you say you are living life on the edge, but you have never walked in the rain. you say you live by faith but you’ve never seen a storm. There is nothing extreme about the life you are living. There is no great change; there is nothing revolutionary here; there is no life. There is only hipocracy. And by that I want out. I don’t want to live with a group of people that live double lives in conscious denial of their base truths. There is something wrong and you can’t see it. This community has become a masquerade ball where everyone has lost their face and the maskless are called impostors.
There is truth in everything. There is truth in other religions. There is truth in the absence religion. We can’t keep denying ourselves this need, the need for truth. We can’t keep making our own single minded societies with our moderated single minded truths and wearing our custom made t-shirts. We can’t keep listening only Christian music. This is not the life we were meant to live, and deep down I think some of us know that.
We are a nation based on rebels. Religious vigilantes that saw what the Church of England was doing and did not find it agreeable was, so they separated themselves from it. Its only logical to separate yourself from something you find intolerable. The result was oppression coming from the King of England who was also the leader of the national church. This struggle of power vs. belief eventually led to the founding of America.
It seems to me that the church (based on what I see) is back in a position of power over belief, but this time things are different. There are obviously more leaders, and the methods used to manipulate the masses are more subtle and dishonest than ever. Our forefathers could see the wrong in what was happening in the church, but today reality is shrouded from many believers by the facade of religious propaganda.
The church has altogether alienated itself from the world. Religious buzzwords are used to make the congregation feel smarter, but they dishearten & confuse the spiritually uneducated. We teach the lesson of the good Samaritan while there are unattended homeless walking right outside the walls of our churches. Our worship leaders take classes on how to make “holy moments” and act. We sing songs that have no meaning to us, with promises we never intend to keep. And if you actually pay attention, some of them are now about us. The reality of the situation has become so opposite to what we preach that it truly is disturbing.
I have said all of this to say, I don’t know what the answer is… I don’t even know what the question is. What I do know is that I am part of a community that I am somewhat ashamed of. I don’t want to live life with a distorted view of reality. I don’t want to fake who I am. I don’t want to live an artificially positive life. I don’t want to live with the perception that I am better because I am not going to burn in hell. I don’t want to miss out on the truth, and the life, and the reason, and the logic, and the understanding, and the compassion, and the love that is out there. I don’t want to miss the little things I can’t see inside the walls of a “holy” building.
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Please don’t read this as me blaming others for my problems. I am simply saying there is a problem and I have noticed it. I am calling Christians out, but I am a part of that group whether I like it or not. (well not necessarily, but most would rather not believe that) I am as much to blame as anyone else. I have done my share to add to this problem. I have sat silent when I wanted to call out. I have been in services where I wanted so bad to cry foul but I couldn’t find the courage. That lack is just one of the reasons I am definitely not the ideal Christian, and come to think of it I don’t think there is or should be such a thing. Either way I have personally failed.
All I am doing is stating my observations of a serious issue that most try their hardest to turn a blind eye to and ignore. Pushing blame on others is absolutely not the best thing to do in this or any situation, but recognizing the problem and simply observing it from the outside can be a providential step in the process to recovery. If that means sounding extreme than so be it.
This Essay is still Open
The last two paragraphs were added to appease those who did not approve during the initial reading.
I guess I am just tired of avoiding the Truth. Its somewhat Ironic that the first place I say that is on my blog which no one reads. Well, mostly no one…
I read it. Jeremiah, its ok to question, and more christians are less than perfect, that’s for sure. I’ve heard it said, and I think its very true, that the best argument against Christianity is Christians. Just remember that because we are all messed up and really mess things up and do the wrong things more than we do the right things doesn’t mean that God is any less true or right. There is so much more to Christianity than I think you’ve been exposed to and God is good and Jesus is the way (as trite as that sounds). Don’t let the actions of some misguided “christians” derail you from seeking God and living the life that he asks us to live. He is still God regardless of how Christian’s act. (I don’t know how much of that makes sense, hopefully some of it does.)
Well, hey- we’re all hippocrates, and none of us are perfect.
Christianity was never meant to ‘bind’ you to any specific way of life, but it is supposed to nudge you gently in the direction of realizing the ultimate truth that everyone is in need of a Savior. Despite the fact that many Christians live doubly, saying one thing and meaning another- confining you to this and that- does not mean that is what Christ does.
For example: I am not confined to listening to Christian music- yet i choose to listen to something that is uplifting to me and my God- but you are _free_ to choose what you want to listen to. Just because one church or one person says something about Christianity does not mean that it is true. Jesus never condemned anyone- he only suggested a change (”follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” - he left it as a personal choice.) God always leaves you up to the final choice- you can listen to what you want, say what you want, lead whatever lifestyle you want- God will not condemn you for listening to a specific style of music. Really, all that matters in the end is where your faith lies- is it in Christ, or the religion? Christ teaches that the only thing you ‘need’ to do is to accept Him as savior. Religion teaches that you are to show up at functions, dress a certain way, and listen to a certain style of music.
(Sorry if none of this is very coherent- but I really strongly caution you of changing your view based on the reflection of a few bad apples :)