You are looking at posts that were written on June 30th, 2008.
Posted on June 30th, 2008 by Brian Sparks.
Categories: unchristian.
“Currently Christianity is known for being unlike Jesus; one of the best ways to shift that perception would be to esteem and serve outsiders. This means being compassionate, soft-hearted, and kind to people who are different from us, even hostile toward us” (page 212).
“And so, to move from unChristian to Christian, young people need to see Christianity rejecting self-preservation and insularity and embracing true concern and compassion for others. This is important for Christian young people as well as Mosaics and Busters who are on the outside, watching to see if the efforts of ‘those Christians’ are worth joining” (page 215).
“What if millions of us are living for ourselves, even while we are going through the motions of religion? What if we seek comfort for ourselves rather than giving comfort to other people? What if our spiritual efforts re focused on maintaining equilibrium rather than addressing the significant spiritual needs of others?” (page 219).
“I believe part of the reason Christians are known as unChristian is because the church has lost its ability and willingness to love and accept people who are not part of the ‘insider’ club. This failure is draining the vigor from our faith. We say we love outsiders, but in may cases we show love only iof it is on our terms, if they are interesed in coming to our church, or if they repect our way of life.
“We want young generations to participate in our churches, but we expect them to play by the rules, look the part, embrace the music, and use the right language. We condemn the moral compromises of Mosaics and Busters, but we lack the patience to restore them. We want them to be ccome mature Christ followers, through we are unwilling to submit to the significant task of our own spiritual formation” (page 219).
Posted on June 30th, 2008 by Brian Sparks.
Categories: unchristian.
“Christians talk about hating sin and loving sinners, but the way they go about things, they might as well call it what it is. Thyey hate the sin and the sinner” (page 181).
“Respondents to our surveys believe Christians are trying, consciously or not, to justify feelings of moral and spiritual superiority. One outsider described it like this: ‘Christians like to hear themselves talk. They are arrogant about their beliefs, but they never bother figuring out what other people acutally think. They don’t see to be very compassionate, especially when they feel strongly about something’” (page 182).
“To be judgemental is to point out something that is wrong in someone else’s life, making the person feel put down, excluded, and marginalized” (page 182).
“Our research shows that do-it-yourself morality is gaining momentum, and it is the way most Mosaics and Busters sift through moral decisions” (page 183).
“Yet an entire generation of those inside and outside the church are questioning our motives as Christians. They believe we are more interested in proving we are right than that God is right. They say Christians are more focused on condemning people than helping people become more like Jesus” (page 184).
“The perception is that Christians are known more for talking about these issues than doing anything about them”(page 184).
“In a recent study, we asked outsiders, churchgoers, and pastors to describe whether they perceive Christian churches to be loving environments, places where people are unconditionally loved and accepted regardless of how they look or what they do. Only one out of five outsiders said they perceived churches in this way. Surprisingly, few2er than half of churchgoers, including born-again Christians, felt strongly that their church demonstrates unconditional love” (page 185).
“Are we trying to please God or polishing our holy credentials in front of fellow insiders?” (page 186).
“In addition to Jesus’s cautionary words, the Bible makes it clear that God, not humans, should judge. It is God’s job, and he does it impartially while exposing the true motives of people’s hearts” (page 192).
“We have to start seeing ourselves and those around us for the people we really are-needy and hurting but with great potential as God’s sons and daughters. Maybe thenwe would reject arrogance as adamantly as we do any other sin, because it is especially corrosive to the faith of Christ followers” (page 193).
“Outsiders understand the nuances of differenct situations, and we discovered that, when their Christian peers gave them input within the context of relationship and with respect, in general they appreciated it. Human beings are attracted to acceptance and genuine respect: they are repelled by rejection and an air of superiority.
“Outsiders suggested the following guidelines for facilitating mutual esteem:
“We need to move beyond expecting people to behave according to our expectations, and instead try to help connect them to God’s purposes” (page 195).
“There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is me. There are plenty of things I do that I don’t like, but if I can love myself without approving of all I do, I can also love others without approving of all they do” (Jud Wilhite, page 198).
“One of our weaknesses is that we’re far more concerned with being right than being righteous. We become like the Pharisees whenever we focus on issues rather than people” (Margaret Feinberg, page 200).
“I’m perplexed at how anyone can hear the story of Jesus dying in our place and rescuing us out of our helplessness and have it produce arrogance in their life” (Rick McKinley, page 201).
