No doubt this title inspires some sort of emotional response. Love it or hate it, it affects you. You love it because you yourself have been jaded by the corruption within Christian communities. You hate because you feel it is cynical at its best and judgmental at its worst. You love it because it draws you to a pure Christianity that is not hindered by the chains of self-interested humans. You hate it because I use the word bullshit. Is a pastor even allowed to say bullshit?
I purchased a domain with this phrase inspired by a conversation I had at dinner with some cool people. I don’t have a plan for it. I’m not sure what kind of website I should put at such a domain. I think it should be intentional since I believe a lot of people would be drawn to such a website. This brings up the subject of this post.
Yesterday I sent out an update asking for suggestions. While I got a couple good ones I also got a couple jabs at the likes of Benny Hinn and Pat Robertson and a few jabs at those who made or agreed with such sentiments. While these comments all took place on my Facebook status and some have deleted their comments, I wanted to address both of these groups here. I would like to address some, most definitely not all, of the “bullshit” that I see in Christianity and compel us to not get sucked in.
To those who took pokes at specific people who you feel have added “bull” to Christianity.
I completely understand where you are coming from. I have been put off by them and many others. I abhor those who claim Christ but then make a mockery of His gospel. I have been known to refer to TBN as my own special Comedy Central. But I would like to share a quote that I shared earlier by Ed Curry.
“Cynicism is a good thing as long as it’s your vehicle and not your home.”
Healthy cynicism will not allow you to swallow all the garbage that is offered to you by so many who claim to be from Christ. Scripture supports this healthy cynicism. Remember not to remain focused there. Our faith shines as we stay fixed on the Father and not those who defile His Word.
To those who cry foul when someone points out one of these obvious people of concern.
I am so dangerously close to being part of the problem when I live in this constant state of cynicism and I recognize this. I don’t want that any more than you do. But lets not kid ourselves into thinking that Jesus, the Apostles, and the entire Word of God doesn’t call these types of people out for who they are.
We can swing to far on this. We can try so hard to be non-judgmental that any statement of truth can be seen as condemnation. Calling a wolf a wolf is not condemnation, it’s species identification. This does not mean there is no forgiveness, grace or mercy. It simply means that believers are well within their right to sound the alarm when error is found.
We also need to be careful not to take ourselves to seriously. This is part of the problem in Christianity. When we take ourselves and “ministers” to seriously and Christ not seriously enough.
I would like to add that this website, whatever I do with it, will not be used to point the finger at specific people who might blemish the name of Christ. If anything it will be a site that proclaims who He is and that He wants us.
So, what is the real “bull” that has been added to Christianity? What say you?
Leave a comment with one thing per comment. I’ll start…
When giving becomes a way to manipulate God into making us rich instead of caring for those who are in need at Christ’s command.
