So, I realize that this may not make sense, but I believe very strongly that I am in danger of being perceived as a TERRORIST.
Often times, as someone with somewhat conservative Christian views, I am forced to acknowledge the part of my beliefs that deals with hell.
Let me begin by saying that I believe in hell. I believe that all people are born with something unnatural about us. We were intended to be flawless, but our ancestors introduced the lethal, genetically passed virus of sin. Thank God that He provided a vaccine (the death of Jesus in our place). Hell only exists as a quarantine for those who refuse the vaccine, so that they do not infect those that have accepted it.
Those are my beliefs in a nutshell. Though I believe this to be absolute truth, I respect the beliefs of others because I respect the individuals who hold those beliefs. Because I do so, I try not to scare others with my thoughts on hell in order to coerce them into changing their beliefs. To use terror (not to be confused with respect) as your tool, in any form, is terrorism. I don't condone or practice such "evangelism".
With all that said, I still think I could be viewed as a terrorist. Even if we forget my beliefs about hell, I believe I could be seen as a terrorist.
Because I, as a conservative Christian (in theology only) believe in absolute truth and make no effort to hide it, whoever observes this is reminded that those who aren't right may be wrong. And if they are not right about their worldview, perhaps they might view the world wrong, thing wrong, act wrong, live their lives wrong, and that is a harsh and terrifying thought.
Conservative Christians are in the minority in this view of truth. As such, when the average American sees Christians trying to spread this possibly harsh worldview, it may look like spreading terror to accomplish our goals (it may look like terrorism).
I don't believe that persecution has truly begun in America yet. But we have been isolated in our views of truth; "absolutism" has become the enemy of a diverse population. And I fear that perhaps America may deal with absolutists, Christian or not, as it does with terrorsists.
David Fisher - Be the RevolutionFishing for Trouble - Phil Wyman's Square No MoreMike Bursell - Mike's MusingsRestoring Our View of Humanity - Eternal EchoesPersecuting the Marginalized - JohnSmulo.comThe Ends Justify the Means - CalacirianBilly Calderwood - Billy CalderwoodSeeking First Righteousness - Tim AbbottJamie Swann - More Than StonePersecution and Martyrdom - Handmaid Leah"Don't squash the counter-revolutionary/the plank in my own eye" - JeremiahThe Martyrs of Epinga at Notes from the UndergroundTerrorism in Christianity at The Rivera BlogPersecution or Poor Elocution? "Hello," said Jenelle
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7 comments:
Well, I can't say I agree with your theology - genetically inherited virus etc.
But God seems to use all kinds of means to draw people. I once had a sticker on my car that said, "Read the Bible, it'll scare the hell out of you."
And i once saw a film called "The burning hell" that had my wife and me in fits of giggles the whole way through, it was so corny. But after it was shown a couple of teenagers committed their lives to Christ, so we can't be too fussy about the means.
Nevertheless, this is Pascha, the season when we say, "Hell was angered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. Hell was angered, for it was mocked. It was angered, for it was abolished. It took earth, and encountered heaven. It took a man, and encountered God face to face!"
Yeah...
Jesus was labeled a lot of things, but never labelled a terrorist.
Makes ya think about our methods eh...
Josh, it's interesting, too, how when a dedicated Christian is doing what God calls them to do, he or she can be viewed as an anti-christian terrorist by other Christians. Sometimes, God calls his servants to stand up against pack mentality. This can be a little unnerving. People can misunderstand you and think you are falling away if they don't examine what you say and do with an open mind and heart. For instance, I was in this church one time that taught a "Bible Study". The Bible was never opened but it was all about the opinions of the author of a book that were being discussed. I endured this for three weeks and then left the study. The women wondered why I didn't want to come to the Bible study. I tried to be as polite as possible and not cause waves but I told them I prefered to go to a study where we were studying the Bible. I also felt but didn't tell them that I didn't want to sit around pious religiousity but prefered to interact with people who were genuine, whether or not they were people of faith. In this way, my ministry efforts were multiplied to people outside of the four walls of that church. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with studying a book but it should be additional or else it's a book that causes you to search the Scriptures. God speaks through both His Spirit and the Word. However, these particular people were not about this. They were a mutual admiration society with no desire to reach out to the world outside of the church.
By the way, I thought you might like to know about some changes in our youth department. My heart is to reach outsiders, the unchurched. I requested youth move to Friday's and we set up the club type atmosphere, play music videos, as well as study the Bible.
So far, so good. We start Friday. I'm attempting to play guitar(after 20 years) and Zach is alternating between bass and keys. We hope to get more youthful musicians as time goes by. Pray for us, okay? We're praying for you too.
Sorry, I guess I waxed verbose.
Theologically we aren't even close to being on the same page, but I have been struck by the honesty and openess of your post and thank you for it, you have made me think- that is good....
Peace and blessings.
Sally
What is interesting are that there are sistren and brethren who have saving faith yet do not believe in
absolute truth - or are at least skeptical about it - and who are skeptical about hell. Eternal separation from God is always a bitter pill to swallow. Heck,
eternity without an ever creative dynamic existance would be "hell" of boredom...
"'Hell' of boredom", I couldn't have put it better myself.
Thanks Sally. And thanks for the comments and encouraging words everyone!
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