This is a topic that separates many Christians so much so that many have left churches and even the faith all together because of how this topic is handled.  Jesus said to give to the poor but evangelical Christians don’t want government social programs.  This seems to be in direct contradiction of scripture!  Is this an instance where the Christian only follows certain teachings but not others?

What The Atlantic and other news organizations fail to do is look into why Christians don’t want government subsidies to the poor.  More to the point, Christians do not want the government to control subsidies to the poor.

I have never met a Christian that said that compassion is something that we shouldn’t do.  In fact, often times, Christians are judged for not being compassionate enough (probably who other topic, but let’s move on).  The thing that makes compassion so powerful is that it’s a choice and it’s voluntary.  The two words are strikingly similar and even related, but refer to two different ideas.

In order to be compassionate, one must be first able to provide aide and comfort and second be ready and willing to provide them.  When compassion is legislative, it removes the second part, making compassion a job and not a joy.  All of the sudden, something that people did out of the kindness of their hearts is now required.  Even worse, those who are receiving compassion now expect it instead of being blessed by it.

The irony in compassion by force is if a church required its members to serve the community, to the point that attendance is taken, members are shamed for not doing more, that church would be considered a cult.  However, when it’s done by the government, it’s viewed as taking care of the less fortunate.

I have yet to meet a Christian who is not compassionate.  Rarely do I meet a Christian who isn’t humbled by the needs of others.  A Christian who loves God is a Christian who is called to love others, not because he has to but because he wants to.

Compassion must come from the heart.  It allowed a person — Christian or not — to serve another person.  What makes compassion powerful is that it is a choice.  It was not forced or coerced.  It was a genuine outpouring of their heart.  Legislating compassion robs it of it’s power.  After all, this is the very message of the Gospel.  God so loved the world that he gave — not relinquished — his only Son.

In this series, I’ll tackle seemingly contradictory points of view held by most conservative Christians. Be forewarned that they don’t represent the entire Christian faith, but do represent the most mainstream viewpoints and counter-viewpoints.

So, let’s get started with a whopper: abortion and the death penalty.

Throughout the human experience, justice is probably the most simplest to understand but perhaps one the most complex to administer. Echoing in almost every playground, every schoolyard, are children calling out, “That’s not fair!” or “Why can he do that and I can’t?” And just as telling, drivers getting pulled over ask the officer, “How come you’re ticketing me and not catching the murders that run the streets?” or “Why didn’t you pull over the other guy?”

What’s curious about every one of these statements is that the person saying them, whether they are a child or an adult, is saying the exact same thing: Why are you punishing me?

How many children can you think of would be willing to take the punishment for someone else’s actions? How many drivers do you know would pull-up behind the police officer and tell him to give you the ticket instead of the driver he pulled over? My guess is that is it would be very few, if any.

These “sins” — breaking the rules — have consequences. Christians believe, by a matter of faith, that Jesus Christ died for all of it. Past, present, and future…insignificant to the unimaginable. Every sin a man commits has been forgiven by the blood of Christ. This is written throughout the Bible so numerous that it’s not even worth listing. But what is NOT written is that this forgiveness comes with an absolution of any consequences.

While I may be forgiven for the minor sin of speeding, it does not mean that Jesus will pay for my speeding ticket.

So what does God say about the death penalty?

Outside of the Old Testament, very little.

The message of “an eye for an eye” was invalidated by the Cross. Jesus became the sacrifice to all. He calls Christians to “love our enemies.” If our enemies includes those who harm us, how, then can Christians call for their death?

This is, I believe, the question that every Christian must wrestle with. I have yet to meet a Christian who “loves” the death penalty. In fact, most Christians I talk to aren’t sure about it. However, these Christians realize something: the death penalty is sometime necessary — and even demanded — for the most heinous of crimes.

Most people would agree that a person like Timothy McVeigh deserved to die for his crimes. But what about the others? So many convictions have now been overturned. Shouldn’t the death penalty be at least stopped until we’ve made absolutely sure?

I’m not writing this to argue for or against the death penalty. Every Christian must weigh their personal beliefs with the teachings of Christ. Unfortunately, most Christians can only go to the verses that speak to crime and justice for help. And even then, they aren’t much use. Simply put, Christians believe that no man, no matter his faith, can escape earthly consequences. And some crimes are worthy of the death penalty.

But what about abortion? What’s interesting about abortion is that there is no explicit verse that outlaws abortion. It’s true. If you ask a Christian to show you exactly where in the Bible abortion is listed as a sin, they won’t be able to.

So you may be asking, “Where does it come from?”

The Bible.

I know…confusing, right? Like many political ideologies, the Bible is often silent on specific issues. Ask Christians where Jesus approved of guns, they won’t be able to. But, they can show you places where Jesus even tells his disciples to arm themselves literally and prepare to defend themselves.

Abortion is in the same light. While there are no specific scripture verses that say abortion is a sin, they do talk about the treatment of others, especially those who do not have the ability to defend themselves. There are verses in the Bible that say that man was created in the image of God. That we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That we were imagined and knit together in our mothers’ wombs. It is these verses that Christians see that life is created at conception.

Science has failed to see this. This wouldn’t be the first time that science has fallen behind faith. But this conversation is for a later time.

Regardless of what you believe, dear reader, in order to understand the Christian “hatred” for abortion, you must understand this concept that all life is precious. And that no person should be able to kill that life without just cause. Had the life committed a crime worthy of death, then abortion would be acceptable. But this is utter foolishness since the life had yet to do anything other than grow.

As difficult as it might sound, the death penalty and abortion often go together. One cannot destroy a life for simply being and then protect a life that is worth ending.

