Please tell me there's something in between:
I teach a kid's youth group. [...] I do not tell kids what to believe or how to believe. I even ask if they do or do not believe the stories I tell, and allow them to let me know of they do not.
...here are some muddle-minded Christians who have latched onto ID theory with an attempt to “Christianize” it. [...] the fact of ID not being grounded in the true and living God who has clearly revealed Himself only allows any person with a wacky belief about a creator and creation utilize ID arguments.
Um... what in the world happened to Christianity? When did it become "this is what I believe but you know whatever"? When did it become "if you don't believe what I believe you will go to hell"? (Granted, the gentleman responsible for the second quote, while fairly divisive in his statement, is nowhere near as exclusionary as an organization he promotes, Answers in Genesis.)
Statement the one: If you believe what you say you believe, there is no way you can be wishy-washy about teaching children about Christ. Either you take your faith seriously and present it as a real, saving relationship with Christ, or you don't and these children lose what is quite possibly their only inroad to the Gospel.
Statement the two: If you truly care as much about the people opposing you as you do about being right, there is no way you go on insulting the people you intend to reach. You realize that, while speaking graphically in hopes of reaching the body in its "apostasy" (i.e., believing in an old earth), you are completely alienating a whole generation from Christianity, right?
Seriously—what the heck is going on with Christianity? Where are the real Christians of my generation? Is the US destined for that cold death, slowly and inexorably drifting away from God's principles like a planet slowly drifting out of its orbit and freezing? Or is US Christianity rapidly excluding everyone with whom it doesn't agree, hurtling recklessly toward the sun, ready for a heat death "going down in a blaze of glory"?
Either way, you know, it dies.
Posted by pcg at April 27, 2007 9:53 PMThe real Christians are out there. And here's the thing, they're actually doing good in the world and helping people, not screaming from a bully pulpit and forwarding a political agenda. Because they get it. They get that at the end of the day whether or not the world was created in 6 literal 24 hour days doesn't matter. What matters is Christ living and breathing in the world right now through us, in the dark and lonely places, and in the beautiful and majestic ones. That's what it's all about.
So don't lose hope, the real Christians are still out there, they just don't care about being on TV.
Posted by: Morgan on April 30, 2007 6:18 AMi feel as though, we as christians, have attached all sorts of meaningless crap to what it means to be a christian. ie. you have to believe in a 7 day literal creation, you have to vote republican, you have to oppose everything the democratic party stands for, etc.
in my mind it should be likened to what the pharisees did with the law, in that they added hundreds (if not thousands) of meaningless laws for the way people should live. in the end it became a huge hindrance for people (the israelites) to even get through their daily lives. i feel like we do the same thing today with people who might be interested in being christ like but do not want to follow the (christian) party line.
fwiw
Posted by: palletjackracer on April 30, 2007 2:49 PMI want to start a church that meets in a coffee house or bar on Sunday mornings. Random thought.
Posted by: Mark on May 2, 2007 8:56 PM