Asking the right questions

[Phy]

Greetings, friends,

By this time tomorrow, I will find myself in the exceptionally rare position of being a clean two months ahead of schedule for my serial novel, and I'm drooling over the prospect of having such a large window of opportunity open unexpectedly. I have it in mind to take advantage of this opportunity to write another non-related short story earmarked for publication elsewhere. My recent short story fiction sales are here:
http://phywriter.com/fiction/
I am asking God for direction. As the answer to that percolates-- or if the answer to that questions is that it really is up to me--I'm starting to develop the Christian noir outline that I've mentioned here before.

My questions to you are these:

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies?

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now?

What don't we do well?

As you look around, how do we glorify God right now?

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him?

I'll give you an example. Despite associating myself with the Republican party all my life, I am suspicious right now of extremist right-wing Christian politics (even though I have tended to vote that way myself to-date). I have an idea that the things they embrace may be right and good, but that the methods somehow miss the point. I have this feeling that such things are best accomplished on a one-to-one basis from obedient believers on the ground as they walk around (regardless of their political affiliation) . I'm not sure where all that is going, but it's one of the things I frequently think about.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but sometimes the answers may become apparent when you ask the right questions. I'd like your help in asking the right questions.

[righter1]

Even though I so want to talk politics now (since I feel the same way you do about the Republicans!) I'll try to focus on your questions! I don't think I can answer all of them, but I'll do my best.

What do I dislike? There's a few things I have a problem with, and a lot of them revolve around hypocrisy and being overly critical of those outside the faith. A lot of the Christians I know think it's wrong to have friends that are outside the faith. My sister is Jewish, and one of my good friends at work is pagan, but too many people I know would look at me cross-eyed if I told them this. Then, there's the hypocrisy thing where they'll say something, but do something completely different, or look down their nose at someone for their sin, even though they themselves are sinners. Oh, and being willing to admit their sins to others. This is a big one. It's like once we're redeemed by Jesus, we don't sin any more. But, only HE was perfect, and even though we're forgiven, we're not HIM. We still sin even when we've accepted HIM. It needs to be admitted.

What do genuine believers do well? Coming around to support those that are having hard times. Praying for those around them (I REALLY see this here at CW.)

The other questions, I'll have to think about in more detail to come up with some ideas. For others, I'm sure that things will come to mind, but those first two questions are ones that, though they may not have been in that form in my head, have been floating around for a few weeks.

[ProfessorAlan]

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies? the use of "christian" as an adjective, as in "christian music," "christian business," and "christian bookstore." On a similar note, equating a "christian" product (book, song, movie) as a good quality product, and a "secular" product as devoid of artistic value. Amen on the politics, too.

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now? the ones I know show an enormous amount grace & patience to brothers and sisters

What don't we do well? understand the arts

As you look around, how do we glorify God right now? some worship music is pretty good

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him? embarrasingly low-rent entertainment productss: books, TV shows, DVDs

[wgjones3]

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies?

I don't like our willingness to follow leaders, or should I say our blind willingness to follow leaders, without question or holding them accountable to the Bible. I realize that Jesus called us sheep and that may be apt, but the herd mentality is not only annoying at times, it's downright dangerous. The saying "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" seems to apply all areas of post-modern Christianity.

Pastors, evangelists, celebrities, writers, even politicians--they can gain a following by vocalizing their conviction. But too often something happens over time and many of them lose sight of the gospel. Either they try to bend scripture to best suit their needs (read: makes them money) or they just plain go over the deep end altogether and take their blind followers with them.

I think we can all think of a church where the pastor blatantly disregarded whole chunks of the Bible and ended up causing a lot of problems for a lot of people. We've seen scandal played out on national TV.

I recently witnessed an infuriating conversation in regards to what the Bible actually says that they came away with the conclusion that since the church today doesn't look anything like the first-century church, Paul's writings aren't really relevant, and we need to redefine the New Testament instructions to the church in order to fit what we're doing today because what was happening back then is irrelevant to today. HELLO! Anybody else see a problem with that? Maybe Paul was right all along. If we're going to redefine scripture to mean something that nearly two thousand years worth of scholars all concur it clearly doesn't mean, then why have the scriptures at all? Why not just throw them away. I don't believe the Bible ever becomes irrelevant, particularly when the parts church leaders want to rewrite are the parts about accountability and going out into the world to reach the lost instead of demanding that they come to church to get saved.

