All You Need is Love

The title of this post reflects a popular song by the Beatles, but it also reflects the key component that was intended to fuel the Church: love. Somewhere along the line Christians have fallen into the trap that all we need is right and wrong. But believe it or not, the purpose of the Bible is not to teach morality; it's purpose is to teach love.

The problem comes from such passages as Matthew 5 where, after a long string of apparent do's and don'ts, Jesus says, "be perfect as my father in heaven is perfect," or other passages which seem to explicitly tell us to be holy as God is holy. These passages have confused a lot of people through the years. Some have wanted to just throw them out of the bible or downplay them saying Jesus was exaggerating for dramatic effect. Others have taken these passages literally, pointing to them and saying, "see, we need to do good. Good works are important." I think there has just been a gross misunderstanding of these passages.

The Matthew 5 passage uses the Greek term teleios which literally means, "complete" or "finished." It does not mean perfect. Jesus wants us to be complete. In order to be complete, or to work towards the proper end (purpose) for which we were created (which is how this passage should be translated), we must love one another. Jesus says the two greatest commandments are to love God and love one another. Jesus said that his followers will be known by their love. Jesus said that we need to love our enemies. Our proper end is love, and the admonitions that preceded Jesus' command to "be perfect" describe how this kind of radical love works.

The passages that ask us to be holy have the very same purpose. Western culture has taught us that holiness means to follow the rules perfectly. The less we follow the rules, the less holy we are. But this is not what holiness was in the Bible. Holiness was love. Holiness was having a proper relationship with God in love that spilled out into your love for your fellow human being. When Jesus told us to be holy, he was telling us to have a deep, loving relationship with God, and to let that spill over into our relationships with one another.

I do not know where churches got the idea that Christians were to be the moral police and that being a Christian was about doing right and abstaining from wrong. If a person's focus is on sin, they will fall into sin. If a person's focus is on love, it is amazing what good they will do. The focus of the gospel time and time again was on love. The example Jesus gives us in his interactions with such people as the lady caught in adultery, or the Samaritan woman at the well, or the woman who bled for twelve straight years, or the Centurion, or a thousand other people is the example of love. The fact that Jesus showed love to everyone he came across and made them feel welcome and accepted should wake us up to the way the Church should be today.

While listening to Dr. Tony Campolo, a sociologist and Christian social activist, he told a story that really touched me. You can find the video imbedded below and I encourage you to watch it. He tells a story of being down in Hawaii and going for breakfast at 3:00 in the morning. While at this restaurant some prostitutes came in and sat beside him. One said to the other that tomorrow will be her birthday. The other one gave her some grief about it, and the birthday girl, Agnes, revealed that in her 39 years of life, she has never had a birthday party. So Tony planned a birthday party for her at 3:30 the next morning in the restaurant. Over thirty prostitutes showed up and they threw her her very first birthday party. She was so touched she couldn't even describe it. Tony ended up leading the prostitutes in prayer, to the shock of everyone there. When asked what kind of church Tony belonged to, he responded, "the kind of church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning." That is the kind of church I want to belong to. Not the kind that would say, "you shouldn't do that, prostitutes are bad people." If whores are worthy enough for my Lord, Jesus Christ to eat with, then certainly I am wrong to exclude them from my dinner table. In my Bible, Jesus teaches us to bring love to those who are unloved and to throw celebrations for those who don't feel they have anything to celebrate.

Jesus never taught that the church should be the moral police. Jesus never taught that we need to focus on doing right and avoiding wrong. Jesus reprimanded those who did such things and taught them that the law was about love, justice, and mercy, not rule (Matthew 23). Jesus taught that we are supposed to love on another. And that is what I am trying to practice. And that is what I think the Church should practice too.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant: A Reinterpretation

I had a good response from my contemporary interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan, and so I thought the need for this kind of biblical study was enough that occasionally I would write up a modern interpretation of the original text. Understand that as I do this, my intention is not to replace the original message or to somehow say that my translation is superior. Instead, my intent is to take a passage that uses illustrations that will no longer make sense to most readers (as they are very tied to their cultural setting) and modernize them so that perhaps we can have a better understanding of what Jesus is asking us in these parables to do today. With that said, let's now look at my modernized translation of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant which can be found in Matthew 18:21-35.

The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a lender who wanted to settle accounts with his borrowers. He brought in a man who still owed $200,000 on his home, even though his home was not even worth that amount any longer. Due to the recent decline in the economy, this man lost his job and was currently making slightly less than $20,000 a year at the only job he could find. He was behind on his payments and was facing foreclosure if he didn't pay $40,000 by next month. The lender called this man in and was told by this man that he didn't even have $4000 to give the lender. The lender, furious, called for the immediate foreclosure of this man's house and told him that if he didn't come up with the money in the next two weeks, he would take this man to court and seize all of his assets. The man immediately fell on the ground and begged, crying for a little more time, promising to pay the debt. The lender, having compassion on this man, forgave his entire debt and allowed the man to own the home outright.

This man left the lender feeling incredible relief and joy at having been forgiven such an incredible debt that would have been impossible for him to pay off in his own lifetime. This man also had a renter staying at his home who had been living there for the last two years and never missed a monthly rent payment until two months ago, right after he had lost his job. This man went directly to his renter and demanded that he pay him the two months rent. The renter pleaded with this man, asking for a couple more days to come up with the money. But the man immediately evicted his renter, called the creditors to seize the rent from his accounts, and got a restraining order so the renter could not come into the house to get his property.

When the man's forgiving lender found this out, he immediately called the man into his office. "I forgave you an impossible debt to repay," he exclaimed, "and yet you cannot even forgive a small debt? You will regret this." He immediately reissued the debt, tripling the interest rate and doubled the amount the man owed by next month. The lender also froze all of the man's assets until the debt could be fully repaid.

Jesus finishes up the parable by saying, "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” This parable teaches us that the debt (the sin) each of us are forgiven by Jesus, is greater than anyone of us can repay in a lifetime of effort. Nothing we can ever do can ever repay the debt we have incurred due to our sin. That is why Jesus died on the cross, providing the forgiveness of our debt. Therefore, it is wrong for us to be unforgiving of the sin of others. We should be forgiving of the sins of others because no sin anyone has committed is ever as great as the sin we are forgiven in our own lives. This should make us pause and think about what we are doing when we are judging another person of their sins. We are saying that since their minuscule sin should not be forgiven, then neither should our great sin. But since God is willing to forgive us of our own sin, we should be willing to forgive others of their sins.

Finally, this parable also teaches us that we are misinformed regarding the sin of others. Often we exaggerate the extent of others' sins, making them greater than they really are. Either that or we make something a sin that is not really a sin. For these reasons also, we need to be forgiving of the sins of others. Otherwise we risk losing the incredible forgiveness we are offered from Jesus. What you consider a sin, may not be considered so bad by God. So if you are met with someone who does drugs or drinks to excess, if you meet a homosexual or someone who has had an abortion, if you meet an illegal immigrant or someone who is covered in tattoos, treat them as Jesus has treated you, with the utmost of compassion, love, and forgiveness. That is what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon

The Good Samaritan: A Reinterpretation

In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the question "Lord, who is our neighbor?" Jesus had just told the crowd that the second greatest commandment was to "love your neighbor as yourself." Whether the Scribe who asked Jesus who his neighbor was, was trying to trip Jesus up, or if he genuinely wanted to hear Jesus' answer, I cannot say. The text says the original intent of the Scribe was to "test" Jesus and that the follow-up question was to justify his original question, so we cannot truly say why he asked; but it will become evident that he needed to know. Unfortunately, Jesus uses an illustration that is better suited for biblical times than our own. This may explain why so many Christians seem to forget who their neighbor is today. That is why I am giving an updated version of this wonderful parable, instead of simply explaining the parable, in hopes that whoever may come across it, may gain some valuable insight into and a fresh perspective from these classic words of Jesus. Enjoy!

