Archive for Christianity

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

{ August 15, 2012 @ 10:37 pm } · { Christianity, Eclectic Miscellany, Not That You Asked... }
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My buddy asked me to talk on her blog about the recent news of Jack Schaap getting into trouble, and it has got me wanting to talk a little bit about the Church. If you didn’t know, Jack Schaap was pastor of a big church in Indiana and he was caught fooling around with a teenaged girl. Bad news though it may be, I wasn’t particularly surprised to hear it. He has had quite a track record of inappropriate remarks and misogyny over the years that he has been in charge of that church. I am truly saddened for the people who are going through this, but I am especially saddened by the way things like this reflect on Christianity.

I’ve read many news sources and internet conversations in which people have pointed to the faith as a distinct source of corruption, and although the term “Christian” gets used a lot by groups and individuals, I think it’s important to distinguish real Christianity from people who just use it as a social category. That label “Christian” is an adjectival name for a person who acts like “Christ.” Someone who follows Christ is a Christian. That’s it. We don’t say that every piece of psychology is Freudian, only statements or beliefs that follow the teachings of Sigmund Freud. We don’t call every person from South America Uruguayan, only the ones who are actually from Uruguay. Similarly, we should not call every sort of religious person with a Christian-like background in the USA a “Christian.”

You’re a Christian if you follow Christ. By definition, this can’t be an incidental part of your life or an inheritance; it’s a conscious choice. You can’t just claim the label and go around living a life that is completely unlike Christ. This type of thing is rampant in the USA right now, and it’s no wonder so many people pretending to be Christian are making the faith look toxic.

Now, I know that it’s also possible to vacilate in your opinions and be still genuine in your beliefs, and I am NOT trying to say that a person isn’t a Christian if they slip up once in a while. (That kinda thing is a whole different problem in itself.) What I AM saying is that just getting a job in a church does not a make person automatically a follower of Christ. Just because a man says he is a Christian is not enough to actually make him a follower of the teachings and life of Jesus. It’s just not.

When you base your communication with people on critism and name calling, you’re not acting like Christ. Biblically speaking we have no record of him using harsh language with people (unless they were the crooked religious leaders), and I think it’s safe to take that and say it is Christ-like to use respectful, kind language when we speak to people. If you can’t talk to someone about their behaviour without being nasty or hurtful, you’re not being a Christian. Westborough can call themselves whatever they want, but they’re not acting like Christ, and they’re not talking like Christ. That’s not Christian. They’re not a Christian church.

Similarly, just because Jesus was compassionate is no reason to claim that his life exuded tolerance. Jesus was honest about practical behaviors that were not Godly. If you’re going around telling people that the message of Christianity is love and tolerance, I’m not trying to be rude, but that isn’t what Jesus taught. You’re not emulating Christ, you’re emulating one facet of his behavior. It’s not Christian. It’s nice to be nice, but Christ taught that “sin” was a real thing. If you don’t believe that, okay, but you’re not a Christian.

I am a firm believer in moderation, and I dislike taking a dogmatic approach to spiritual issues, but, I love being a Christian. I enjoy learning about God and knowing him, and I find it very troubling that people like me are told that tolerance is the same thing as kindness and exclusivitiy of any sort is equated with hate speech. This faith is a relationship with God, not a psychological cancer, or a tool for cruelty and social power. All the richness of living peacably with others and enjoying spiritual completeness is shouldered to the side when people like Jack Schaap come out publicly spewing evil in the name Christendom.

A long post demonstrating why I shouldn’t blog about politics (and probably not sheep and giraffes) but I did it anyway

{ June 11, 2012 @ 11:16 pm } · { Art, Christianity, Sketches }
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Since the president announced endorsing gay marriage, I’ve done a lot of thinking about the Christian response to the American gay community and while I don’t typically use this blog as a platform for my beliefs, I have two loosely related thoughts to discuss about this issue.

The first of these is the president’s decision making process and the subsequent resurgence of obamaluv that occurred because of it. Ignoring that this may be an important year for him, he had a moment of personal epiphany during a conversation with his daughter when he realized that could no longer justify denying support to the gay community in their efforts to legalize same-sex marriages. Does anyone seriously believe his little girl prompted this?



I know all presidents pull these stunts, but I find it especially manipulative when they use their children (“our little girl Tricia, the six year old, named it ‘Checkers.’ And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it.).
Let’s not pretend some deep, personal conviction drove this. If he really cared for the well-being of the gay community, why couldn’t he speak out when the PR payoff was lower? I feel like he’s jerking people around because he knew that he would score big if he played that card in an election year.

My second and more substantive concern with this issue is the position of the Christian right wing. We make a show of defending the divinely designed institution, but surely the gay community is not entirely to blame for the disrespect society seems to have for it. If we were so excited about protecting marriage, I can think of a few other good candidates for picket signs…


Some people couldn’t be more obvious about their utter disregard for the values of those around them if they wore a sandwich sign declaring it.

Furthermore, America is not the Church, nor is it a branch of the Kingdom of Heaven (I guess that one depends on your theology), but we have gotten so comfortable calling ourselves a “Christian nation” that we’ve started to believe there really is such a thing. Of course there isn’t. A country is no more “Christian” than a shelf or a box. But then, there was such universal acceptance of Christianity in previous decades that it was socially unacceptable not to pretend like you were Christian.

Today it is unacceptable not to be clear that you don’t take your religion too seriously. Celebrities and politicians may boldly proclaim Christianity of any stripe, as long as they demonstrate to the public that tolerance is king. This is what has the right wing all worked up. I hear often that America is no longer the “Christian nation” that it used to be. Well, wanting the nation of which we are citizens to support Biblical righteousness isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not the top priority, and when we act like people should behave as though they are Christians, it doesn’t encourage the cause of Christ, it just usually ends up looking really weird.