I'm so sick of preachers who lust for fame and care nothing about maturing souls, they just want to boost their own ego and build up a following based on unsound doctrine, who pick and chose which facets of scripture to build their theology on, who have to throw degrees and education up every time they open their mouths because obviously they don't have an anointing from God to preach. And don't even get me started on TV.

But what I'm most sick of are the hoards of people who will sit in a church where the preacher tells them that salvation is dependent on how much money they give or what kind of clothes they wear, that grace has nothing to do with salvation and anyone who doesn't instantly live the life that particular church prescribes is a reprobate--I'm tired of the people who live their lives in bondage because they're too lazy to read the Bible for themselves, who not only segregate themselves from the world but go out and drive seekers away from the kingdom by being so overbearing in their false ideology, telling everyone they're going to hell, even praying to demons to torment anyone who disagrees with them (yes, this happens in several so-called churches in my hometown--those cult leaders have a lot of blood on their hands) that nobody wants anything to do with the god they promote.

I've had so-called Christians tell me they've been praying for demons to torment me to the point of suicide because I went to a church they didn't like and they wanted me to go to their church. If we have a church that's praying to demons, I'm sorry, I don't don't see how Jesus is there.

Jesus had a wonderful ministry of love, and the only people He ever really got mad at were the religious people of His day who had warped the scripture into some kind of sick cult-like experience. And even though we have 4 gospels recording this, we have a lot of people who have no idea what the Bible really says because they're knee-deep in someone else's twisted theology. And we have a lot of Christians who act out anger toward the unsaved thinking that somehow this hate will draw people closer to God.

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now?

They go beyond the 4 walls of the church, they interact with people in the world and walk out a true Christian faith through love, they live a lifestyle of prayer and communion with God, they don't condemn the unsaved but they do try to reach them and they try to show everyone they meet that Jesus is real and totally different than what they've been told all their lives.

What don't we do well?

I don't think we value individual thought or expression. We get too bound up in the idea that our way is the only right way. We're too judgmental and not forgiving enough, we're not open to the people who need God's love, and we spend more time arguing with ourselves about jots and tittles of scripture than we do living out the Great Commission.

I also don't think we as a whole have a very good sense of discernment. That's why so many have bilked large numbers of followers and continue to thrive even when it's obvious they're not what they say they are.

As you look around, how do we glorify God right now?

We forgive when we've been wronged, we love when we should hate, we pray for those who need healing or peace, we help those who cannot help themselves, we accept as fellow humans those who society has rejected.

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him?

Idolatry, mostly. As a friend of mine once preached, we all have idols. Some people call their idol Jesus, but if the Jesus they worship doesn't have the same characteristics as the Jesus of the Bible, then they're not the same. To know Jesus you have to know Him. You can't just make up your own version and run with that.

[VWeathers]

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies?That there is no spiritual discipline in churches any more. We don't cull our nuts. The discipline I'm speaking of is done our of love and humility. I know of a church right now where a staff member has been involved in two affairs but no one wants to confront it. What makes this worse is the community where the church is knows too and they suddenly have credence to their fall back argument of hypocrites in the church.

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now? Hang tough through all life's trials
What don't we do well? Witness

As you look around, how do we glorify God right now? By every act of obedience...that is true worship.

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him?disobedience and hypocrisy

[Ransom v. Unman]

Oh boy...

Oh boy.

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian
religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies?

Currently, Christendom is crumbling. The Christian religion (as it stands) is weak, ineffectual, and collapsing on itself. If it's not the fundamentalists hounding, degrading and spreading intolerance and bigotry on one hand, there are the mainline liberals who despite disavowing virtually every belief and practise that made Christianity actually Christian, still persist in leading un-knowing (or un-thinking) flocks into the jaws of the Enemy. Christian misbehaviour is ridiculous. Studies have shown that for all good purposes, the differences between those claiming to be Christians and non-Christians is based solely on what kind of beliefs they ascent to. Behaviours change little, social action and concern almost seem to go backwards. It has become nearly everything Jesus preached against.