A Christian man was taking the subway in New York, going from Brooklyn up to Queens late one night, when he was jumped by a group of muggers. He was beaten very badly, beyond recognition as a matter of fact, and was barely breathing. The muggers grabbed everything and left him for dead.

Not far from where this man was left, bleeding and bruised, a Catholic priest was leaving his rectory. It had been a long day. He made no less than four visitations that day, providing the sacrament of the sick to some shut-ins, and providing counseling to a couple that was contemplating divorce. He was tired and had one last visit he had to make before he could end his day. As he passed the beaten man, he contemplated stopping for help, but knew he just did not have the energy in him, and he had to get to his visit. "Mustn't keep people waiting" he thought to himself as he day dreamed about the comfortable bed he hoped to get to soon.

At the same time as the priest had crossed this man's path, a Baptist preacher was leaving a death visit where he had helped a family cope as their loved one passed away. For him also it had been a long day. Between board meetings and sermon preparation, he barely had time to gather his thoughts. Not to mention his time spent counseling a young drug addict, and writing up a short article for the local paper about why gay marriage should not be allowed in America. He too saw this fellow brother in Christ laying near death, but decided not to stop because God would bring by someone to help soon. After all, he had done plenty that day and needed to think about himself at this point. "Whatever happened" he thought, "it must have been for a reason."

Not long after the preacher passed by the young, dying man, two men who were on their honeymoon (having just been married in Massachusetts) were approaching the young man. These two men, raised Christian but currently agnostic, had quite the day themselves. As they ate breakfast they attracted quite a few dirty looks and few slurs from some of the patrons at the restaurant. They were threatened as they walked down the street holding hands that day and nearly escaped with their lives. The very man who was beaten and bruised was involved in a protest that same evening that these men walked by, and it was this man's spit that landed on the two gay men. But this couple looked on this man with compassion as they saw him clinging to life. They thought about his own family who must be wondering where he is. They thought about this man's emotions and the terror that must have been running through him as he lay close to death all alone in the subway tunnel. So they lifted this man up and took him to the nearest emergency room. They paid for all of his medical bills and stayed with him until they were sure he could speak for himself and oversee his own care. The gay couple never asked for anything and, when the man was well enough to take care of himself, they went off into anonymity.

You see, what makes this story so remarkable, and what makes it still so relevant for us and necessary for us to learn, is that the hero of the story, our neighbor, is always the person/people we typically most hate. It is this person we are told to love, and this is the second greatest commandment, right behind the command to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." Any group can be placed in the role of the Good Samaritan: Muslims, Abortion Doctors, Illegal Immigrants, etc. But the story does not end there. Many people miss the very end of the parable where Jesus says, "now go and do likewise." The only thing Jesus could be referring to is to be like the Good Samaritan. So we are to view those we tend to hate the most as those who are willing to help out when no one else will. But we are also to help out everyone, even those we consider our worst enemies, just as the Good Samaritan helped out the man beaten along the roadside. In other words, our examples for doing rightly, are the very people we often consider to be the worst sinners. Isn't it amazing how Jesus turns our traditional morality on its head? It is my prayer and my desire for us no longer to consider others our enemies, but to remember when we start to feel that way, that these people are in fact our greatest examples, and those neighbors to which we are supposed to love so deeply. That is what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Jesus' Top Ten Miracles

10. The Ear of the Man in Jesus' Arrest Party (Luke 22:45-54)
In this story, when Jesus was approached by Judas and the rest of the arrest party, one of Jesus' followers (some accounts say Peter) cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest who was in the arrest party. Jesus scolded the man who cut off the ear and healed the man's ear though many would consider him to be Jesus' enemy. Even though this man was with those arresting Jesus and probably disagreed with Jesus' teachings and actions, Jesus still felt compelled not to support the swordsman's actions, but instead to help out his enemy.

9. Blind Bartimaeus (Luke 18:35-43)
In this story, Jesus and his followers were travelling in Jericho when blind Bartimaeus was by the roadside and heard Jesus walking by. When he called out for Jesus' help, the crowd rebuked him treating him as unworthy. Of course Jesus came over and healed the man. This story is remarkable on two accounts. First off, though Jesus' followers (you might say the early Church) rebuked the man, possibly calling him a sinner and ridiculing him for his infirmity (back then it was thought that physicial ailments were caused by sin and well deserved; see #8 below) Jesus saw fit to heal this man, having compassion on him, and did not ask any questions or ask for any commitments from the man. Secondly, the man's name being Bartimaeus (translated son of Timaeus) indicates that this man was Roman or Greek. He was therefore a Gentile who worshiped pagan gods, and yet Jesus healed him anyway, without any hesitation or question.

Anthony Weiner and Jesus: The Biblical Response

When big events occur in our time, I often wonder how Jesus would have responded. When I see church leaders on TV proclaiming the message to repent, I wonder what Jesus would say to them today. When athletes outspokenly thank God for their superstar performance, I wonder what Jesus might have to say to them. And when politicians are caught in a scandal and our leaders fall, I wonder if Jesus would be condemning of them or merciful.

Just about everyone in the United States is familiar with the scandal surrounding New York representative Anthony Weiner. Today he admitted having sent lewd photographs of himself to a young woman over twitter, one of many it turns out he has sent over the previous few years. In the weeks since the tweet was made (publicly instead of privately like he had intended) he lied to several media outlets, claiming his twitter account had been hacked and that he had not sent the tweet.

Top 10 Jesus Quotes

10. "Love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Matt. 22:37)
This is a great quote reminding us that our main love, our top priority in everything should be God and to bring him glory in everything we do.

9. "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:39)
This quote reminds us that it is important not only to maintain an amicable relationship with God, but to maintain a good relationship (as much as is within our power) with our neighbor. And who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is the Samaritan, the person who represents the ones we tend in our personal lives to consider our enemies. For the straight Christian it is the gay man. For the gay Christian, it is the straight Christian who constantly condemns him. It is these people we are asked to show love and gentleness towards.

How To Treat Our Enemies the Way Jesus Did

Within the last century or so, Christians have been perceived as more and more judgmental. The media shows images of Christians in the United States protesting at funerals and abortion clinics, as well as outside of LGBT events. We are quoted in newspapers and on the internet saying we won't allow homosexuals to lead ministries or even participate in worship, and calling pro-choicers "baby killers." Christians use what many would consider hate speach and justifying it by quoting Scripture. It is no wonder there is a sense that Christians are condemning and hypocritical. But what did Jesus do? What example does Jesus provide us with on how to treat our "enemies?"

Where is God in the Joplin Tornadoes

This past weekend Joplin, Missouri was hit by some devastating tornadoes that killed 116 people and injured countless more. This comes in the aftermath of some other severe whether they had which included tornadoes some weeks ago. It is times like this, just like when Hurricane Katrina hit six years ago, and 9/11 hit 10 years ago, that the question is asked, "Where is God?" Whenever something occurs such as this, we call it evil and ask either why God did it, or why God allowed it. These questions are common to humankind during such times.

These questions are so common that we can find them dating back to the time of Jesus where we have the disciples asking Jesus a similar question (albeit for a far less tragic event) in the bible. In John 9 we are told a story where Jesus and his disciples approach a man who has been blind from birth. When they see this man, the question asked by the disciples is telling. Their question to Jesus was: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind" (v 2)?

May 21, 2011: Who Will Be Raptured?

