Posted on 08/03/2012 1:54:24 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," goes the bouncy little song that's been a favorite of Sunday school teachers for decades. "If you're happy and you know it, shout 'Amen!'"
Preschoolers will sing that song over and over, shouting "Amen!" more bouncily each time, until savvy Sunday school teachers switch to "The Lord is In His Holy Temple" to settle them back down before the classroom turns into a mosh pit.
As those preschoolers mature, they learn that shouting, "Amen," turns out not to be the central task of Christians.
Jesus teaches us that it is love. The Apostle Paul echoes that teaching. The Apostle John drives it home relentlessly. The Apostle Peter assumes it is worth the consequences.
This is a love of your God, yes, but it is expressed centrally through love of your neighbor, love of the stranger, love of your enemy, love of all.
Which, especially this week, raises a question:
My dear Christian brothers and sisters, how are you going to tell gays that you think their behavior is outside of God's will for their lives when for decades you've failed to show them God's love, which certainly is inside God's will for your lives?
And not just inside his will for you, but central to it, the main point of it.
I know that the majority viewpoint of Christendom is not expressed by Westboro Baptist Church, with its godhatesfags.com website and its abominable signs at high-profile funerals. No, I give most of my brothers and sisters way more credit than that.
And, in some ways, I know this issue has become an intramural one, with Christians debating Christians about whether homosexuality precludes participation in or leadership of the church. We are a mixed bunch, and it is certainly no longer as if Christians are on one side and gays on the opposite.
However, the collective Christian record of the past generation, all through the tsunami of the AIDS epidemic, for instance, was at best too quiet and at worst too snide and vindictive. Christians' actions and attitude have fallen far short of the central task described by Christ.
Instead, like preschoolers, we've resorted to shouting a lot.
This is why I'm not a fan of the recent "Support Chick-fil-A" push. It proves my point. It takes the approach of showing that Christians have the right and the might — and you'd better not mess with them or they'll shout at you, too.
Where is the love in that?
Perhaps so much venom has been spit from Christians at the members of the gay community for so long that we will never be able to convince them now of our love for them.
We need to try, though. It is central to God's will for our lives.
And, unless we want to waste another generation, we also need to be wracking our brains to identify other people in today's society to whom we have been less than loving.
Our love must be loud enough to be heard over all our past shouting.
******
Doug Mendenhall teaches journalism at Abilene Christian University. Email him at doug.mendenhall@acu.edu
Well Douch bag Doug, I’d say you completely missed the point! IT’S ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH!! PERIOD!
Where’s his love for the Chick Fil A employees, owners, customers. All love to the homosexuals is his mantra.
For those not familiar with Abilene Christian University, it is tied to the Church of Christ, a very fundamentalist group of Christians that are all about the local church congregation with cooperative ventures like colleges arising from independent groups. There are no overseers above the either the elders of a local congregation or the individual college/univeristy that is affiliated with the Church of Christ. Pepperdine University is the most recognized affiliated university.
The writer did not achieve his communication goal because this article has mixed messages that only create confusion in the reader. There are some things in the article which are very universal for most Christians. The confusion arises when he asks the reader to set aside any level of discernment as to how to approach sin.
Thanks for that. I’m in Kansas and have an online/social media ministry and will respond to him with the truth via email. Bookmarked.
This is why I'm not a fan of the recent "Support Chick-fil-A" push. It proves my point. It takes the approach of showing that Christians have the right and the might — and you'd better not mess with them or they'll shout at you, too.Where is the love in that?
Every Sunday, millions of Christians assemble in, collectively, a far larger number than those - not all Christian - who counterdemonstrated against the attempted censorship of a particular Christian who made a theological point in a discussion with a Christian publication writer. The vast number of Christians - all of whom respect the Bible to the point of reverence - might intimidate people who identify with particular behavior which the Bible rebukes. Should we therefore discontinue “the assembling of the saints” because someone might fear that someone would read the “wrong” passage out of the Bible?Why would a Christian dissociate himself with another Christian when government officials criticize him for his faith, and assay to damage his business? Why would a Christian criticize other Christians for reacting to that arrogance by making a point of patronizing his business, and turning that hospitality business temporarily into a veritable ecumenical Sunday School Picnic?All Christians need to check the mirror regularly. But because I need to critique my own behavior doesn’t mean that you as a Christian can satisfy that requirement for yourself simply by criticizing me in lieu of checking your own motives.
Here’s a clue for you: the people who criticize self-righteousness in Christians are themselves self-righteous. Everyone is self-righteous, especially if they aren’t Christians. It’s just that Christians make themselves sensitive to the charge, whereas atheists reject the idea of righteousness by rejecting the idea of wickedness. While making exceptions for their own certainty that everyone else is wicked, of course . . .
Mendenhahl is advocating that Christians suppress their right to express their opinions in deference to the homosexuals expressing their vitriol.
How ironic.
Yeah, Christians need to learn their place.
Just say NO to the Gaystapo !
My dear Christian brothers and sisters, how are you going to tell gays that you think their behavior is outside of God’s will for their lives when for decades you’ve failed to show them God’s love, which certainly is inside God’s will for your lives?
The answer is the same way Christians have always help people and themselves struggling with additions to sin. You don’t begin by condoning the sin so everyone feels good in their sin! It would be hateful to have a herion lover appreciation day to make the herion addicts feel good about their addiction and their idenity as an addict. That would be a day to celebrate the addict’s bondage, suffering and death!
You admit you have a problem and you turn to God and one another for support and love in overcoming it. You don’t condemn the sinner, be that yourself or another person; you support them in getting free if they want to be free.
Gays have a self destructive sexual addition problem no different than the one who is obsessed with having sex with a an imaginary porn star, another man’s wife, a child or a beast. Gay atheists refuse to admit they have a problem and that is their choice. But they are not going to bully Christians into reorganizing human love and life around that dark lie.
It would be hateful to celebrate self destruction so gay atheists feel good about their abuse, disease, mental torment and early deaths. Hiding the facts about the sad, natural consequences of homosexual behavior is hateful. I don’t love self destruction, because I love human life.
If you're happy and you know it...
...kiss my ass.
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