Maybe I'm just getting tired and cynical, or maybe I'm really feeling God's heart - not sure...
As I troll the interwebs, looking at the goings on in christendom, I start to feel like its all a farce. All the bickering, the twisted angry people spouting twisted angry doctrines about a twisted angry God. Fighting each other over things that don't matter, swallowing stupidity hook line and sinker. Gullibly believing stuff just because it was how their favourite leaders teach it, or its just the traditions they have been handed down.
Then there's all the political crap that has been wrapped in christian words, supposedly to make godly nations, and supposedly bringing his blessing on the land. And all the money grabbing ministries, and all the "support Israel or be damned" groups.
I look at all this and think, what a mess! Is there actually any truth in this whatsoever? The bible is little use in sorting out the mess because that's the very thing that starts half the problems anyway. For me christianity is dead. Its a corpse that won't lie down because people keep kicking it around, propping it up and putting makeup on it in the vain hope that it will keep going.
But somewhere outside of all that is the light of Jesus. I think the light went out in christainity a long time ago. There are however lights shining in individuals who quietly get on with bringing Gods heart to a starving needy world. And many aren't in the church, and many aren't "christians" (gasp). But they bring Fathers love to all they touch. They bring the miracle of what Jesus did for all mankind to life in all they are and do, and spread that miracle to all around them.
That light also flickers in some of us, and struggles to burn through the walls of christianity, to break free into the world. It is held back by the very religion that tried to embrace it, but ended up smothering it to death.
For those of us who nurture our precious unity with God, who see that flame in others and want nothing more than to blow life into it, can we stand together? Can we leave the rotting putrid corpse of christendom for the vultures, walk away from it, and let Jesus shine? Let his unconditional love for everyone be our sole justification for all we are and do?
I could! I could just walk away from it all and leave it for the fires of Gehenna.
Hi Jim,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this--and I'm a Christian minister!
I used to be a pastor, but I've moved on from that. I no longer believe that the church as an institution is the future of the real "church of Christ"--which is the community of people of all faiths, and of no particular faith, who believe in God and/or goodness, and live to love and serve their fellow human beings.
For some of my thoughts on the subject, I invite you to read my post, "If there’s One God, Why All the Different Religions?":
http://leewoof.org/2012/11/05/if-theres-one-god-why-all-the-different-religions/
Godspeed on your journeys and on your writing.
--Lee
Thanks Lee,
ReplyDeleteGod's interactions with mankind are faaaar bigger than we ever imagined. It makes no sense to think He would limit himself to such a small group, and then have to rely on them to tell everyone else, through all time, the truth about himself!!
Wow... pretty much sums up why I have not been to a church in about a year, and love Christ more than ever. I can't bear to see what they have done with Him. It hurts too much. If that wasn't bad enough, the election in my country finished me off. So I subscribed. You can be my preacher for awhile. lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fish (do your friends call you Fishy?)
ReplyDeleteDon't pin too much hope on my ramblings, lol. I'm still finding my way too ;-)