By now almost everyone has heard the prediction from Harold Camping that tomorrow May 21st, at 6:00pm (I'm not sure in which time zone) the world is going to end, Christ is going to return, the saved will be raptured (taken up into heaven), and the damned will be left behind on earth to face some pretty terrible times (as if we aren't facing some pretty difficult times now). If you want the history of Harold Camping and a confusing (there isn't a simple) explanation for how he came up with the date for the end of the world, read Jaweed Kaleem's Harold Camping: The Man Behind 'Judgment Day,' May 21, 2011. For those of you who have read my blog before, you know my take on the end times. For those who have not, you can look at my article End Time: A Marginal Belief.

What I want to discuss in this article is what heaven will look like on the day of "the rapture" (I do not particularly like this form of Christianese and will try not to use it frequently in my blog). The traditional belief among many Christians who focus on end-times doctrine is that when Jesus returns, the saved (Christians) will be lifted up into heaven while those who are not saved will remain here on earth to face incredible suffering (there is another view in which some Christians will remain during the period of tribulation [the Christian term for suffering] and will be taken up when the suffering is over). So the question is, who will heaven be filled with, and who will remain on earth after May 21, 2011? What will the make-up be of each location during the Apocalypse?

Gay Rights and Freedom of Religion

I read an article today entitled Religious Liberty vs. Same-Sex Marriage: Is There Really a Conflict? in which the author, Marianne T. Duddy-Burke discusses the latest rhetoric against the promotion of LGBT rights and gay marriage. Christians everywhere in the U.S. cry foul against their religious freedoms claiming they will be infringed upon if gays get their rights. Marianne comes at this from more of a political perspective. Today I will approach this from a Christ-followers perspective.

The issue many Christians are concerned about is what will happen to them legally if members of the gay community are allowed to marry. If the church in which the gay couple want to be married doesn't believe gays should be married and refuses to provide the service, can that church be sued? If the florist or photographer or cakist (I assume that is what a wedding cake baker is called) refuse service to a gay couple, will the gay couple have legal rights against those businesses? If an organization is strongly opposed to a gay couple, do they have the right to refuse service, or can discrimination be claimed. Marianne states that she thinks legislation can be written in a certain way so as to allow homosexuals the freedom to marry while protecting Christian organizations that oppose gay rights from being sued for refusing to serve them. I think this could take place as well, but then "separate but equal" comes to mind. You see, to say that legislation can allow the freedom of gays to marry while protecting Christian business from having to service them is like saying we will free the slaves but businesses are not required to service them. I can see "straights only" signs being placed up around floral departments and churches. Instead of the Jim Crowe laws, perhaps we could have the Elton John laws (he is a gay Christian by the way). It would certainly be legal to implement such laws, but is that what Jesus did do? Absolutely not.

Christians and Illegal Immigration

In the majority of my blogs I have been focusing on the major hot-button issues usually associated with the judgmentalism of Christianity, namely homosexuality. I have also discussed abortion from time to time. Today I pick up another topic that may not be an obvious part of this judgmental Christian attitude but is nonetheless implicit in how people feel about Christians. That topic is illegal immigration.

Implicit in my blogs so far, I hope, is the idea that Christians are neither Republican nor Democrat. If you go to the Christian section of the bookstore, inevitably you will see books titled “Why Jesus was a Democrat” or “Jesus the Republican.” But I’ve got news for you, Jesus knew nothing of Republicans or Democrats when he was on Earth, and he would not fall on either side of the aisle. There are issues Jesus would support that would make him a Republican, and there are issues he would support that would make him a Democrat. It would not be accurate to box Jesus in by saying he was affiliated with the GOP or the DNC. So the topic of the Christian response to illegal immigration goes beyond the question of whether you vote Republican or Democrat.

I like Tony Campolo’s description of a “high walls, wide gates” stance in his book Red Letter Christians. He admits the problem that would occur if we allowed anyone to just walk into our country. We need to know who is here lest we allow someone with a criminal history to enter our country or someone who is associated with terrorism or drug running. We need to be careful because many of the illegal immigrants who have come into the United States, do have criminal histories and commit further crimes subsequent to entering the U.S. So the “high walls” part of Campolo’s ideology is that we erect the necessary infrastructure to prevent anyone from entering our country without getting a background check and informing the government that they have entered the country.

At the same time, Campolo suggests “wide gates,” acknowledging that many of the people who come into our country, do so because of bad circumstances in their own country. They come here for asylum. Just a couple of weeks ago I heard a story about a gay man who was held up in a U.S. prison awaiting deportation back to Uganda where heavy persecution against homosexuals is taking place. Many are being killed over there, and yet our current laws say to send him back even though he came here to escape death. Our laws do not allow for looking at individual situations and making exceptions. Right now, in order for someone to come into the U.S. legally, they have to have a sponsor already living here and it takes upwards of $3000 - $5000 to come here legally, and that is after waiting for 5-7 years at the least. If you need to escape persecution quickly, it is not that easy unless you do so illegally. So the “wide gates” part of this whole thing is allowing immigrants an easier way of entering the country so long as they pass the background test and let us know that they are here.

But what does Jesus say about this topic. First we can start in Leviticus 19:34 which says, “The alien who resides among you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.” It is obvious here that whether the immigrant is here illegally or not, they are to be treated with the same love and compassion with which we treat our own citizens. Unfortunately, much of what I hear in reference to illegal immigrant is hate speech. I know that they did not come here the lawful way. And I know that there are many who come here illegally that are already criminals or drug runners in their own country. These people need to be sent to jail and deported back to their country where they can face the justice system. But others come here for protection and help, like the young man I mentioned above who came here for protection against persecution for his sexual orientation. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus speaks of rewarding people on the day of judgment for feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, inviting in the stranger, and so on. In the same passage Jesus says those who neglect to do those things will be punished. By neglecting to help those from other countries who are being persecuted, or are in dire situations, we are like those in this passage who Jesus says will be punished. Jesus asks us to show love and compassion to those who are in horrible situations, and many who come to the U.S. illegally are those seeking to escape those situations. Instead of hate speech and lack of sympathy, let us remember the love and compassion Jesus showed and work to emulate him with regard to illegal immigrants. That is what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Christian Hypocrites

One of the most common critiques of Christianity about its adherents that I hear coming from the mouths of detractors is that "Christians are hypocrites." Christians, of course, are aghast at being called hypocrites, thinking our antagonists are claiming that we continue in our sin when we adamantly admonish the sins of others. This may be where some of the criticism comes from, however I believe there is a lot more to it than that, and that Christians are completely blind to why others are calling us hypocritical.

The term "hypocrite" comes from the ancient Greek and was the term used for an actor. A hypocrite was one who put on a mask and acted in the Greek dramas or comedies. A hypocrite has therefore come to be known as someone who is putting on false airs about them. It is someone who acts in a way opposed to who they really are.

Therefore, it does not seem to me that we Christians are being accused of hypocrisy for admonishing sins in others while we are being sinful ourselves. One thing Christians are really good at is admitting our own sinfulness. (Admittedly, we are also really good at pointing out the sins of others also). What would be hypocritical is claiming ourselves to be perfect (putting on the air of perfection) when in fact we were out lying, stealing, cheating, and doing all kinds of sordid behavior. But this is not what is going on. We admit our sinfulness while also admonishing the sins in others, which is not what makes us hypocritical. So what do we do as Christians that others see as so hypocritical?

Christians are hypocritical in that while claiming God's grace for ourselves, we neglect it when it comes to other people. We consider ourselves to be saved by the grace of God, while withholding his grace from others when we see them as sinful. Even though we claim God's grace for ourselves, affirming that "even though I am still a sinner I know that God's grace provides me with forgiveness and salvation anyways," we deny it to others who we perceive to be sinners, such as homosexuals, illegal immigrants, those who have had abortions, and so on saying that they cannot be part of the body of Christ and be saved without first giving up their sinful behavior. How can I affirm God's salvation apart from works for me while denying it to another who I think is a sinner? I cannot do this without appearing the hypocrite.

