One Of Those Christians
I am, as I may have previously
mentioned, a Christian. I have occasionally been asked, “are you
one of those Christians?” The question, delivered with a
cringe, is a valid, if inarticulate, one. There are many sorts of
people using the word “Christian” to define themselves, but
wearing the name “Christian” doesn't make a person a follower of
Christ any more than wearing a white coat makes a person a doctor.
Sadly, some of these people are not serving as ambassadors of the
Gospel, but as mongers of hate, war, and prejudice. Haters, as they
say, are gonna hate, but I adamantly wish they would leave
Christianity out of it.
In the past month four huge
embarrassing stories have surfaces in the media. Oddly I didn't hear
about them from Christian watchdog groups but from
Princess
Free Zone and
George
Takei. At the urging of my own conscience, and an
article by Michelangelo Signorile, I'm weighing in here to add a Christian voice to their
chorus of denouncement. Their behaviour is not the behaviour of Christ. I am not one of
these Christians, my
church is not one of
these churches, and my pastor is not one
of
these pastors:
On May first the Huffington Post
reported the violent and hateful remarks of Sean Harris, who actually
told his congregation to punch their sons for acting effeminate, and
to rebuff their daughters for acting “butch.” In the interest of
fairness this Pastor did eventually apologise, but I'm afraid a lot
of people aren't taking his apology seriously. As a Christian,
although his hate-filled words break my heart, I am obliged to
forgive him. Non-Christians are under no such obligation, and the
injury this man has done to Christ's reputation cannot be overstated.
On May twenty-second
U.S. News
reported on the outrage that followed the bigoted remarks of another
senior pastor. Charles Worthy called for
homosexuals to rounded up and put behind gender specific fences so
they could eventually die out. If the notion was not so horrible and
disgusting it would be hilarious. The idea that homosexuality would
cease to exist if homosexuals would just stop breeding seems to
misunderstand the very nature of homosexuality. To the credit of
this pastor's community,
The
Catawaba Valley Citizens Against Hate organised a massive
peaceful protest, the sort of thing I wish Christians were more prone
to do in these situations.
On May 30
th NYDailyNews.com
reported a disturbing viral video. The video features a toddler
singing the words, “Ain't no ain't no homo gonna make it to heaven”
which would be sad, but not newsworthy if not for the enthusiastic
standing ovation he received from Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church of Greensburg, Indiana. The church and pastor have since received
death threats and hate mail, which is shameful, though
unsurprising. The fact that a church community is actively teaching it's
children bigotry with such incredible enthusiasm turns the stomach.
To those who would join in threatening these people, please remember that violence perpetuates such hatred, and that the Christian faith does not allow for revenge (Romans 12:19). These persons will be held accountable by God, “And if anyone causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown
into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck” (Mark
9:42)
On May thirty-first Kansas Pastor
Curtis Knapp went on
CNN
to defend previous remarks that the US government should execute
homosexuals. You may have heard the phrase, “You may be the only
Jesus someone ever meets.” This man brings that phrase home for
me. I've no doubt that there are people who believe this man
represents Christianity, and worse, there are people who believe this
man represents Jesus Christ. He does not. Jesus spoke about men who
masquerade as his servants when said, “Watch out for false
prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ferocious wolves” (
Matthew
7:15)
Judgemental Reactions Don't Heal Judgement Inflicted Wounds
I want to be crystal clear that neither I nor anyone else except God alone knows the state of these person's souls. They
may be authentic faith-filled Christians. They may have serious
mental or emotional disorders. They may have been indoctrinated from
childhood. I cannot know that I would grow into a temperate and
loving individual if I'd been given their life circumstance and
mental faculties.
Their words and actions are certainly abhorrent,
but such persons, like all sinners ought to be loved patiently and
forgiven readily. I ask that if you share my Christian faith, that
you make every effort to actively distinguish yourself from such
misrepresentations of Christ. Yet even as you dissent from them,
please pray for these misguided perpetrators of evil. God speed your endeavours.
And so we know and rely on the love God
has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love
lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete
among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In
this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect
love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one
who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love
because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a
brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother
and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not
seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must
also love their brother and sister.
-1
John 4:16-21