Earlier this week Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, responded to Kathleen Parker’s article The quest to sort out competing and comparable religions with his own rebuttal, All Roads Lead to Heaven?—Kathleen Parker Does Theology. Essentially, it’s a debate on whether there is only one way to heaven and if it matters. Yesterday, Mohler tweeted a post by a USA Today columnist who summarized the debate and posed this question,
Would you call yourself a particularist (you need to know Jesus name to take the bridge), a universalist (drive, sail, fly or swim, it’s the same island) or inclusivist (Jesus made access possible even if you don’t know his name)?
The comments are 18 pages long. I can’t read comments on these types of articles for long before I get annoyingly irritated. It always ends up in a ridiculous argument telling who’s stupid for believing what and why. But there was one comment that caught my attention. It said something to the effect of
if Christians really believe Jesus and that he’s all about love then why do they ignore people, keep to themselves, and don’t help people the way Jesus did.
(Here’s my own little soapbox: Jesus is all about love, but he’s also about holiness. People, even a lot of Christians, seem to miss that. Moving on…)
There is a disconnect between our faith and our culture. Christians are seen as foolish people who believe in a God that is either not real or not loving, why then–most ask–would a loving God create a hell? Why waste your time deluding yourself and spending your life serving something that doesn’t exist?
Sure, the Bible says “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18), but I also agree with the atheists. Why align yourself to a radical belief system that tells you to live by faith and not by sight, to follow a man who tells his followers to drink his blood and eat his flesh in order to have eternal life (Jn. 6:54)—and then not live like he did.
Doesn’t that make you a fool?
To go to church, sing songs of praise, drop a check in the offering plate and then walk out the doors to live a life that looks just like everyone else’s.
Only a fool would say they know the way to eternal peace and happiness, but live in despair, division, and discontent.
Only a fool would keep quiet if they really knew what would bring man complete satisfaction.
Only a fool would give money to a building fund and neglect the poor, needy, and helpless.
And so, that is why…
The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
Brennan Manning
We are the greatest hindrance to our own cause. It’s us.
Not them.
Not the world.
Not the church down the street.
Not the crazy cults and denominations with “bad theology.”
It’s us.
We neglect to show Christ–to live and be Christ to the world, because there is a disconnect.
There is a disconnect between what we say we believe and what we actually do. If we really believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is the only way to eternal life and complete fulfillment—then wouldn’t will live like it?
I want to live like it’s true. I don’t always, but I want to that.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I really think it is important to live out our faith in Christ in an authentic way. However, we have to be careful about allowing how the world talks about us to influence us too much. The more we live for Christ the more they will find reasons to poke, prod, and deride us. The fact that they claim we are un-Christlike does not mean we are. I had a salesman call me un-Christlike because I was wearing a Christian T-shirt but wasn’t willing to allow him into my house to sell his magazines. It was simply an insult, not a truth.
In the same way an unbelieving world will tell us that it’s our fault – that we should be more loving, more open, more accepting. The truth is, when we live for Christ we may not seem loving, open, or accepting to them because what they’re really looking for is for us to compromise our beliefs and say that sin is OK. If we do that – if we ‘make peace’ with the world so they will like us – we have ceased to live for Christ.
We must be salt and light according to the scripture, not compliant and co-operative according to the world’s desires.
Anna – I agree with you. I do think we need to live out our faith without giving into the pressure of the world or compromise. I also think that for most Christians we don’t follow Jesus far enough. We take being his disciples to the point of comfort and not much further. We say we want to follow Jesus, but rarely do the things he did. (Now, obviously I can only truly speak for myself on this…and a few people I know who feel the same way.)
Do we live in such a way that our extra income goes to the poor, needy, & helpless? Do we spend time talking to the homeless, ragamuffins, prostitutes like Jesus did (ie, the “bad” sinners)? Do we pursue a level of personal holiness that is ready to drop anything that is foul or unbecoming to the cause of Christ?
These are just things I’ve been thinking and asking myself. If I believe Jesus to be true and say I want to follow him–then shouldn’t I be doing what he did?
Jess, all great thoughts that make me think…
Oh how I want to live for Christ and I want all my actions to point to Him and glorify Him! I don’t want to be a hindrance or form of “say one thing do another.”
I believe in Jesus Christ for my salvation and I want to live like I do!
But, oh how I often I fail…
I am so thankful for God’s grace that He showers over me and I hope that instead of seeing someone saying one thing and doing another, the secular crowd can see someone who is reaching towards a goal, the upward calling of a Christ-follower!
I’m not sure if any of that made sense…lol!
But, my mind is racing after reading your post.
Thanks!
Ashley – There’s just soooooo much to think about, meditate on, and CHANGE in my life! Reading Radical is blowing my mind! It’s like a (another) wake-up call…how far am I willing to follow Christ? It’s bringing clarity to some things and rising up a passion in areas that I haven’t been passionate about before! It’s great.
God’s doing a work, I know it. I just can’t wait until more and more people read this book (and the Bible) and are changed.
Girl! I am right there with you!!! I hate the hypocrisy, but (by the grace of God) I can recognize the own plank in my eye. I strive to live like this so that I can never be called a hypocrite. And the “Christians” I see who do not live that way, I just pray for them. Because if I didn’t, I would judge, and that’s not my job.
I love the comment my pastor made this last week. He said that so many secularists are asking themselves “why would a loving God send you to hell?” He said he firmly believes that you have to TRY to go to hell. God sends so many people through your path, so may opportunities to accept Him, that it is actually hard to get to hell.
I have heard so many people mention hypocrisy as a reason why they don’t enter into a Christian church or entertain any form of faith aligned with our Lord. There are so many people who live Christ centered lives, and these people are often overlooked. It seems it is the handful of people who put on a Sunday face and leave it in church until the next weekend are driving much of the perception.
On the contrary, though, I just watched a fascinating PBS documentary on The Mormons which quoted some statistic saying that the religion has grown 10 fold in the last 50 years and that some 800 people join the church on a daily basis. Mormonism is a huge part of Las Vegas culture (believe it or not!) and I have learned so much since living here. One of the biggest perceptions is that they are good, devout, giving, unselfish people. When people learn that we have multiple children close in age, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t participate in wild nights out on the town, and are busy on Sunday, they ask us if we are Mormon.
How is it that this group of people has been able to create a positive persona and attract so many followers, where as Christianity has not? (As an aside, I am NOT Mormon, nor will I ever become Mormon.) I don’t think I am nearly educated enough on their church goings-ons to attempt to answer the question myself. It is very interesting that they have managed to have multiple scandals and still survive, attractive and unscathed.