But maybe you will say to me, "how is this putting on an air? How is this acting in a way opposed to who we really are?" This hypocriticism takes place in two ways. First off, we are putting on the air that others cannot receive salvation without first putting an end to their sin. The foundation of Christian doctrine is that we are sinners and need God's grace apart from our works to save us. So when we tell "sinners" that they need to stop sinning (which is usually what we wrongly mean by "repent and be saved") we are acting in a way opposed to who we really are. We make the claim that we are so unworthy and need Jesus' free forgiveness to save us, and then demand others to save themselves before Jesus can; this is hypocrisy.

The second way in which this is hypocrisy is that when we claim grace for ourselves while denying it for others, we are really denying grace for ourselves also. If I make the claim that I am saved freely by the grace of God, but ask another person to change before they can enter into the body of Christ or be saved, I am really hindering God's grace to work in my life. I said in the previous post, To Be Forgiven, We Must Forgive that we are told by Jesus that if we do not forgive another, God cannot forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15). In the same way, if we do not show grace and acceptance to others, we do not allow God to show us grace and acceptance. Therefore, when we claim for ourselves grace while denying it to others, we are really putting on an air of grace that we in reality are denying to ourselves.


So how do we end this hypocricy of ours? The first thing we must do is to truly experience the infinite love and unconditional acceptance Christ has for us. When we can truly look at ourselves and the things we have done, and can see that God still forgives us, even when we are continuing on with our bad behavior, we can come to a full understanding of God's awsome compassion. Having done that, we then need to practice having that same compassion for others, doing our best to show them the unconditional love and acceptance that Jesus has for us. If this is a struggle, make this issue a part of your daily prayers to God. It is too important of an issue not to pray about. Maybe if we can all practice this in our lives, we will no longer be seen as hypocrites, but as genuine and loving people who provide support and comfort when no one else will.
Blessings,
-Brandon

To Be Forgiven, We Must Forgive

"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."

These are some of the hardest words of Jesus for us to accept as Christians. They are difficult because it not only means forgiving our family and friends for minor offenses such as lying, breaking promises, or calling us names, it also means forgiving those we consider our enemies for offenses we consider outrageous and terribly sinful. It means that we no longer let their offense bother us no matter how wrong their action or behavior. It means considering themselves reconciled to us, even when it seems unfair. This seems especially difficult when we are asked if we must forgive Hitler or Bin Laden for their misdeeds. Let me assure you that forgiveness does not mean forgetting, or, if someone's offense is a crime, letting them off Scott free (who is Scott and why is he free anyways). If someone is killing people or molesting children, they need to go to prison for obvious reasons. Forgiveness is letting go of the hold another person's offense has on you. Lewis Smedes puts it this way, “You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.”

What we learn from the above words of Jesus is that in order to receive forgiveness, we must forgive the sins of others. He is very clear, if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. So what does forgiveness look like?

I am not going to address forgiveness for major crimes or criminals in this post because I do not think that is the most difficult area of forgiveness for Christians. I think the most difficult area of forgiveness for Christians is forgiving what we perceive to be sin, even minor sin, in other people. Premarital sex is no crime, but how difficult is it for us to forgive such an offense. If the Church finds out the youth pastor has been engaging in premarital sex with his fiance, he gets relieved of duty. Even though the plan is to for the couple to get married, and even when the youth pastor is repentant, we cannot forgive even though God does.

If we find out one of the ladies in our bible study has had an abortion, it is all over, she will be run out of that bible study so fast no one will know what happened. She may be feeling devastated about the abortion. She may be repentant every day and forgiven by God. But she is immediately and forever condemned by us.

If two women walk into the Church holding hands, we stare viciously at them and, like a scene from Forest Gump, tell them "this seat is taken," even though no one has sat in that pew for twenty years. (For those wondering, I continue in the idea that homosexuality is not a sin, and will continue to lead people to my post Is Homosexuality a Sin? as long as I am alive. But the majority of Christians will continue to think of homosexuality as a sin, and so I am speaking to them from their world-view). These women are forgiven of their sins by God, but not by the body of Christ.

We are told in Scripture that the gate to heaven is narrow. I do not think this is because of the vast amount of sinners there are in the world. I think it is because of the vast amount of grudges people hold. I think it is because even Christians are not willing to forgive people of their sins unless they are their own. I think a large amount of Christians will not enter into the kingdom of heaven because they are not willing to forgive people for what they perceive to be sin (not everything Christians condemn as "sin" are really sins in the Bible. Many churches consider long hair on women to be a sin, while other churches consider short hair on women to be a sin. Some churches consider smoking to be a sin. Some consider drinking alcohol to be a sin. None of these things are in fact sins in the Bible). If the Church continues in its lack of forgiveness, that gate will be much narrower than we ever thought.

Jesus commands us to be forgiving. This means that we will not let it bother us if a Christian is struggling with sin. Show me a Christian who is not struggling with sin. And if you come forward telling me about how above reproach your pastor is, my guess is he or she would be relieved of duty if his/her sins were found out. No Christian is free from sin...that is unless we practice forgiveness.

You see, Jesus died on the cross, he paid it all because our debt was too great to pay. The only way to sever our debt was to provide a way for that debt to be forgiven of us, instead of paid by us. And if God can forgive us of our sin, shouldn't our appreciation be shown by forgiving others of their sins. To illustrate this, Jesus tells this parable in response to a question from Peter in Matthew 18:

Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
"When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
"But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.
"So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'
"And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.'
"So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.'
"But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
"So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.
"Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?'
And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.
My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

It is obvious in this parable that the lord of the servant represents God. The amount of time it would have taken the servant to work in order to pay back the debt would have been 130,000 years, according to David Jeremiah in Prayer, The Great Adventure. In other words, this debt was impossible for him to pay off. And yet the lord forgave it. Because of his great generosity, it was expected that the servant would have shown this same kind of generosity. But instead he threw a fellow servant in prison for a debt that would have taken a few months of work to pay back. The moral of this story is that the sin God forgives in us, is greater than any sin we will ever have to forgive in another. God asks that we show the same generosity for lesser debt that he showed us for an impossible debt to pay back.

What this means for us today is that when we see someone entering our church who we perceive to be a sinner (whether their behavior is actually sin or not) we must treat them as forgiven members of the body of Christ, just like we are. In other words, God forgives and forgets their sin, counting them innocent and guiltless; therefore we should as well. Whether a person is gay or straight, has had an abortion or not, has engaged in premarital sex or not, they are no longer considered sinners before God; they should therefore no longer be condemned by us.

Finally, this means that those of us who experience harsh judgment and criticism from the Church, as difficult as it may be, must learn to forgive also. Part of the healing for those of you in the LGBT community and for those who have had abortions or are part of other communities that Christians judge and condemn, is to let go of the hurt caused by forgiving those who persecute us. As always, know that Jesus loves you and I love you.

Please enjoy the video below which was made by Intersections International as part of a movement they are calling Believe Out Loud. I think you will like it.
Blessings,
-Brandon

How Can the "Judged" Respond to the Church

I have spoken frequently about how the Church should respond to certain situations and certain groups, but I have yet to speak on how certain groups should respond to the Church. As much as we try to advocate for marginalized groups and attempt to reform the Church to return to its Biblical roots in Jesus Christ, the fact is many churches (and many Christians) will not respond to reform and will continue to act according to prejudice and bias. This is to be expected for, as the saying goes, “a leopard cannot change its spots.” I am not saying this to justify the Church’s (or individual Christian’s) behavior, and I am certainly not throwing in the towel and giving up on Church reform. The vote by the Presbyterian church a couple of days ago, allowing for the ordination of gay men and women, is a huge step forward and shows that reform is possible. But it is difficult and can take many years for broad reform to occur. In the meantime, what are those who are typically marginalized by the Church to do in response to condemnation and criticism? How is the gay man or woman to respond to an unwelcoming Church? How is the woman who has had an abortion to respond to a judgmental Christian? How is the tattooed, ripped jeans, twenty-something to respond to the turns of the head he receives when he walks through the church doors?

