A Reformation Is Overdue

It all started while I was reading Tim Holland’s book Dominion. At one point he quotes one of Neitzsche’s observations about Christianity: “The measure of a man's compassion for the lowly and the suffering comes to be the measure of the loftiness of his soul." 

To be sure, Neitzsche didn’t mean this as a compliment. He hated Christianity. He thought the compassion Christianity drew out of people was despicable, enabling the weak to survive when evolution demanded they die. 

This compassion was one of the first hallmarks of the fledgling movement of Christ-followers in the 1st century. The Romans famously complained about how annoyed they were by the Christians taking care of everybody to the point of showing up the government. When early Christian apologists made a case for why hostile rulers should be lenient, they always highlighted the kindness and love Christians had for all people. It’s hardly surprising that the early church filled with women, orphans and slaves – the marginalized and oppressed of the 1st century.  Historian Rodney Stark noted how this sharing of lives has looked throughout church history:

“Christianity revitalized life in Greek and Roman cities by providing relationships able to cope with urgent problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.”
(The Rise of Christianity)

Justin Martyr wrote to Emperor Antoninus Pius and described the new Christian believers in this way:

"We formerly rejoiced in uncleanness of life, but now love only chastity; before we used the magic arts, but now dedicate ourselves to the true and unbegotten God; before we loved money and possessions more than anything, but now we share what we have and to everyone who is in need; before we hated one another and killed one another and would not eat with those of another race, but now since the manifestation of Christ, we have come to a common life and pray for our enemies and try to win over those who hate us without just cause."

Fast forward 2,000 years.

I posted this quote from Neitzsche on my Facebook page. A couple responses from some long -time friends highlighted a sobering reality for me: the reputation of the church is in trouble. Their comments align with what research is showing, so this is not an anomaly. 

You might think what they have to say is unfair, and you may be right. In fact, I hope your personal experience in evangelicalism makes what follows sounds bizarre. But it still needs to be heard and pondered. No matter what our experiences our with our family, friends and church, we are situated in a huge group in a large nation, and our reputations are intertwined. American Evangelicalism is certainly bigger than us, but surely not unconnected to us.

So I offer this not to say you have to agree, but to beg of you to take seriously how American evangelicalism in increasingly perceived by a watching world. If we want to be part of a church movement whose light shines brightly and compellingly as a blessing to the world, we've got some lamps that need trimming. 

The First Conversation 

Friend: “Oh, I think [Neitzsche] would totally be into American Christianity 2020.” 

Me: “We are overdue a Reformation.”

Friend: “You of all people had me convinced that the awful things people said about conservative Christians were exaggerations that applied to a vocal subset at best. The rallying of white evangelicals behind one of the most corrupt, pernicious, cynical, incompetent, and dishonest administrations in history, I mean... they were right all along, weren’t they?”

Good Words In The Time Of 'The Troubles'

I got this text from my adopted sister this week. She grew up in very different circumstance than I did, and it has given her a perspective that I value. 

It's timely. 

It's important.

 It's truth.  

* * * * *

I wanted to share something with my friends and family that has been heavy on my heart. I want to ask us all to be praying against the violence that is being threatened in this land. I ask people to set aside differences. I am not able to vote, so I have no particular affiliation with any party. I just have a strong belief in the triune God. I'm calling to ask people to pray in that unity – the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I grew up from ages 5 to 11 or so in Northern Ireland during what is known as “The Troubles.” I experienced at it as a Civil War, so I am very sensitive to what is going on right now.  While things are never exactly the same from one place to another or one time to another, there are some similarities that are just bothersome and concerning to me. 

I hear and see various Christian groups of various denominations in this nation seeming to focus on the need for our secular government to support our Christian ideals and faith, almost as if their faith depends on what the secular government says and does. I'd like to encourage us to think about the fact that our faith doesn't depend on what our secular government does or doesn't do; it depends on our relationship with God and each other. 

I have had the privilege (I guess is how I would put it) of being in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the Soviet Union (when it was still a thing) and other places where the secular government did not back up Christian beliefs. And yet I have to tell you with tears in my eyes that the faith I found in Christians in those places was beautiful. You had to worship often times in dark rooms quietly praising God with one another for fear that you would be killed if you were found out. That's persecution. And yet the faith of these people was beautiful, and it was growing despite the government, not because of their government.

