tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32498127.post1341760111467609206..comments2013-12-11T04:36:40.872-06:00Comments on Divulgence: Choosing Slavery over FreedomShannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15247670348191934957noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32498127.post-7240999148985566642006-12-12T21:49:00.000-06:002006-12-12T21:49:00.000-06:00Colin,
I absolutely agree that our actions need t...Colin,<br /><br />I absolutely agree that our actions need to be considered as to how we portray Christ to this world. I also hold that the Church or Christians cannot be ultimately held responsible for the departure of faith in some people's lives all of the time. If a person is "deceived" into believing a lie, then we've committed a terrible trespass but if the truth hurts and it does, or we simply don't like the current model of "church", I don't find these excuses valid reasons for rejecting ones faith. I would argue that that individuals faith was lacking to begin with and they found a way out and took it. I would also add that I think the vast majority of the departures from faith are for reasons similar to the latter.Shannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15247670348191934957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32498127.post-42992477095578323612006-12-12T19:59:00.000-06:002006-12-12T19:59:00.000-06:00I tried to leave a comment on this posting earlier...I tried to leave a comment on this posting earlier on in the day, but once again I had trouble with the word verification etc. Either that, or when it finally came through you censored it :).<br /><br />I was just making a comment on how my original comment read, in retrospect, a lot differently than I intended it to. What my comment was supposed to suggest is that no matter how far away I have strayed I have never been able to intelligently discount the existence of God (as atheists would claim to do). I think I would have liked to have done this - it would have made my vagrancy a lot less tumultuous. <br /><br />Most of what I read on the site you linked us to spoke more of bitterness than rationality. Of course we still need to listen to what people are saying through this type of speech. <br /><br />The fact is, like you seemed to be pointing out, we as Christians need to be aware of how our actions help establish others' perceptions of God. Our tendency towards occasional hypocrisy really has the power to detrimentally trip others faith into oblivion. That indeed is scary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32498127.post-36315151733841494902006-12-12T17:50:00.000-06:002006-12-12T17:50:00.000-06:00Cindy,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I h...Cindy,<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I hear in you some of what I and countless others have dealt with to some degree. I understand your grief with todays evangelical paradigm and am glad that you haven't decided to reject your faith as you stated in your comment.<br /><br />I understand that much of the "evangelical paradigm" that exists today is tainted and isn't remotely close to what Jesus is about. However, I can't wrap my brain around the concept of rejecting my faith due to this screwed up "evangelical paradigm" as it were. I can't connect to that. The reality is, there will always be those "Christians" that refuse to look at life's ickiness and its incongruencies with honesty. I personally cannot allow that to affect my relationship with God.<br /><br />I guess what I'm saying, without any intentional harm, is that if a person can truly walk away from faith in God as a result of mere people, they weren't following too closely to Jesus in the first place.<br /><br />I'm reminded of John 6 toward the end of the chapter. Jesus had been teaching in a Synagogue in Capernaum and some of the things he said were very difficult to receive much less understand. As a result, the Bible tells us in verse 66, "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him." The Jesus looked at the twelve and asked them in verse 67, “Do you want to go away as well?” To which Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”<br /><br />In this passage it is very obvious that a clear revelation of who Jesus is will not easily be rejected or abandoned due to the failings of people or organizations or doctrines or whoever or whatever source.<br /><br />I don't have to like the evangelical paradigm that is prevalent in many churches today, but that fact it is fractured and faulty isn't going to cause my faith to waiver in the person of Jesus Christ. I hope I didn't read too much into your comment but this is the idea I got when you said, "...I have come extremely close to doing so myself during the last couple years."<br /><br />I truly hope that God can restore your faith in Him beyond the failures of organizational religion and faulty perceptions of arrogant church.<br /><br />I hope I've made sense with all of this :)Shannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15247670348191934957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32498127.post-86940764886035257192006-12-12T13:53:00.000-06:002006-12-12T13:53:00.000-06:00Hi Shannon...followed a link from Jamie's blogroll...Hi Shannon...followed a link from Jamie's blogroll.<br /><br />I've been pondering the idea of christians rejecting their faith for awhile now. In fact, I have come extremely close to doing so myself during the last couple years. I also have a dear friend who has become an agnostic recently. <br /><br />While I agree many forgo the 'narrow way' because a lifestyle of slavery is easier or at least more familiar...my experience has been different. I became despondent (still am at times) over the christians I know who refuse to look at life's ickiness and its incongruencies with honesty...preferring instead to disengage and isolate, label stuff with christianese ("that's'from Satan'!"), or simply detach from reality completely and live in la-la land. I found my deep questions were laughed at, ignored, or got me labelled as having 'issues with authority'. I didn't want to go back to Egypt...I wanted out of Egypt in the church. <br /><br />For many of my non christian friends (and I have lots of 'em) the biggest stumbling block to taking a serious look at Jesus is those who say they follow him and can't carry on a normal conversation. For those I know who have left christianity, they often (like me) simply cannot tolerate being associated with 'Judgemental homophobics' (See Barna's Revolution). I guess I had to abandon 'church' to ask the hard questions, wrestle with the inconsistencies, deal with the shame and fear that surrounded my faith, and all that crap in order to discover Jesus outside the evangelical paradigm. <br /><br />I'm currently attending a very small, traditional Mennonite congregation. No cool music, no hip 20-somethings, no 'third place' meeting place, no designer coffee. Just some old folks still trying to make the world a better place, present themselves to God, and enjoy life. We went to sing cheesy carols to the congregation's shut-in members. Most churches I've attended aren't old enough to have a shut-in ministry! <br /><br />So, yes, many will chicken out on the requirements of following Jesus and high-tail it back to Egypt...but some of us have difficulty separating Jesus from his followers. And I totally understand that POV. It's still a struggle for me.cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11231641398378820087noreply@blogger.com