First and foremost, it is important to remember that these attitudes you experience coming from “Christians” and coming from the Church are not representative of Christ. Jesus’ desire was to still the fear and trepidation people had when coming into God’s presence. Before Jesus came, only the High Priest was allowed to enter into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. He was only allowed to do this once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and he had to go through a special ceremony in order to come before the Creator. Coming into God’s presence was an extremely terrifying thing, and it was reserved only for the select few. Jesus wanted to put an end to this, and so he came, and he opened the doors to the kingdom of heaven for all of humankind. Jesus’ big complaint against the religious leaders (the Pharisees) of his day, was that they shut the doors to the kingdom of heaven on many of the people. So when you encounter these judgmental attitudes from people in the Church, know that they are being representative of the Pharisees and not of Jesus.

Second, pray consistently that God will help you to truly feel the grace and acceptance you have in Jesus Christ. If you have first-hand experience of that acceptance from Jesus Christ, the judgment and condemnation you experience from others will not sting as much. It may well still sting, but knowing that they are not representing Christ, and truly knowing the acceptance you really do have in Jesus, you will not experience the sting to the severity you would without such knowledge.

Third, pray for those who judge you. Jesus says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is certainly not an easy task and one that will require a lot of spiritual discipline on our parts. But I strongly believe in the power of prayer and believe that if we devote ourselves to praying for those who marginalize us (especially those in the Church) God really will work in their lives and will transform their hearts. Remember, as terrible as those “Christians” may be sometimes, it is wrong for us to wish harm on them, and if we can win them over through love and prayer, it will be a victory for us. I have not always believed as I am currently blogging. I used to be one of those that heaped loads of judgment on people such as those in the LGBT community. One of my constant prayers was that God would continue to help me grow and to learn his will and his love more and more. Through constant prayer and study, I was finally won over to understand God’s love and acceptance for all people.

Fourth, be loving and gentle towards those who persecute you. Before I expand on this statement, let me say that I believe whole heartedly in self-defense if those persecuting you are being physically abusive. I do not believe Jesus’ admonition to “turn the other cheek” applies to physical violence. So know that I am not saying to stand there and take a beating if that is what is happening. Instead, if your physical well-being is in danger, get out of there if at all possible, and if not, fight for your life. With that said, I do believe Jesus’ admonition to “turn the other cheek” is related to non-physical attacks. Remember, Jesus liked to speak in hyperbole. When your “honor” or your “pride” is being attacked, do your best to show the attacker love and acceptance, being gentle with them, and showing them the true nature of Jesus. If someone is calling you names or heaping words of judgment on you, do not attack back. This simply adds fuel to the fire. The best means of disarming a person is to be gentle and loving towards them. They will not want to fight back. All arguing back at them is going to do, is increase the tension and increase the anger in both you and them.

Finally, if it is at all reasonable, use the Matthew 18 principle on them. If the Church or a believer is being unChrist-like toward you, approach the offender in privacy (remembering to be safe and not placing yourself in a dangerous situation) and tell them of their offence. If they will not listen, bring one or two witnesses. If they still will not listen, go to the Church itself, the governing authority, and let them know of the offence. If the matter does not get resolved, consider the person or the Church to be outside of God’s will and direction, and move on to another church.

There are plenty of good churches out there that are aligned with God’s will and that will accept you for who you are. Do not characterize Christianity based on these fallen churches. Find Christians who genuinely represent the character of Christ and show acceptance and love to all people; they are out there, I promise. Find churches that embody these characteristics of Christ. Know that Jesus loves you and I love you.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Jesus' Response to Abortion

Yesterday I posted about the need to permit homosexuals into leadership positions within the Church. It was announced last night that the Presbyterian Church voted in favor of allowing gays to be ordained as ministers. This is a huge step forward for the Church and a move I greatly applaud. Today I turn my attention to another topic, and one as equally controversial: abortion.

The reader may be surprised to discover that I hold with the traditional view of the Church on this matter and consider abortion to be a sin. I believe life begins at conception, and that abortion is therefore the needless taking of a human life. But the two sentences I just wrote on the sinfulness of abortion is the extent to which I will discuss it being a sin. This is because I do not believe it is helpful to label a person a sinner. And no matter how much we try to separate the sin from the sinner, the "sinner" will always feel guilty when having their "sin" waved in front of their face. To label an action a "sin" and to make a person feel like a sinner places them in a category hard to escape. Sometimes we make something so by calling it so. To make someone a sinner, when Jesus already wiped away their sins, is a regression. Therefore, instead of calling a sin a "sin" or a sinner a "sinner," I think it is more helpful for Christians to recognize the hurt a person is feeling, to have compassion on them, and to act accordingly.

I wanted to turn to the topic of abortion because I wanted to show how the Church has responded badly to sin. I have shown that homosexuality is not a sin in my article Is Homosexuality a Sin? so it may be the case that my related posts about how we should treat the LGBT community may be related to my view that they are not living in sin. But my views on the Church's response to gays would be the same whether I thought homosexuality was a sin or not. Therefore I am turning to the topic of abortion to give an example of how I think the Church needs to change its interactions with what is, in my view, sinful.

Let me give a story that can be found in David Kinnaman's book UnChristian to illustrate what I believe is the traditional Christian response to the issue of abortion. He tells of a woman, Lisa, who went to a Christian event and was sitting with some of her Christian friends at a table discussing the topic of pregnancy. At one point Lisa brought up that she had a friend who was pregnant and really going through a rough time. Her boyfriend left her and there were some other things going on in her life. When Lisa told them that her friend was contemplating abortion and that she, herself, could empathize with her, the group Lisa was with turned on her. They condemned the friend for wanting an abortion and condemned Lisa for her empathy. Lisa was left out of the conversation for the rest of the event. Lisa had not even told them that she had an abortion earlier in life. These women did not show the slightest compassion or love toward Lisa. Instead, they showed judgment which (not to mention the burden placed on Lisa’s friend) placed the impossible burden on Lisa of feeling more condemned than she already had for her abortion. She had already had an abortion and there was nothing she could do about it. And without knowing what Lisa’s background might be, they showed no sensitivity at all, and placed Lisa immediately in a category out of which she could not now get; the category of the condemned, the judged, the hated, the abortion lover. All this kind of response does is repel people from Jesus.

The women in the above story could not focus on the hurt Lisa might be feeling or the hurt her friend might be feeling; all they could focus on was the sin. This prevented them from truly connecting with Lisa and from helping her. Instead of creating a bridge to Jesus, these women built a wall blocking Lisa from Jesus.

Now let's look at two examples from the life of Jesus to give a model for the Church today. The first example comes from John 4 where Jesus confronts the Samaritan woman at the well. What is remarkable about this story is that Jesus shows his willingness and desire to build bridges and break down barriers, as opposed to the religious leaders of the time who wanted to divide people and build walls. The first thing about this story that catches the readers eye is that Jesus, a Jew, has no qualms about socializing with a Samaritan. The Jews and the Samaritans hated each other and would have no interaction with each other unless it was to the bloody death (this is why the story of the good Samaritan, where Jesus makes a Samaritan the hero of the story, is such a remarkable story). Not only this, but Jesus was not at all put off by the fact that this woman was seemingly the town slut. As a matter of fact, Jesus did not seem to care too much to develop relationships with people viewed by the culture as "righteous." It was to those viewed as the worst of sinners that Jesus typically spent time with. When Jesus revealed to the woman that he was knowledgeable of her sordid past, she was shocked. I think a lot of her shock had to do with the fact that the Messiah would sit and talk, and love and accept her, knowing what kind of person she was. It did not matter to Jesus that this woman was "sleeping around." Instead, Jesus knew this woman's hurt and the pain she experienced. Jesus knew the daily struggles this woman dealt with. Jesus could look passed the "sin" and see the woman behind the sin, and he had compassion on her.

