity is true if Christ rose from the dead. If he did not, it is false.”
When Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount, He did tell us how to live morally and treat each other and as Christians we should be the salt of the earth and light of the world, but our witness cannot prove Christianity. Actions on their own do not validate of invalidate that Christ is God, but from the perspective of people watching a Christian it does. A Christian’s witness may get non believers to consider the claims of Christ, but a Christian’s behavior does not determine the truth of Christianity.
Fran Youmans on Jan. 21, 2009
Post a Comment