Another Embarrassing Week As A Christ Follower

I'm tired this week. Not from work. Not from packing up all of the Christmas decorations. Not from a big meeting with potential investors and business partners.

From STUPID CHURCH PEOPLE (No disrespect meant to one of my favorite blogs).


Two biggies:

1. Pat Robertson - for his suggestion on Thursday, January 5, 2006, that Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land," and giving away Gaza to the Palestinians. Holy shit Pat! This guy just can't keep his freaking mouth shut and there are people just WAITING for him to open it and say stupid shit. The last real biggie from Pat called for the assassination of the leader of Venezuela.

2. The Book of Daniel - Here is a news story from the Reuters wire - The Book of Daniel. Now, I'm not saying that we should watch things that we disagree with. Especially things that attack our values or belief systems. BUT my beef is that the people who are against this are typically folks who: a) Have never seen the show and just hear about it from friends., or b) Self-proclaimed zealots who believe that protecting God is their lot in life.

IF I was a person interested in following Christ these displays of "zeal" and foolishness would cause me to question whether or not I wanted to be part of this belief system. Now, the truth is that MOST people who profess to follow Christ are sensible and mature enough to make RATIONAL and correct decisions regarding life and choices that reflect the Kingdom of God. It's just the WACKO"S that get the press.

TRUE STORY - I have a friend who told another friend that she was going to watch "The Book of Daniel" the other night. Her friend emailed her and, after three long paragraphs of judgmental shit, said that she would still be her friend, even if she watched the show.

Some thoughts:
My guess, through conversations and experiences, is that the same folks that are in an uproar over "The Book of Daniel" watch "Desperate Housewives", "Scrubs", various soap's and other shows that are as "heinous" or questionable in content. I mean, be consistent. Most people are REACTING to pulpiteers who are all whipped up by large organizations spending money on "sanitizing" life.

I also don't think that Jesus needs defending. He can take care of himself. I would be more concerned about whether or not I was doing WHAT HE ASKED ME TO DO as a Christ follower than making sure everyone knew how offended I was at the new TV show.

I mean, in the BIG PICTURE what difference will it make if you "stood against" The Book of Daniel TV show? Do we really believe that God will say "well done" over issues like this? COME ON FOLKS!?! Get a fucking clue about what is important. Love your neighbor and God (by the way, in the parable that Jesus uses to tell an inquirer about loving a "neighbor," you can just substitute those who consider "ungodly" and/or "un-clean" - maybe even those who WATCH The Book of Daniel" or [shudder] the ones [evil bastards that they are] who PRODUCED THE SHOW).

Last thought. What if, in God's mercy, He is making sure that we are actually in a society that is not a "Christian" nation in order to allow those who are really the Faithful, to really live in a way that will cause people to ask questions that will bring them closer to making a choice to become followers of God?

That would be fair. Especially since people in the USA have been praying for years that we would be a "New Testament" church. Maybe God is surrounding us with a "New Testament" culture.

At least it gives us something to think about...

WH