“Grace is our central issue, and for us to simply ignore this finding will certainly be our unhinging. We will slide down the slippery slope toward irrelevance, and our message of the gospel will no longer be credible in our culture. Why? Because it appears at some level that the secular world is capable of ‘doing grace’ better than we are. Chrsitianity’s main export has been co-opted by nonbelievers”(Mike Foster, page 202).
Posted on June 30th, 2008 by Brian Sparks.
Categories: unchristian.
“You should realize that my goal is not to suggest that Christians should neglect or ignore politics. The political arena is a crucial setting for influencing culture and an important domain for expressing a Christian worldview” (page 155).
“Our lives should reflect Jesus, which includes not just how we vote, but every element of our political engagement-our conversations about politics as well as our attitudes about idealogical opponents. This may seem obvious, but based n our research on this subject, we must realize that our political activism, if expressed in an unChristian manner, prevents a new generation from seeing Christ” (page 155).
“Christians need to be aware of their reputation in this arena, not only because it influences their politcal engagement, but because it affects their ability to connect with new generations who are innately skeptical of people who appear to use political power to protect their interests and viewpoints. This perception may not always be accurage but it contributes to outsiders’ mistrust of Christians.
“The stakes are high. Future elections are liely to be shaped by these attitudes, as will tyhe outcomes of the spiritual search of millions of young adults” (page 156).
“Since every group seems to have a political presence and agenda, why should Chritians be subject to special criticism? Are outsiders asking us to stay out of politics? According to our research, not exactly. Many outsiders clarified that they believe Christians have a right (even an obligation) to pursue political involvement, but they disagree with our methods andour attitudes. They say we sem to be pursuing an agenda that benefits only ourselves; they assert that we expect too much out of politics; they question whether we are motivated by our economic status rather than faith perspectives when we support conservative politics; they claim we act and say things in an unChristian manner; they wonder whether Jesus would use political power as we do; and they are concerned that we overpower the voices of other groups” (page 165).
“‘A lot of times the church would take a conservative Republican stance, and anyone who did not fit into that mold was judged as not as good a Christian as everyone else’ ” (page 166).
“We should make an effort to engage in other culture-shaping activities in addition to politics” (page 168).
“There is nothing gained by winning elections if we lose our soul in the process” (page 168).
“Guard your attitudes and what you say about outsiders. Our political engagement should not be the only yardstick by which outsiders measure our faith. Our words and actions shape people’s experiences and impressions of Jesus” (page 169).
“Christians do a lot of complaining about the society and how bad things are in politics, but they don’t do much more than complain. The pont is that you have to offer more than an opinion”(page 170).
“Christians talk about being driven by family values when they volte, but a lot of their families are in bad shape too” (page 170).
“In the aftermath of the Religious Right’s ascendancy, it is not an accident that ‘antihomosexual’ is the number one perception of Christians in America these days, followed closely by ‘judgmental’ and ‘hypocritical’ and ‘insensitive.’ Young people today could, if we had taken a wiser path for the last few decades, think ‘antipoverty’ or ‘pro-environment’ or ‘pro-fidelity’ or ‘antivoiolence’ when they hear ‘Christian’ or ‘evangelical.’
“We need more Bible-but we also need a better, more holistic and profound understanding of the Bible and what it says about justice, compassion, the future, power, poverty, money, war, sex, and the kingdom of God. Yes, we need more maturity-but we also need a better and more holistic maturity, a maturity willing to face the historic and social realities of our so-called Christian pat: a past that includes antiSemitism, racism, chauvinism, holocaust, colonialism, apartheid, slavery, attempted genocide of native peoples, and much else that is ugly and calls not for excuses and minimization but for forthright repentance” (Brian McLaren, page 172-173).
“It is a huge mistake to become married to an ideology, because the greatest enemy of the gospel is ideology. Ideology is a man-made format of how the world ought to work, and Christians instead believe in the revealed truth of Scripture” (Chuck Colson, page 174).
“Every time Christianity has fallen into the trap of using politics to achieve its means, it has lot its power and effectiveness. Relevant Christianity never loses sight of the reality that in the kingdom of God, everything is upside down when contrasted with the world’s pursuits…He said that our job as followers of Christ was to promote Jesus, not political bias” (Tri Robinson, page 175).
“In addition, politics is not everything. We are not going to se aright the sexual revolution on the floor of the Senate. We need new and ’saltier’ forms of cultural engagement” (Mark Rodgers, page 178).
Posted on June 30th, 2008 by Brian Sparks.
Categories: unchristian.
“Christians enjoy being in their own community. The more they seclude themselves, the less they can function in the real world. So many Christians are caught in the Christian ‘bubble.’” (page 121).
