As many of you know, I'm an evangelical Christian in every sense of the world. Well, maybe most senses but not all. In my world, there are the extreme's.
On the right, you have the ultra Conservative, take the Bibles literally and live by the strict interpretation. These are the Bible Thumpers, suit and tie at Church, study the Word of God.
On the left, you have the free Spiritual charismatic, who loves God, loves the Bibles and loves to worship. They love to spend all of their time reading the Bible and studying the Bible and loves being in the spirit when they sing and worship.
The difference to me the one likes the intellectual pursuit of God and the other likes the emotional pursuit of God. I am in the middle. Although my life is flanked by people on the extremes and the funny thing is. I don't think either side believes I'm saved.
I find it strange that both sides are such polar opposites of each other, but at the same time they feel they have the right to judge me and my Christian maturity.
They like to criticize my role in the family, my leadership style has a husband and father, the amount of time that I watch television and my pursuits in witnessing. Ugh.
On the right, they judge me because I don't follow what the Bible says, while on the left, they judge me because they don't feel like I'm following the Lord.
My response...I don't really care. I'm not above criticism, but I am above judgment from others. And that's alright by me. I gotta go. My TV show is on.
2 comments:
Alan! SO great to see your blog! I didn't know you were on here... me, too! And we have the same page format.
I appreciated your thoughts about the extremes in the evangelical spectrum. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), there are other a number of other extremes as well. But I only ever see more and more in life that balance is the key to any place one stands.
You know I am all for passion & intensity, always have been, whether in intellectual pursuits and knowledge or emotional response. But as far as basing your life, faith and ethos on anything, it gets more than frightening when there is no balance, consideration for all sides or an ability to see big picture and realize that the issues we spend so much time getting worked up over are not near as important as we think they are. "Without love, we're clanging symbols". Certainly not as important as loving each other and accepting others, no matter how different we are. Now I sound like a cheesy, feel good, love everyone idiot, but the bottom line still stands!
Anyway, you are right to move beyond the destructive judgement. You are a man of God and as children of God (and the Body, so of many parts) we are called to so many things. Often times that needs to be (or should be) someone who is part of and master in the culture we have been placed in. Someone who understands and can see God in the arts, entertainment, the laughter of comedy. Someone who can bring love in the midst of any circle, which was Christ's example anyway. The world desperately NEEDS this person and they aren't found by someone with their head in the sand or who's afraid of the culture.
I always know I am far from being truly Christlike because I am not having tax collecters (our modern day politicians) and prostitutes over for dinner or hanging out with them as Christ did. But can you imagine the criticism that would come when doing that - from other Christians? Then we'd really be accused of going off the deep end.
I love the verse in the gospels (can't recall which book) where the religious people call Christ a "wine bibber". Again, things are NOT often as they seem and there can be divine purposes in interacting in a genuinely kind, loving way our culture, with TV stars, comedians, and poker players.
Your friend Gin
Hi Al. My hubby found your website by googling "free stufftimeshare". I am at work and bored (it's Saturday on a Labor Day weekend and I'm stuck here!) so I took some time to look around. I'm comforted to know there are other Christians out there like me who don't think gays are going to hell and who know that we're supposed to help each other regardless of faith. Christians' worst enemy is... other Christians. We *will* come to see you if we are ever in SoCal. Rock on.
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