Monday, July 28, 2008

Christianity Without Christ

Today is the day for a rant. I am so angry right now and I’ll tell you why… I’m sick of “Christianity.” I’m tired of being in “bible” class at my “Christian” school and feeling as if either I’m being treated like a baby that doesn’t know that we’re supposed to “obey Jesus” or a Bible doctrines major that only cares about getting all of the rules right. I just don’t see how that is even Biblical at all! I think Mike Yaconelli said it right, “What is the deal with Christian schools, anyway? Shouldn’t they be graduating students who are revolutionary, anti-institutional, anti-cultural extremists? Isn’t anyone else upset that most of our Christian schools are graduating compliant, materialistic, irrelevant students who don’t have a radical bone in their bodies? Who will push the envelope in the generations to come?” The fact of the matter is we are so focused on figuring out all the mysteries of Christ that we lose the essence of what He stands for. I’m pretty sure that reading your Bible and having your quiet time aren’t His top priorities. I’m pretty sure His top priority is, well, HIM! You know what reading your Bible and doing your quiet times are suppose to accomplish? They’re supposed to bring you closer to Him! Who says you have to sit down and fill out a little devotional workbook to be close to God? NOT HIM!! And another thing… who freaking cares about whether we have free will or not; or which version of the Bible is better; or whether your music is “too loud for church;” or how you’re baptized! GOD DOESN’T! God hated… that’s right, He hated… those kind of people. He called them hypocrites and vipers and idiots! So when did it become ok to warp Christianity into that? Jesus never changed His mind and He doesn’t hang out with those kind of people. You’ve lost Christ. Now all you have is ianity.



Philippians 3:7-9 (the message)
The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness

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