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now?
They care for one another, and love people with reckless abandon. They are kind, sincere, and service-minded. They help each other stand up, they work and live in humility, and in general they're the kind of people that you simple wish there were many, many more of.

What don't we do well?
We don't evangelise very well: it's usually either very weak and full of self-doubt to the extent that non-believers wonder if it's worth their time, or it's so vicious and bombastic that non-believers are completely turned off.

We don't manage our wealth very well: for all the affluence existing among Christians, a relativly small amount of that goes to charity and community - or maybe it would be better said that far too much of it is spent on vain things like clothing, fancy big houses, bad movies and fast food.

We don't do art very well, though - Hallelujah! - I'm sensing a change in the air regarding that.

We don't do theology very well: among the scholars researching the Bible and Christian thought, most of them are either deluded by anti-Semitic, inaccurate distortions of Scripture whose base in thought is far more influenced by fourth-century Greek philosophy than 1st century Jewish theology. The other half are deluded by Bultmann, Tillich and their ilk to a point of ineffectuality, and seem far more interested in making themselves seem "postmodern", "intellectual", and "tolerant" (translate that: spineless) than giving a crap about the heart of God or the dire needs that people have for a true and living relationship with a Lord who is there and who died for them.

But worst of all, we don't build genuine Christian community very well. All of the above could be easily alleviated if we could just nail that down right!


As you look around, how do we glorify God right now?
Our songs, our praises, our stance (if not our practise) for righteousness and holiness, and by our endeavouring to bulster the strength of His kingdom.

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him?
I think the most degrading thing we do against God is when we sit back and think we have Him figured out completely and wholly, or when we think that our spiritual lives are "good enough", and that we do not need to rise higher on ethical and moral levels, or that we don't need to dive further into His word.

A lot of times too, we cheapen Him by thinking of Him as some kind of miracle/blessing ATM. "I'm going to type in my PIN number prayer, Lord, and You're going to make everything great for me!" We also tend to turn Him into some petty materialist when we do this, instead of recognising Him as the Almighty Being of the universe.

Certainly it does little too when we reduce His word into nothing more than a list of "dos" and "don'ts".

.............

Gah, I wish I had more positive things to say, but man Phy, you asked some tough questions, and I couldn't answer any other way. :o I hope this helps, and I pray not too much bile and vinegar spilled out in my words.

[Phy]

These are fascinating answers. Thanks for indulging me in this. The beginnings of an outline is starting to suggest itself.

[Tarin]

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies?

Anti-nomianism and the un-Biblical plan of salvation (i.e. "asking Jesus into your heart" as opposed to Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:36-41, 22:1-16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27, Colossians 2:11-12, and 1 Peter 3:21 ) that is so prominent in churches right now.

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now?

Open up their hearts and minds to the reception of truth - and then stand up for it fearlessly.

What don't we do well?

A lot. Christianity today is in very much the same place it was in before Great Reformation, when the Catholic church claimed to be the one church of God and yet subsisted almost entirely upon its own spurious doctrines.

As you look around, how do we glorify God right now?

Sadly, I see so very little in America's current Christianity that glorifies God. We've rejected His morality and replaced it with cheap, man-made substitutes. We've forgotten the power of His word to be "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow ... a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

How many Christians today are "pierced asunder" by the Word of God?

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him?

By claiming to be Christians and then ignoring His laws, His morality, and His direction.

[kriswrite]

Congrats on being ahead of schedule! :)

What is it you most dislike about current Christendom, Christian religion, Christian misbehavior, Christian quirks, Christian tendencies?

Hypocracy and legalism.

What do genuine believers that you know do well right now?

Not make a show of being a Christian. With these people, Christ shows through in everything they do...naturally. It is never forced.

What don't we do well?

Apologetics. Your average Christian has no idea how to answer non-Christian's attacks or questions. Part of this is because so few Christians actually read the Bible.

As you look around, how do we glorify God right now?

I think we do a pretty decent job of ministering to other Christians.

How do we muddy or cheapen or degrade Him?

For some reason, every Christian TV show I've ever seen seems to do this...