The second example is one of my favorites and comes from John 8. In this story the scribes and Pharisees caught a woman in adultery and, in order to trap Jesus, reminded him that the law of Moses commanded that she should be put to death and asked him what he thought should be done with her. Jesus famously replies, "let him who is without sin cast the first stone." All of them, one by one, left the scene, leaving the woman alone with Jesus. When Jesus looked up and discovered that none of the men had condemned her, Jesus replied, "then I do not condemn you either." Jesus showed no condemnation for "sinners." Jesus only showed love and acceptance. He did this because he knew that people did not sin out of hatred for God or because they were rebellious. He knew that people sin because of hurts they experience in their lives and that if they felt the love and acceptance that he offered, that they would have the strength to overcome their sins.

Today we are acting like Pharisees, dragging those who have had or are considering having abortions to the feet of Jesus and telling him that the Bible condemns such a thing and commands capital punishment for such behavior. We do this with all kinds of sins (or even behavior we consider to be sin though it may not be) and neglect to see these examples in Scripture of how Jesus fought against such responses to sin. As the Church, as the body of Christ, we are called to bring loving acceptance and compassion to the world which is hurting. We are called to respond to abortion not with protest signs or abortion clinic bombings, or even with a cold shoulder. We are called to respond to abortion with the same kind of compassion Jesus had for the Samaritan woman and the adulteress woman. We are called to respond to abortion by showing love and acceptance to those women who have had or are considering having abortions. This is what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Gays in Church Leadership

The question of who should be allowed into Church leadership has always been a heavily debated topic. For a long time only the most educated men of the higher classes were allowed to partake in Church leadership. It was in the 16th century that Martin Luther advocated for the "priesthood of all believers" (so long as they weren't women). It was not until nearly 500 years later that women were allowed into leadership positions in the Church; and many churches today still will not allow a woman into the pulpit. Only recently have certain churches from the Presbyterian and Episcopal denominations begun allowing gays into the pulpit. But of course today "Church leadership" means something far different from "pastor" or "priest."

The new model of Church leadership enlists qualified (or semi-qualified) people from the congregation and plants them into a ministry. Usually a governing board, or some other authority in the church, finds a person with the giftings required for a particular ministry, and places them in the leadership role over that ministry. The leader is given a crash course in leadership and ministry and then kicked out of the nest to fly. This undermines the past system where the Senior Pastor or Priest was head over the entire church. I think this is a good model of Church leadership for two reasons: 1. A pastor/priest is not a jack of all trades and will not function well as a leader over every ministry, 2. This was the model Jesus used. Jesus did not hoard the leadership responsibilities but passed them around to his disciples. Just look at the story of the feeding of the five-thousand. Did Jesus feed the five-thousand all by himself? Absolutely not. Jesus had some of his disciples in charge of the dining room ministry where they divided up the people and had them sit in particular groups. He had some of his disciples lead the kitchen ministry where they took the food from the little boy and gave it to Jesus, and then passed it out when it was blessed. He had some over the left-over committee, and so on. We know that Judas was in charge of their money as the treasurer of the disciples. So when we do church leadership in this way, it seems perfectly biblical.

But now we get into the question of who should be allowed into Church leadership. This is a broad based question that will require more than this blog can handle in order to answer. We know there are certain regulations Paul places down in 1 Timothy 3 in order for one to be an "overseer" of the church. I will not address the difficulties with translating "overseer" here. What I will say is that Paul's regulations are relevant to his culture, and that they are a step backward from what Jesus did. First of all, Paul states that the overseer must by the husband of one wife (v 2), assuming that the overseer can only be a man. But we know that Jesus placed disciples in leadership positions that were either not married or that were women. Mary and Martha, Lazarus' sisters were disciples of Jesus and hosted gatherings, very obviously acting in some leadership capacity. Mary Magdalene certainly held a leadership position in Jesus' Church. When we get into the book of Acts and into some of Paul's letters, we even read that Priscilla was the leader over a house Church. So it is obvious that a person's sexual orientation did not matter to Jesus when placing a person in a leadership role; what mattered was that person's devotion to him. If a person was devoted to Jesus and worked to please him in every way, the persons sexual orientation did not matter to him. Placing only straight men in leadership roles in the Church until recently has been a purely cultural thing based on our Western patriarchal society, and not on the model Jesus gave us.

In the post Is Homosexuality a Sin? I showed that homosexuality is not condemned in the Bible. But I am realistic enough to know that many churches are not evolved enough to acknowledge this truth. So the next strand of my argument is particularly for those churches. When we look at the individual people Jesus used as the future leaders of his Church, we see a bunch of rag-tag people, men and women, who were viewed as the most sinful of people in his culture. We see prostitutes and tax collectors. We even see murderers (in Paul and I might even argue in Peter). And if that is not enough, Jesus picked someone he knew would steal and cheat and betray him to oversee their finances: Judas Iscariot. So a person's sins did not matter to Jesus when he enlisted them into his kingdom. Public perception, to Jesus, especially the perception of the religious leaders of his time effected him in that he turned those perspectives on their heads. If the religious leaders called someone a sinner, Jesus called them saved. If the religious leaders called someone unworthy, he called them most valuable of all.

Looking at today's situation, it is the gays who the religious leaders are calling unworthy to take up leadership roles. It is the gays who the religious leaders are calling most sinful of all. From my analysis, then, it is the gays who are most valuable to be leaders in the church and it is the gays who are the most saved. The Christian gay population today, the Christians of LGBT community are dying to take up leadership roles in the Church. They long to serve the LORD in such deep and intimate ways. I know if Jesus was around today, because of the way the current Church leadership is treating the gay population, it would be them who he would pick to lead the ministries he set up. It's time the Church stopped following the tradition of men and looked at what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Mother's Day and the Love of God

Isaiah 66:13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you will be comforted

In the gospels, Jesus teaches us to pray saying, "our Father," but as the above verse illustrates, God is also likened to a mother in the Bible. This often occurs when God's more tender side is being described, like above where Isaiah is telling Israel how God desires to comfort them, the way a mother comforts her child.

God's fatherly side is much more awe-inspiring than his tender side. The fatherly side is the side that protects and defends his people, the side that goes to war against his people's enemies. The fatherly side is the side that encourages his child to stand up and walk it off if he gets injured. The fatherly side is the side that judges and the side we often fear to turn to because, let's face it, our own fathers were a little rough and gave us that tough love.

But the motherly side is different. When we think about our own mothers, they were the one's we often went to because they were softer and more gentle with us. We would turn to them first because we knew that dad may not be so kind when we told him something.

God's fatherly side is often emphasized, but how much is his motherly side preached? We hear hints of God's tenderness in the Bible, but it is not often preached. For instance, Jesus says in Matthew:

Matthew 23:37 How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

God's desire, like the mother of a teenager, is always to cover us under her protective wings to comfort us and take care of us, when all we want to do is run away. When a father is usually the one to show tough love, the mother is the one always to show unconditional love towards her children. Where the father's response to a rebellious child is often anger and sometimes even abandonment, the mother's response is always one of heartache and tears wanting to make it all better and even to bring reconciliation between father and child.

When we talk about God's unconditional love, it is her motherly side we are referring to that loves us no matter what we do or who we are. It is God the Mother who accepts us as we are no matter what. We know that we can turn to God the Mother, and she will never leave us nor forsake us. We can rest in her tender arms and know that nothing can touch us there.