When Pope John Paul II grew up in Poland during World War II, Poland was being pushed on one side by part of the Third Reich and on the other side by the Soviet Union. He was a young priest, but he didn't dress as you would think a priest would dress because it would've been deadly for him and his followers, but nonetheless their faith grew and grew. Eventually he became Pope John Paul II. That was not because he had a government that was so Christian and supported all Christian ideals; it was because he had a personal faith and a personal relationship with God. 

So many times I hear Christians talk about what Jesus would do. I'd like us to think about what he did do. He never encouraged his followers or disciples to overthrow Rome and take over the Caesar; instead, his focus was on the church or synagogue at the time and its leaders who we're not teaching their people the right thing. They seemed to be more out for themselves and their own power and glory. 

Jesus himself seem more concerned about those who had faith or said they had faith rather than the immoral government that they all lived under. Anyone who knows about Roman history knows that Rome was highly immoral and didn’t follow what we would now consider Christian ideals (at the time Jewish ideals). He focused on relationships with people and confronting church leaders who were misguiding their people. He met with sinners and ate with them, helping them to see they could be different. 

That's what Jesus did. He never stormed the government or complained about how immoral it was. That was to be expected in some ways - it was a secular government, not a church organization. I'd like us just to think about that for a minute. 

The real weapon we have as Christians is not guns or other things that could cause harm - even words that cause harm. It is our prayers, our ability to have communication with God and ask him to look on the church and other Christians and help them wake up and realize that their faith doesn't depend on the government being righteous, holy or not immoral. It depends on us how we relate to one another. Jesus calls us to love our enemies as well as our friends and our neighbors. It seems to me we have no ground to ever be violent, hateful or ugly to others, be they friend or foe. 

God says we can have all kinds of gifts of knowledge but if we don't have love, it’s as annoying and unhelpful and banging a gong or cymbal. And friends, I feel like I hear a lot of gongs going off. God says he is our ultimate judge, and he will judge us in the end for how we behave now. He kind of makes it clear.

But at this point, it's not the time to separate the bad from the good lest we lose the good along with bad. He lets us know that in the end we may be surprised, because we will claim that we said, “Lord. Lord,” and he will say, “I don't know you. I came to you when I was sick and in prison and other such things, and you turned me away.”

We don't need to let people walk all over us, but in our attempts to be right or holy we shouldn't walk all over others either. We are not responsible for how others believe; we are responsible to bear witness of God by how we act, by our language, by our actions, by our love, compassion, and mercy, and by holding people accountable for their own behaviors. 

So let's pray together for this to end because God's already made it clear for generations and generations that is what he wants. 

2020 Conspiracies That We Can Finally Retire

A Christian cold case detective, J. Warner Wallace, posted an excellent podcast detailing how he evaluates conspiracies, something he does consistently in his line of work. I highly encourage you to listen to it. I will also point you toward a video (with notes) that I recorded this past year on Christians and conspiracies. 

In a world awash in lies, innuendo and rumor, people of truth are in short supply.  Let's work hard to build that number. If you see that a news source on which you relied promoted or defended these conspiracies, I encourage you to find a new source of news. 

#1. COVID-19 will go away when the election is over. 

It’s actually gotten far worse. I’ve been compiling info for a while. While I have no doubt politicians on both sides of the aisle were trying to turn this pandemic to their advantage, COVID-19 was never merely a political game. It’s always been very, very real, as experienced by the entire world.  

#2. COVID-19 lockdowns are an excuse to arrest pedophiles / trafficked children will be rescued on the hospital ships Comfort and Mercy / kept safe in COVID-19 field hospitals.  

While I appreciate the renewed concern over the horror that is human trafficking, COVID-19 was never a ploy to disrupt a pedophile cabal. It was a real pandemic that has swept the globe and has so far killed over 1.8 million people. The ships left with no rescued kids on them because that is not why they were sent. Same with the Samaritan's Purse field hospital set up in Central Park. It was not there to rescue children being held in underground tunnels.