You wrote: "I have an idea that the things they embrace may be right and good, but that the methods somehow miss the point. "

Personally, I think this is because so few Christians are politicians. Most politicians are afraid of being hated for doing what's right...or - worse! - being a Christian. Too, Republican politicians aren't generally that conservative any more.



Hope this helps,

Kristina

[righter1]

You wrote: "I have an idea that the things they embrace may be right and good, but that the methods somehow miss the point. "

Personally, I think this is because so few Christians are politicians. Most politicians are afraid of being hated for doing what's right...or - worse! - being a Christian. Too, Republican politicians aren't generally that conservative any more.

Isn't that the truth! I wish it weren't the case... I think we'd make a lot more headway if more Christians would be willing to stand up and say, 'Yes, I'm willing to take the arrows and be in public office!' Sadly, this isn't happening...:(

[paulchernoch]

I heard a radio advertisement for a Billy Graham Evan. Assoc. event a few days ago. The add was short, gave all the crucial details about time and place and topic, AND laid out the essentials of the gospel plan of salvation in the ad itself.

Only an organization focused on the gospel would make so sure that even a simple radio ad served an eternal purpose.

The church and our world are plagued with many problems now as ever. Whatever you write, make sure the reader gets the good news of Jesus Christ along with the bad news you are addressing. Waste no opportunity to offer hope and forgiveness to a soulsick world.

- Paul

[Phy]

Oh boy..
Gah, I wish I had more positive things to say, but man Phy, you asked some tough questions, and I couldn't answer any other way. :o I hope this helps, and I pray not too much bile and vinegar spilled out in my words.

As a people of faith, we can't change until we agree we have a problem. The story I have in mind would be a wake-up call to Christians. I agree there is a place for conversion stories and I'm glad there are people called to that.

My gifts run more toward exhortation, which can come across a little strong if you're not used to it. If I'm going to write things to the Christian audience, I'm going to write things that address things that I /don't/ see commonly addressed elsewhere.

[Lookin^Up]

The "wake-up call" is the same one I've heard sounded over and over again through the years, but the Corinthian method of theology still persists.

What's wrong with Christianity today? Overjudgmentalism, as has been mentioned. We tend to see things in black and white, no gray areas. If a man is known to be a thief in the past, or has spent time in jail, there's a tendency to hold him at arm's length, in spite of the fact he's a Christian now and doesn't commit crimes anymore. By the same token, when some people (usually older ones) hear that I write science fiction, the immediate response is a curt "Science fiction is of the Devil," end of discussion.

Also, a tendency to vault church doctrine over Bible doctrine. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes here, but some churches--one denomination in particular--never studies the Old Testament because it's passé and therefore no longer relevant. Yet without a knowledge of our Jewish roots and how the plan of salvation developed through the millennia, how can we fully appreciate Jesus' sacrifice? Some churches baptize by sprinkling; that never happened in the Bible, nor even mentioned. And we come up with pet phrases that are supposedly biblical concepts, yet never appear in the Bible; e.g. "seeds of faith". I could go on and on.

What's right with Christianity today? Being around Christians means being around people who are aware of their own shortcomings and are therefore humble, they serve each other, they support each other in prayer. No other group outside of Christendom can say that consistently. Whenever there is a disaster, such as the tsunami of 2004, or Hurricane Katrina half a year later, the strongest force coming in to help the victims were Christian organizations. Certainly FEMA was a cruel joke. Muslims couldn't care less, despite that one of their "pillars of faith" involves serving charity. And perhaps the most important good Christians have done: our presence in the world is the only force preventing the Devil from having full control. Once we're gone in the Rapture, literally all Hell will break loose!

[Phy]

There is enough material here for a series, much less a one-off short story.

Thanks, everyone.

[ProfessorAlan]

As a people of faith, we can't change until we agree we have a problem. The story I have in mind would be a wake-up call to Christians.

The problem is that you'll find that 100 Christians will point to 100 different problems ......

[Ransom v. Unman]

I wouldn't be so sure.

I think myriads of myriads are addressing the problems of Christianity; the only problem is most of them hate Christianity and do it openly to discredit our faith. We could certainly benefit from a little more "internal criticism."

Anyways Alan, look here... We've all posted things that are more or less along the same lines. I think Phy has some good material to work with, and with more research, it should only get better...