As I think about my own mother, and how in a moment's panic, no matter what the crisis, I always turn to her first and know that she will have the answer, and that she is always able to comfort me. I know that no matter what goes on in my life, my mother will always be there for me and will never turn me away.

God's motherly side shows her tenderness and care for her people. God's motherly side condescends to be at our level so we are not afraid to approach her. God's motherly side holds and hugs us when we are upset because she knows we are hurting. God's motherly side is the all forgiving, all loving, all merciful side that forgives all sins. God's motherly side is the side we never have to be afraid to turn to.

This is the kind of person the above verses are describing when they describe God as a mother. We can turn to God during any crisis in our lives, we can tell God anything and be who we are around her, and God the Mother will wrap us in her tender and loving arms, and comfort us, and accept us.

It is difficult at times for us to remember God in this way. I think we often liken God to a critical father we had, or a legalistic pastor, skewing our perception and preventing us from seeing this motherly God who loves us so much. We may make mistakes sometimes, we may not always live to the standard we think God has created for us. But God the Mother loves us regardless. To God the Mother, every mistake is overlooked, every misdeed is covered and hidden by her. Maybe from time to time, when you think God the Father is displeased with you, or feel that you have committed a gross error, remember God the Mother and know her love and acceptance for you. I hope you know God the Mother like you know God the Father, and I hope you know God in this way, as a loving, caring, and accepting God. Happy mother's day.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Should the Christian Church Police the World?

In today's world whenever there is a question regarding the ethical implications of anything, you can be sure the Church (Catholic or Protestant) will have something to say about it. When Osama bin Laden was killed the other day, every Christian blog (including mine: Osama bin Laden's Death and the Christian Response) had something to say about it. The pope was quick to provide a response as well. With any contemporary issue, the Church is quick to provide their moral view and will do anything and pay anything to get their ethical code sanctioned by the law. We see this with issues such as gay marriage and abortion today.

But is the purpose of the Church to get laws passed and to tell people how to live their lives? Has God commissioned the Church to be the moral police of the world? Or does the Church have a different purpose that it is avoiding? To answer these questions we must go back and see what Jesus did.

In the Bible, whenever Jesus is walking around with his disciples, somehow or another they end up breaking some moral rule imposed by the Jewish Church. We have one example in Mark 2:23-28 where Jesus is walking through the grain fields with his disciples on the Sabbath and the disciples, who were hungry, began picking the grain to eat. As they always seemed to at the right time, the Pharisees arrived acting as the Jewish moral police. They questioned Jesus about why he allowed his disciples to break the Sabbath the way that they did. The Pharisees acted on behalf of the Jews to patrol the cities and villages and make sure that the Jewish laws were not being broken. They did this because in their mindset it was the role of the Jew to remain set apart and distinct from the Roman occupation. The only way to keep separate was to remain obedient to their laws. The second reason the Pharisees did this was because they felt that the more law abiding their community was, the better chance there was of the Messiah coming to rescue them.

But Jesus was not happy with the moral patrolling of the Pharisees, and he condemned them for misrepresenting the law. Jesus scolded them and reminded them that the Sabbath was made for human kind, not human kind for the Sabbath.

A second story we read can be found in Mark 7:1-23. In this story Jesus is sitting around with his disciples eating. The Pharisees who again were in the right place at the right time argued with Jesus about the hand washing technique of his disciples. They were not ritually cleansing their hands the way the law stated they should. Again, what we have is Jesus scolding the Pharisees for misrepresenting the law and for following the tradition of man rather than the true heart of the law.

Jesus did not like the concept of moral police. Jesus was against his followers patrolling the streets to make sure the rules were being kept. The main reason it seems that Jesus was so against that was was the risk of humankind misinterpreting the law and misrepresenting it. There is always the chance that the ethical code we are trying to make law, is based on our own bias and our own prejudice, rather than on what the law actually requires. It would be a dangerous thing if we caused laws to pass based on our own presuppositions, thinking the Bible justifies it, only to find out we misinterpreted the Bible.

The second reason Jesus was against policing people (notice he did not police the towns either) was because he was inaugurating a new time. Jesus was inaugurating a time where our sins no longer mattered because he offered forgiveness since perfection was not possible. Why would we go around establishing laws based on our religious perspective if our religious perspective preached grace and forgiveness? This kind of reasoning just seems absurd.

So, Jesus desired that his followers do not become moral police. That was not the mission of the body of Christ. So when Christians are out there bombing abortion clinics, picketing funerals, holding marches, and funding propositions against gay marriage, we are acting in opposition to Jesus' Scriptural example. When we act as the moral police within our own congregations, telling people what sinners they are and that they need to do this or that, we are acting unChrist-like. (The one exception to this is when someone sins against you personally, you are to use the Matthew 18 principle, something I will describe at another time).

You see, Jesus says, "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5). And the truth of this statement is this: no one reaches perfection in this world. As long as we remain imperfect, all of us will have a log in our eye. We will never, in this lifetime, be in a position where we can see clearly enough to get the speck out of someone else's eye. Therefore, it is not the Church's job to legislate or to tell people when they are not living up to God's expectations (notice I did not say potential. When working with people, it is important for us to help them live up to their potential. This is more of an uplifting and empowering message than the message that you are not fulfilling God's expectations).

So, what is the Church's purpose? James, Jesus' own step brother, tells us: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27). The first purpose described in this passage is for us to take care of the widows and orphans. Those two groups were the most neglected in Biblical times and so those who were closest with God used widows and orphans to illustrate the need for the Church to take care of marginalized groups, bringing them love and compassion and care.

A great example of this occurs late in the Roman empire when the plagues wiped out a great deal of the population. Most groups ran away from the their loved ones to try and escape the plagues and save themselves. It was the Christians who stuck around and cared for those who were dying. This was one of the major reasons the Church gained so many converts. The people saw that Christians cared about others, loved others, and took care of others. The Church was not out preaching to refrain from sin. The Church was not patrolling the streets making sure everyone was doing what Jesus taught. The Church simply lived the love they were called to spread.

We can apply this today by stepping down from our moral high horse and refraining from telling everyone how to live their lives. We can apply this by letting the LGBT community have their marriages and closing our mouths when it comes to morality. We can apply this by reaching out to marginalized communities like the LGBT folks and show them love, compassion, and care.

The second thing involved in James' statement about the Church is to "keep oneself unstained from the world." Notice how it says "oneself" and not "others." It is not the Church's responsibility to keep other people from sin. It is our own responsibility to keep ourselves from sin. We are to remove the log from our own eye before helping others with the speck in their own.

So now we know. It is not the purpose of the Church to be the moral police, for that was what the Pharisees did, and Jesus was quite displeased with them. Instead, it is our job to take care of the widows and the orphans (for today can we say the gays and the poor?) and to keep our individual selves unstained from the world.
Blessings,
-Brandon

The Jesus Response to Homosexuals

I was reading through the forums today and happened across a post from a Christian man who is struggling with his sexuality. His question was essentially this: "how do I come out to my straight Christian friends without losing their friendship?" Let me say how heart-wrenching it is for me to hear someone fear losing a friendship for being true to himself. No one should have to fear ending a relationship for being oneself; especially if one's friend is a professed Christian. Jesus of all people felt the hurts of humankind and grew closer to people in such a situations, instead of moving away from them. If you are a Christian and have shown any sort of judgment on a person for being gay or for having had an abortion or for having gotten divorced or for anything, if you have acted in a way that pushed someone from the Church, know that Jesus would have reacted differently, and that he calls us to act contrary to that. Jesus calls us to support other people and love them, even if we disagree with something they do.

