This week, I stumbled across the a xanga post that left me feeling distressed. The poster had posted an email forward/political essay, essentially stating that she (being a Conservative) wanted a "divorce" from liberal America. I understood the frustration behind the post, as the two polarized sides of our political scene tend to create butting-of-the-heads rather than meetings-of-the-minds.
Despite understanding the emotion behind the post, I could not find a single point that I agreed with. The premise of the post was this: Like a typical divorce, the parties involved would split the assets. Essentially, the "right" side would get all the Christians, the military, and the awesomeness. The "left" side would get abortion doctors, Scientologists, Muslims, the homeless, and peaceniks... and I assumed since all the Christians were on the right side, the lefties were all going to hell.
My distresses are as follows:
1. Labeling those with whom we disagree does nothing to solve the problem. It just drives the wedge deeper.
2. Christ's ministry was a ministry to the homeless, impoverished, and those abandoned by the Empire. The Way (early church based on Christ's teachings) was based on non-violence, and redistribution, and community. So, while Jesus would be ministering to the homeless and broken, his followers would be on the opposite side?
3. In responding to my comments, I was labeled naive, silly, and complacent. Why is it naive to try to follow Christ's teachings? I was told that I was taking the "let it pass" mentality towards sin and evil in the world. I got the feeling that the orignal poster was concerned for my soul...
My gut hurts from thinking about this and turning it over in my head. I don't consider myself "liberal," but someone said my comments "smelled of liberalism." I am left pondering some questions to myself... How has American Christianity become so separated from Jesus' teachings on the Kingdom of God? How can I better represent Jesus to people who are quite disenchanted with the way Christianity appears in many (but not all) mainstream, conservative circles? Why is it so easy for me to love people outside the church, but so challenging to love other Christians who don't understand how I try to live the gospel? How do people reconcile to themselves the marriage of militarism and Christianity? (I might address the last question in a later post).
*sigh* I tried to be respectful and I got blasted. I tried to be reasonable and was called silly and naive. I guess that's why it doesn't pay to get into a xanga-debate...
Comments (6)
i agree. labeling, insulting, trying to categorize people and claim to know their hearts, is not good at all. even within the same Christian family there are sharp disagreements --- there are far more important things than allowing our differences to distract us from loving one another and glorifying God through our person and our obedience to Him and His word.
got me smiling -not for your pain and frustration -but - sort of - sounds to me like --it's all evidence of being on the right track..
This is such a good post and I totally agree :) It sounds like your heart is in the right place which is awesome :) It sounds like we share the same views so I know where you are coming from . Sometimes I get some of the meanest comments from other Christians when i am commenting a post . I am very respectful when I comment so I don't understand why people are so rude :( As Christians we are supposed to be respectful and loving towards one another and at times, especially on xanga or revelife I don't see a lot of that. It's very sad .
Dory, I think what you're experiencing is what many people experience. But, they either don't recognize or acknowledge it. When I went to church, back in my old E-town, I felt safe at church. People welcomed me because I was a young boy, a christian, a singer, a Bible-school teacher, an Enderlinite, and had a known family name. But, as time has gone on, I'm no longer a young boy, an Enderlinite, a Bible-school teacher, nor a church-going Christian that worships every Sunday and reads the Bible with compulsion (just a hint of annoyance). I respect churches that have the ability to build communities where people can find love and comfort in the pursuit of knowing God better. However, I sometimes feel I'm on the outside of this community because my labels have changed. I'm a man, a traveler, a non-missionary, a spiritual versus religious Christian, and gay. I'm sure, regardless of these labels, my hometown church would be happy to see me come back and sing in the choir (they always need more men and my labels won't have changed much to them). But, with some Christians I've met - and many times I've done this to myself because of what I've seen conservative groups say - they put people into lists of safe or unsafe; meaning that some labels are okay in that community and other labels are not. Then, we throw in our political leanings. People seek the party that represents their image of community. It's at that point that people become categorized and discriminated against. Jesus may have discriminated against rich people ("camel through the eye of a needle") but he gave everyone a model to follow. In my mind, at least, he exemplified true love by showing people that they are all valuable and unique, and that everybody should work to care for one another with what we have. I guess what I'm trying to say through all this, despite these political motions we go through to see who is safe or not, is that you should keep thinking about and living out that relationship you have with Jesus and worry less what people label you as. I appreciate your honesty with your experience, and I think it will serve you well to love yourself and others in a healthy, uninhibited way. And, to quote the Bible, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's."
P.S. From an old friend, "find blue."
I think it was a huge mistake to wrap the Bible in the American flag. The mission of Christ and the teachings of God are so incredible that it almost trivializes the cause of Christ by mixing Him in with any kind of politics.
blessings
frank
I think much of what I want to say has been nicely put by others, but all in all I'm sorry that you were put down by other (likely) brothers and sisters in Christ. That's just not cool. It actually makes my tummy hurt. I know that I don't agree with everything that you think, but I also know that my mindset has become a heck of a lot more liberal since I left my small town. I also know that there are some areas that I'm continuing to form opinions on. Something that has always, always, always bothered me is that liberal=atheist and conservative=Christian in so many people's minds... How? Why?! It's silly. It may sound hokey, but for the love of the great commission, I'm so incredibly thankful that we have some diversity among Christians! It means we're going to reach a much broader audience with the Message! So don't let these butt heads bother you, just keep loving on others like you are and using that big beautiful brain of yours for a good cause.
P.S. I've had a long day...sorry if this was one of the silliest/randomest comments you get from me.