“Outsiders think Christianity is out of tune with the real-world choices, challenges, and lifestyles they face. Only one-fifth of young outsiders believe that an active faith helps people live a better, more fulfilling life. Three-quarters of Mosaics and Busters outside the church said that present-day Christianity could accurately be described as old-fashioned, and seven out of ten believe the faith is out of touch with reality. Most outsiders and nearly half of young insiders say that Christianity is confusing” (page 122).
“If you have spent much time with people in their twenties or thirties, you know that Mosaics and Busters are the antithesis of ’sheltered.’ This is one of the reasons Christianity, in its sheltered, clueless, non-intellectual form, makes no sense to them” (page 125).
“Mosaics and Busters thrive on unexpected experiences and enjoy searching for new sources of input…A vast portion of their typical day is spent consuming media and exploring the burgeoning realms of the Internet” (page 125).
“A majority of Busters, including most born-again Christian young people, believe that the spiritual world is too complex and mysterious for humans to understand. Millions of young people admit that life itself is too complicated to really grasp” (page 125).
“Young people’s perspectives about the world are not neat and tidy. They find themselves brushing aside thoseunwilling to expolre life’s intricacy and irony and idiocy, as they would say. A faitht hat does not effectively addresss convoluted and thorny issues seems out of tune with a generation asking big questions and expressingcandid doubts. Spirituality that is merely focusd on”dos and don’ts” rings hollow” (page 126).
Fractured generations
“Being salt and light demands two things: we practice purity in the midst of a fallen world and yet we live in proximity to this fallen world. If you don’t hold up both truths in tension, you invariably become useless and separated from the world God loves. For example, if you only practice purity apart from porximity to the culture, you inevitably become pietistic, separatists, and conceited. If you live in close proximity to the culture without also living in a holy manner, you become indistinguishable from fallen culture and useless in God’s Kingdom” (Mike Metzger, page 133).
“This may not surprise you, but the perception that Christians are sheltered is most significant among the subculture of intellectuals and influentials. Our research shows that upscale outsiders-those with advanced educational and financial profiles-are much more likely than average to express resistance and skepticism toward Christianity. The sheltered perception-that Christians are ignorant and uninformed is most common among young intellectuals” (page 135).
“These young Christian leaders realize that they must display excellence at their craft. Their credibility as Christians depends on their ability to do a great job” (page 136).
“So how do you stay connected? Relationship. Talk to people. Anyone. Everyone. Ask questions. Lots. Liten closely to the ansers. Open up your life to strangers, visitors, and friends of friends” (Margaret Feinberg, page 141).
“We’ve tried too long to educate their minds instead of engaging their lives. The more we try to change the way we do church so this generation will join us, the more they seem to stay away…We have discovered a short window of time during the teenage years when students need to experience something beyond church as a spectator sport. If a young person is not challenged by hands-on personal minsitry, their faith will likely be sidetracked and even sabotaged” (Reggie Joiner, Page 142).
“It really bothers me that Christians are perceived as boring. Other perceptions may pass, but the idea that Christinaity is boring will not, unless we work hard to recover the true robust nature of the gospel. We have succeeded in making Christianity tepid. We are lukewarm, and God says that he will spit us out. Current forms of Christian practice have become a poor substitue for the real thing. That is way this perception exists.
“The excitement of Chritinaity won’t come back because of ‘happy music’; it will come back when we begin to understand the vibrance and vitality of the biblical story of what the kingdom of God is all about” (Chuck Colson, page 144).
Posted on June 30th, 2008 by Brian Sparks.
Categories: unchristian.
“Born-again Christians are more likely to disapprove of homosexuality than divorce. The vast majority of Christians say that homosexuality should not be considered a legitimate lifestyle and strongly reject church-sanctioned weddings for same-sex unions. However, a minority of born-again believers (39 percent) embrace Jesus’s teaching that divorce is a sin except in cases of adultery” (page 94).
“Most born-again Christians have a hard time knowing how they should respond to the lifestyles of homosexuals as well as how to respond to the political efforts of gay and lesbian activists” (page 94).
“May Christians continue to be very skeptical about donating to HIV/AIDS causes, even overseas, despite Christians’ generosity in many other arenas” (page 95).
“It is one thing to be against homosexuality, to affirm that the Bible rejects the practice of same-sex lifestyles, but it is another to be against homosexuals, to let your disagreement with their behavior spill out in your feelings and words toward them as people” (page 96).
“We encountered significant resistance among some Christians to having their views about gays and lesbians challenged. Apparently they have already made up their mind that they have nothing to learn. Consider some of the inaccurate assumptions Christians embrace:
Biblical Responses
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