I would like first to address Christians who believe homosexuality is a sin and who, therefore, feel it necessary to exclude the LGBT community from worship and/or leadership. I am not going to argue with you here that homosexuality is not a sin. If you want to see my argument you can go to Is Homosexuality a Sin? What I am going to argue is that we are interacting with so-called sinners in a completely unbiblical way. We are treating homosexuality as an unforgivable sin that precludes a gay person from being a Christian. When a Christian comes out of the closet we immediately void their Christian membership card and exclude them from all things Church related. I know a man who was involved in a Church ministry who as soon as he came out of the closet was expelled from that ministry and banned from leading any ministry from that point on. But did Jesus exclude people from ministry because of sin? Absolutely not, that was the job of the Pharisees. That was what Jesus criticized the Pharisees for doing. We read in Matthew 23:13 (if you haven't figured out yet, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible) "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." This applies not only to the afterlife, but to this life as well. When Jesus describes cutting people off from the kingdom of heaven, he is also describing cutting people off from the Church, which is what we tend to do with sinners.

Jesus dined with all kinds of sinners and selected them as his inner circle of twelve. I described in the post Reaching Out to the LGBT Community that Jesus selected tax collectors and prostitutes (the worst of all "sinners" in Jesus' time) as his closest disciples. So why do we pick out a particular group, call them sinners, and treat them differently from all other sinners. For instance, we call divorce a sin, yet we allow two divorced people to marry. We consider premarital sex a sin, yet we allow two people who have partaken in "fornication" to marry. Why do we not allow gay people to marry? Why do we lift up one group of people as sinners, and place them above every other group of sinners?

But most importantly, why do we create an atmosphere where gay people do not feel comfortable being honest with us? Why do we create an environment where no sinner feels comfortable coming clean. Sinners had no difficulty coming to Jesus with their sin, and that is because Jesus did not treat them with condemnation or judgment. That is because Jesus did not respond with shock and awe at their sin. Jesus simply smiled, told them all was forgiven, and changed the subject. Jesus showed love and compassion and made people feel comfortable and safe to be honest around him. And that is what we need to do as Christians.

For my gay brothers and sisters, I know that it is difficult being honest with your straight brothers and sisters about who you really are; and I am sorry that is the environment we have created for you to come out in. You know that I do not believe homosexuality is a sin and you can use my article on that when discussing your homosexuality with your straight brethren. I want you to know that I am here to support you when you make the leap of faith to come out to your friends, and that I know of many other Christians, gay and straight, who are here to support you too. Most importantly, know that Jesus is here to support you and he will not ever let go of his tender grasp on you. He will hold you up forever.

Let me suggest that when you come out to your brothers and sisters in Christ, that you do it individually with each one. Let me suggest that you make them aware of how difficult this is for you and how much you need their support. Let me suggest that you tell them the acceptance you have experienced from Jesus and how much you need their compassion and love as you make this difficult step in coming out. Let me suggest that you then pray together. Be completely honest with yourself and with them during this process. If they accept you, then all is well and you can ask for their support as you tell others. But if they do not accept you, do not argue with them. Do not fight with them. Give them some time to think and some time to come to an acceptance of what they have heard. If they do not, and they desire to end the relationship, grieve over the loss of the friendship. But do not give up hope in finding a community of believers that will accept you and love you for who you are. If it at all helps, you may use my letter entitled A Letter to My Gay Brothers and Sisters as a tool to assist you and support you.

To all of my readers, know that I love you and that Jesus loves you.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Osama bin Laden's Death and the Christian Response

In yesterday's post I started off by saying that I was not going to tackle such a difficult topic as the killing of Osama bin Laden. I am glad I did not address the topic yesterday since I needed some time to think about it. But I now think it is my responsibility, as one who professes to explain the contemporary Christian response based on Jesus' interactions in Scripture, to address this complex issue.

I had someone ask me yesterday, "as a religious person, what do you think about bin Laden being killed?" Thinking I had to give her an immediate response, I vomited up a response I am not proud of, without having had time to think about it. Now that I have had time to think about it, I can give a more thoughtful response.

But before I get all spiritual on you, I must say that my first response was joy. I was happy to hear that that murderous (insert profanity here) was finally taken from this earth. Good riddance, I thought; one less evil in this world. I want to let you know that I think this is an extremely natural response and one that I do not condemn. The kind of response (the Christian response) I am about to advocate for, is a hard one to develop, but a necessary one. I will tell you why it is necessary in a moment. But first to the response.

As for the model of any Christian response I turn to Jesus who is above and beyond the exemplar of all things in relation to how we respond to our fellow human being. The question is, which responses of Jesus should be our example for how we should, as the body of Christ, respond to Osama bin Laden and his being killed? I think many would look to Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees, and particularly to Jesus' diatribe against them in Matthew 23 where he comes just short of spitting on them. Today we would say that Jesus ripped them a new one. But the reason Jesus treated the religious leaders the way he did was because they were given the truth through the Jewish law and they twisted the truth they were given and manipulated it to oppress the Jewish people. They had drifted from God and the true faith, and were abusing their authority. It was because of these things that Jesus railed on them the way he did. (For more on Jesus interactions with the religious leaders of his day, go to Jesus and the Religious Leaders in the Bible).

Now, I do not believe Jesus ever intended us to use his railing as an example for our own interactions (though it is nice to use this passage to justify such railing sometimes), but it is for another post to discuss how to interact with our own religious leaders. What is important to know for this current post is that this type of reaction is intended for our own religious leaders and not for those outside of our religious perspective. It would be absurd for us to expect someone from a different ethical world-view to act according to our own ethical belief system. Bin Laden held to an extremist, terrorist worldview, so it would be absurd for us to expect him to adhere to Christian ethical practices which alone would justify such a railing. That does not mean that we should stand by and let that person do harm to others. If that person's behavior (i.e. bin Laden) was harmful, we are justified in doing everything necessary to prevent that person from doing more harm. But does that mean we should rejoice in their death? I think the answer is "no."

When Jesus came across an enemy of his from outside of Judaism, he was sorrowful. We are even told that Jesus lamented over Jerusalem. When he was being crucified, he prayed for those nailing him to the cross saying, "forgive them Father, for they no not what they do." Jesus told his followers to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them.

Evil begets evil, and when evil is killed it begets evil through the rejoicing of something terrible: the killing of another human being. I am not saying that bin Laden's death was not justified or necessary. I think his being killed was necessary; but it was a necessary evil that should not be celebrated, but mourned over.

Proverbs 24:17 states, "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles." Instead of rejoicing that Osama bin Laden was killed, it is the Christian response to lament that there was no other way; it is the Christian response to lament that he had to die so others may live; it is the Christian response to lament that he had to be killed because he caused so many deaths.

It is the terrorists' response to rejoice when his or her enemy dies. So for us to do the same, sinks us to their level. It is the Christian response to love at all times and to forgive our enemies. Forgiving does not mean that we forget what has happened. Forgiving does not mean that we diminish the severity of the evil committed. Forgiving does not mean that we forego punishment. Forgiving is simply not letting what someone else did hold us back from living our lives. When we fail to forgive, as atrocious as the crime may have been, we hold ourselves back from being who we really are, and we let the criminal win.

If more people practiced the Christian response of love and compassion, if more people forgave and let go, maybe there would be more peace; maybe more people would get along.

I do not rejoice that Osama bin Laden had to die. Frankly, now that I have had time to think about it, it makes me sorrowful that he had to die. It makes me sorrowful that one more soul is lost. It makes me sorrowful that his life had to be a waste. Maybe if more people felt sorrow over the killing of a person, there would be less killing in this world. Maybe, if we practiced what Jesus taught, it would be contagious and the whole world would feel sorrow at the loss of a life. Imagine living in such a world.
Blessings,
-Brandon