Weird Time for Christians

I think I found my soul sister.

It really is amazing the reaction I get from "Christians" when I criticize Trump or question other political views commonly held by the Evangelical Right.

 
Just like there shouldn't be Democrats/Republicans, there shouldn't be religious denominations. People today hang on the words of people rather than their actions. Politicians who spread the word of Jesus only on their campaign trails. In no way is Trump a Christian other than to gain votes. 

 
BRB  - agreed.  She has cut across the grain.  The biggest eye opening thing for me of the 2016 election and the consequential issues that followed (including the Alabama Senate race), is how religious leaders have adulterated their Christianity with republican values and dogma and loyalties.   The evangelical right has sold its soul for political power - they have left the Gospel of the Cross for the gospel of political expediency, power, and influence.  They have exchange Christ like values and wells that never run dry, for dry wells of political dogma (Isaiah 58:11, John 7:37-39).   While the political right and the religions followers have rightfully said that the left has made 'gov't' its 'god', the right has done exactly the same thing.  The evangelical church in doing so has cut the cord to historic Christianity - it has accepted Cesar and rejected the way of the Roman Colosseum, they have chosen life in the hear and now instead of eternal values regardless of the consequences in the hear and now.   While the people of faith have a right and responsibility to influence & engage the public square, the public square should not be 'the winner'  in which base secular values (winning!, Trumpism, moral relativism) replace Biblical values of virtue.  

One may  debate her acceptance of Same Sex Marriage but there is no debate on loving those who participate in Same Sex Marriage.  For any so call "christian"(small"c" - don't believe they were truly Christian (Christ Followers) in heart)  to send her death threats because of her SSM stance, is not a judgement on her but rather the person who sent the threat.  She is fulfilling the 'royal law' of love (James ch 2- good discourse on it starting wt James 1:20 - loving the widow, the orphan, works of faith, etc).  One does not need to agree with someone's political views - whether it be SSM or prolife/prochoice to fulfill the law of love.  It is our Christian duty to do so first and foremost.  This is why I say the evangelical right in many ways has lost its soul - it has exchanged the soul of love and compassion for a soul of 'manna that does not satisfy' - political power and influence.  I fear we have become the Laodicea church of Revelation ch 3 - neither hot or cold - luke warm.  We have lost our first love. 

Revelations ch 3:14 -16 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other. 16So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth!…

Time for the evengelical church to return to God.  This is the way: Micah 6:8 :  He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

 
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Jen is a Christian in the truest sense of the word. Anyone can co-opt that label for themselves and whatever their ideology is, but her only ethic in all of this has been loving God and loving people. She, along with others, are why many of us have disassociated ourselves from evangelicalism, fundamentalism, and reformed theology alltogether.

If you guys are interested in more voices like hers, I'd recommend Johnathan Martin, The Liturgists podcasts (Michael Gungor and Science Mike), and Rachel Held Evans.

 
BIG ERN said:
Just like there shouldn't be Democrats/Republicans, there shouldn't be religious denominations. People today hang on the words of people rather than their actions. Politicians who spread the word of Jesus only on their campaign trails. In no way is Trump a Christian other than to gain votes. 
Click to expand...




Wait a minute.   He even knew the joke about the two Corinthians.  How can you say he's not a Christian?

 
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Landlord said:
Jen is a Christian in the truest sense of the word. Anyone can co-opt that label for themselves and whatever their ideology is, but her only ethic in all of this has been loving God and loving people. She, along with others, are why many of us have disassociated ourselves from evangelicalism, fundamentalism, and reformed theology alltogether.

If you guys are interested in more voices like hers, I'd recommend Johnathan Martin, The Liturgists podcasts (Michael Gungor and Science Mike), and Rachel Held Evans.
Click to expand...
Michael Gungor - we watched him 'grow up ' here in Tulsa.  His early days as a musician in his dad's church and launching out on his own.   Here is a good

article that links Gungor to the issues we are talking about - The Essentials.

https://relevantmagazine.com/current/why-are-people-so-upset-about-what-gungor-said

I like this ending to the article.  


In the Essentials, Unity. In Non-Essentials, Liberty. And in All Things, Charity.




Too often, many Christians have a tendency to vehemently attack anything that might challenge their thinking at all.

I spend a lot of time teaching my freshmen students about the “essentials” and “non-essentials” of the Christian faith. What is essential? Those things directly related to our relationship with our Creator, the one in whom we “live, move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Simply put, the beliefs and understandings that directly affect our salvation are the essentials (Jesus, His divinity, His death and Resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins, our ability to be in relationship with God through His Son and Spirit and how our life should be lived as taught by the Bible etc.).

The non-essentials, well, they are everything else. They are the things not directly related to our salvation (and, no, literal young earth Creationism and the flood account do not affect our salvation).

I use this analogy often, as Christians we tend to act like we have a belief system that is like a bubble: It is fragile and easily popped if anything even touches any part of it. We think we have to protect our bubble.

But when did the Christian faith become so fragile? It is OK to ask the tough questions, to question our beliefs to find them to be true (and if not true to find the truth God is revealing to us).

Instead of a bubble, our beliefs should be like a Jenga tower that is built on a solid foundation (that of Jesus Christ and the “essentials” of the Christian faith). It should be malleable, able to be corrected, able to be taught, able to be taken apart, examined and built once more back on that foundation.

Therefore we should strive for unity in the essential parts of faith, give some wiggle room in the non-essentials, and most of all, be willing to give a lot of grace for those we disagree with.

 
I would consider myself a conservative Christian.  I was prepared to not like the article, however, the author is right on many accounts.  I fell that evangelicals lost their way as they sold themselves to the Republican party.  When it comes to politics I feel any group screws themselves when they put all of their eggs in one basket. (political party)  Christians have done this with the Repubs.  You end up living or dying with them.  Ask the groups on the left who feel disenfranchised right now.  As Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."  I have many friends who are very conservative Christians who are also liberal.  Some Christians would think they are headed to hell.  I think that would go against what the Bible teachers.

 
I think it helps a lot to that a conservative christian wrote the article.  It allows folks to appoach it with "lets see what he has to say" vs, "oh here we go again with some liberal picking on us".  I felt he/she had more credibility with the "we's".  I'm glad you read it Crusader.

 
When your entire model of attraction for new people is a fear-based foundation (fear of hell), no s#!t your walls are going to crumble down and every element of your big powerful castle is going to be tainted with fear.

 
White "christianity" and their politics of hate, intolerance, bigotry, and fear (of non-whites, lbgtqia, immigrants, etc) has been something I have been talking about for a VERY long time.

I've made some pretty strong generalizations in the past, but that's only because I've seen with my own eyes everything I've ever spoken about.  And the worst part is, I know for a fact there are genuinely good Christians out there--white Christians who are NOT racists, bigots, anti-lbgtqia, anti-immigrants, etc.  The problem is, those few moderate voices are mostly shouted down by the Mike Pence's, Mike Huckabee"s, and Ted Cruz's in this country.

As an atheist I am 100% in favor of religious liberty.  I think people should be free to pick whatever, I think, bogus religion (or none at all) that they believe works for them.  However, one's religious beliefs does not, and should never, supercede anyone's right to live and exist.  And when someone uses their "faith" as weapon to discriminate against someone else, that's crossing the line and is not covered by religious liberty.

 
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