John Dominic Crossan has nailed the crux of the nasty fangs and bite that I find in the mouths of many Christians that can't seem to engage ideas, history, doctrine, experience or teachers...without turning the conversations into trials or witch hunts. Now Im wary about John's views on other subjects and I think this line of thought taken too far can undermine foundational core issues or doctrines...but the attitude or spirit he addresses is killing the pursuit of the educated mind, especially within churches. It's the same power at work in the life of Paul that had him standing there holding the coats of those who were bludgeoning Stephen to death, with rocks. When religion starts picking up stones, erecting gallows, gathering wood and blogging decrees...evil days are brewing.
"But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." -Paul (Galatians 5:15) Spoken by a man who knew where that kind of zealousness can lead.
Now here is a video where all the dialogue is text taken directly from online Christian fundamentalist forums. WARNING it contains some offensive language.As brutal, raw and offensive as that is...its a painful wake up call to the dialogue taking place within some streams of Churchianity. Some might be shocked by hearing such things...others...not really. It's an ugly conversation going on and unfortunately more words are being uttered than should be spoken and less spiritual lives are living out convincing arguments.
God help us....
4 comments:
I was raised with very fundamentalist teachings. The idea of "we are good, and everyone else is bad" was preached from the pulpit and taught in the schools. Back in high school I vividly remember discussing with my other 'Christian' friends how this world would be a better place without all the homosexuals, and we went on to devise a plan to get rid of them...
Since then, God has shown me how prideful and wicked my heart was to think that way and still call myself His. I am so ashamed. But your post has definitely brought me back to that time in my life.
And yes, God help us.
Thank you Pastor Eric, and I hope to visit your church again.
Hope you do Andrea...
Interesting post, I think what Crossan says about fundamentalists concluding that if you don't take a scripture literally your aren't a Christian. This I think is true with some, and with that group, they can be dogmatic and intolerant. That being said, I think it is a huge leap to suggest that it can then lead to violence. That is fear-mongering and I am repelled by that. Even the most offensive Christians I have encountered have never been physically violent; it seems to suffice for them to simply terrorize you with the threat of eternal torturing by God. A sort of violence I suppose but certainly not physical in this life, as lived out by U.S. Christians. I don't know about other cultures, but if you seriously take the Bible literally you believe we must love our enemies and although it may not seem like it in a heated argument, I fear no harm, ever.
Now the second video is simply the illustration of what I have already said and I thank God that there is a move of the Holy Spirit in the church today that is leaving that counterfeit faith behind.
Love Dad
Didn't some zealot blow up a clinic in the US? The better topic would be extremism. Literalism seems like a hang up, where extremism is a serious problem. Does literalism lead to extremism? I doubt it, it's probably more like a lot of extremists tend to literalism but I doubt it's as simple as literalism leads to extremism.
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