I actually made this a long time ago about a dress-code related policy at my church, but I think it translates.

Stuff Fundies Like

{ May 17, 2011 @ 1:18 am } · { Christianity, Stuff That I Think Is Funny }
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So, the other day my hubby and I wandered into this website, Stuff Fundies Like, and it was really, really funny. (I’ve talked about this issue before– these are my people, but really… my people can be such fruit loops, and if you’ve ever been deep in the IFB movement, this is hilarious.) So I’m reading and it’s really funny, and then I see the video on this post, and I realize- this is a buddy of mine from back when ! I was quite stoked, I can tell you. I’m proud of you, Darrell.

I don’t want to be disloyal to my own, but some times Indy Fundy types can be really draining. The nonsense… oh the nonsense. This Sunday at my church, a guest speaker announced to the congregation that “Technology is killing our faith.” That is a quote. He explained to us all that things like print preview and iPods were a sign of moral degradation, and I’m not exaggerating. To this, I could answer that such faith is not worth keeping alive, but what do I know?

I need to adjust the size of the text on some of these, maybe tomorrow. I’m tired now though.

An Issue

{ September 9, 2010 @ 1:22 pm } · { Christianity }
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Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16b) Followers of Christ ought to be shrewed and gentle in their interpersonal relations. This event appears to be neither.

As a Christian, I feel the need to respond to the Terry Jones situation in Florida. I don’t like all the attention this is getting and won’t write a book about a subject of which I have no first-hand knowledge, but I will link this blog post. It is a brief and, I feel, decent little response to the subject without getting pushy or know-it-all.

I will also say that I’m very bothered by people who confuse pig-headed confrontational aggression for boldness, especially when they attribute their behavior to the Christian faith, and it certainly looks as though that’s what is happening here. My husband said the church should go burn their televisions instead. I can’t agree more. That could do a world of spiritual good for a person (without slapping somebody else in the face).

New Tools and a Reflection on Mortality

{ June 8, 2010 @ 11:22 pm } · { Art, Books, Christianity, Crafty Stuff }
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i am adding a caption

detail of the other picture

I got these tonight in the hopes that the rotating-action will asist me in the precision work that my clumsy hands cannot seem to manage. Yes, I’m seriously not coordinated enough to operate a screwdriver. I’ve been trying to mount a set of bathroom towel racks (okay, “trying” is a strong word- maybe I should say “considering”), and am thinking they may be helpful. And they’re cool. I know that a funky screwdriver is kind of like a “better mousetrap.” Not really something that’s necessary, and usually a step backward, but these seem pretty solid and the concept seems legit… I think I’ll try them out when this post is done.

I am excited about my home renovation projects- today we got a catalogue in the mail from Micro Mark, and I want this protractor quite a lot.

Off the subject a little, I am now reading The Lovely Bones, having just watched the movie. It is gut-wrenchingly sad, and I’m not sure if I like the book or the movie better. I can’t decide. I’m currently rather intrigued by secular books that deal with death and the afterlife. As a Christian, I have always had a notion somewhere either in the back of my mind or the forefront of my intentions that God is the beginning and end of life and the purpose for existance. The purpose of Heaven, with this in mind, has much less to do with being safe or comfortable or happy forever than it has with being in the presence of God. Actually, the thought of spending eternity with nothing to continue on but the fulfillment of my own being sounds quite empty to me. I’m not saying this to sound holy here, it’s just the perspective I have when I approach works like this. I have to say that this element is probably the saddest part of this book for me- the notion that the dead have only their own fulfillment to accomplish after their time on Earth is over.

Resurrection Day Food

{ April 4, 2010 @ 11:30 pm } · { Christianity, Food }
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A Chedder-Swiss Quiche for breakfast,

and Rosemary Leg of Lamb with barley and a tossed salad with lime vinaigrette for lunch.

I made a cake for dessert

and gulped down three pieces, thus annihilating my appetite for any more nutritious foods later on. I skipped dinner to have an egg painting/decoupaging date with my husband, and initially intended to post pics of the completed eggs, but they are still unfinished and drying on the table.

The recipes for the quiche and cake are alterations from Allrecipes, but the frosting lime vinaigrette and lamb roast are mine. The frosting is just cream cheese, marshmellow fluff and powdered sugar whipped up together, and the lime vinaigrette is avocado, lime juice, vinager, salt and vanilla extract mixed until I thought it tasted okay. The lamb, however, is a little more complicated. I came up with it last year and enjoyed it enough to make it a new family tradition. It is as follows:

Rosemary Leg of Lamb with Barley
Ingredients:
5 lb leg of lamb
4 cups prepared barley
1 bunch asparagus
5-6 cloves garlic (can be adjusted to taste, I like a lot of garlic)
1 heaping tbsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt

to rub on the roast:
11/2 tbsp Herbs de Provence
1 tbsp rosemary
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground mustard

1. Prepare barley first and set aside.
2. Combine ingredients for the rub, and brush all over the roast.
3. Place roast uncovered in a shallow roasting pan into the oven for 15 minutes at 400°, then drop to 375° for twenty minutes for each pound of meat.
4. While roast is in the oven, chop the asparagus into half-inch links and mix it with the barley, garlic, oregano, rosemary, olive oil, and salt. When the roast is finished, spoon mixture into the roasting pan along with it, cover lightly and continue baking the two at 225° for another two hours or until the meat is pulling away from the bone and the asparagus is soft.