I saw God Squad people on Saturday night in Melbourne. It was kind of a bizarre thing (but then again, it was a bizarre weekend, so why should I be surprised?). There they were on a corner with leaflets, a mic, a speaker and a guy talking too loudly about "turning away from your sins and coming back to God."
Instantly my mind flipped up the answer of, "But I like my sins!" and I had a giggle as I called Clare and left a message on her voicemail about it. (Aside) Does that make me a bad Christian? Probably. Never been particularly good at "being" a Christian anyways - not that I don't think God is fantastic, I just find myself laughing at inappropriate things, disliking CCM, occasionally swearing (amongst other things) and not wanting to bash other people over the head with my beliefs.
Perhaps it's a Christian Cringe thing, but the machine-gun approach to spreading religion (fire indiscriminately, kill off almost everyone who might have ever been interested had they not been involved in the random verbal Christianised, sanctified, purified, hands-up hallelujah drive-by) bothers me.
Maybe it works for some. Generally it leads to the majority of people when they ask you if you're a Christian and you say yes, giving you a look like they're expecting you to come out with an earbashing especially for them. Suddenly you're "one of them" and you think, "Hold up a minute, one of what?"
My Christian belief is pretty liberal. Conservatism doesn't fit me, I don't fit it, and from reading the Bible I often feel like it doesn't fit God, either. No, I don't want to create God in my own image, I just don't think He's as into the smiting as some imagine.
We were all created to be different and of course that means that there will be different styles of Christianity that appeal to different kinds of people (if they choose Christianity as their belief system). Does there have to be a one-size-fits-all rule? What do you do about the Christian Cringe? And should Roger Moore have stuck to being a cardigan model?
Okay, being flippant with the last bit there, but really... What are the answers to that? Are there even any answers to it?
2 comments:
That sort of thing bothers me too. It seems to mostly be doing the opposite of what is intended. It seems to drive more people away from Christianity then it brings to it.
I don't believe in the "bash them over the head with it and then shove what remains down their throats" method. I think that if I live my life the way God intended me to, then that will show and, dare I say, be a witmess.
However this idea is flawed as I can rarely live my life the way God wants me to. Alas I try.
And I now think that this comment is long enough for now.
Mmm, it's hard to find a balance with that kind of thing :-/
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