Now I realize that not everyone believes that life begins at conception. But my question to those of you that don’t is when does life, then, begin? It’s easy to say at birth but can you say what that child is doing is living? It still relies on her mother for sustenance and protection, no different when she was in the womb. Is it fair that a child can be murdered after she was delivered prematurely but can be aborted in the ninth month of gestation?

These are not simple questions to answer for Christians and non-Christians alike. But what gives Christians hope is that no matter what happens, Jesus understands it all. From the unfairness of allowing Tim to bring toys to school and the unjustness of a college kid being able to do 90 MPH in your neighborhood without being caught, God allows it all. And perhaps, within that truth, is the ultimate question.

Why does God allow it?

That, my friends, is a question, for another time.

One of my English professors set it best: When you were in high school, teachers told you that there are no wrong answers in interpretation. This statement has done a disservice to all students.  It’s one thing to say that Romeo & Juliet is a love story.  It’s quite another to say it’s an instruction manual to build an IKEA bookcase.  The same thing goes for the Bible.  While it can be argued that bible verses can be interpreted in many ways, there are such things as mainstream interpretations.

What I hope to do in the the series “Why do Christians…” is to share a few of these interpretations.  For example:

• Why do Christians…hate abortion but love the death penalty?
• Why do Christians…hate government subsidies to the poor?
• Why do Christians…pick and choose which verses to follow “to the letter”?
• Why do Christians…usually vote Republican?

I’m hoping to have the first article ready by the beginning of September.  The series will start with the first item.

I would like to encourage other questions.  Feel free to post them in the comments below.

If you tried to access the site during this time, you were probably hit with a couple of 404 errors and the like.  Rest assured that all of this has been fixed and all links should work.

Thanks for your patience during this move!

A popular Christian axiom goes “Be in the world, but not of the world.”  This more-or-less summarizes a popular passage about being ambassadors of the world.  The overall message is don’t be like everyone else who likes money, status, material items, things like that.  Instead, look at the world like Jesus did, with eternity in mind.  Unfortunately, Christians can get easily distracted by “the world” and miss out on what God is doing.  And some Christians take things too far by doing things they normally wouldn’t do to get accepted by their non-Christian peers.

This is always a tricky topic with Christians because the line between being in the world and being of the world is very thin and sometimes the two sides blend together.  But part of being a Christian is realizing that we aren’t here to change the world.  We’re here to change lives.

As I mentioned in my last post, too many Christians spent too much time trying to save a sinking ship.  So, instead of trying to save the remaining passengers, they go to the bar, have a drink, dance on the dance floor, and then if they feel confident enough, they’ll tell their fellow shipmates that the ship is indeed sinking.

Don’t misunderstand: there is nothing wrong with alcohol or going dancing.  I’m not the mayor of the tiny town of Footloose!  But I’ve seen too many Christians use these events as an excuse to get to know their fellow shipmates and never get around to sharing the message that the boat is not going to last forever.

This is what happens when our goal is to be accepted by the gorillas instead of trying to save them.  Acceptance should be a means to an end and not the end itself.

A well-known, but often misattributed, quote about Christ and Christians goes, “I like Christ, but do not like Christians.”  Too many Christians today are so concerned with the righteousness of the Bible that they miss out on the message of the Bible.  Too many Christians go about making the world align with scripture; they ignore the fact that the world is not supposed to align with scripture.

I believe the problem with Christians today is that we have taken it upon ourselves to issue judgements inappropriately.  What most people, both Christians and the rest of the world, do not realize that that Christians are called to judge other Christians but not the world.  Throughout both Old and New testament, God asks his followers to judge fellow believers but not to judge the world.  This is a very broad topic, most of which I will not cover in this entry, but would like to examine what judgement is supposed to entail.

Christ accepted all sinners, regardless of social status or political ideology.  He associated with the lower ranks of society, proudly spending time with them.  It should be noted that while he associated with sinners, he never sinned with them.  In fact, he offered them an alternative.  He told them that eternal life could be gained by the likes of them.

A common saying among Christians is “Hate the sin, love the sinner.”  I think most people find this a bit offensive, especially the sins of homosexuality (This is for another topic).  I think it’s time for Christians to change this to just “Love the sinner.”  Yes, Christians are called to hate sin to the same extent that God hates sin.  However, Jesus became sin to destroy it’s power.  We must understand and accept that the sins of the world no longer have any power.

Christians are not called to be perfect, yet the world expects us to be.  However, rather than trying to change the expectation, why don’t we change how we act?  Instead of standing on a corner, telling people they are going to hell, let’s hang out with the tax-collectors of our time.  Instead of complaining about how the world is going down the sewer, let’s put on our rain slicks and get dirty.

The world is lost.  We are not supposed to save it.  However, we are to try to bring as many people out as we can.  We won’t win everyone’s heart.  But we will win more hearts by being more like Christ than being ‘Christians’.

After consulting MANY websites, I decided that it was best to trap the mom cat and have her fixed and released.  I’m not sure if the mom is feral or stray, but she looks like a stray.  I’m hoping that the vet will be able to find a microchip for the cat.  If not, we’re hoping to rehabilitate the feral cat.  If not, she will be released to the “wild”.

This weekend, my neighbors and I will attempt to cat Chipper (mom) and her four-to-five kittens.  Hopefully, it won’t take too long.

First and foremost, I do not believe the actions of Dove World Outreach Center, the church hosting the event, is sinful.  Without more information concerning the motives of the church and the pastor Rev. Terry Jones, I cannot pass judgement. This post will not discuss why Christians can judge other Christians.  Nonetheless, before a Christian can make a judgement against another, there must be clear evidence.  Even though there has been a lot of coverage concerning this event, the fact is that very few have actually sat down with Rev. Jones to examine his motives and ultimately his heart.

Second, God calls Christians to hate all that is evil and cling to what is good.  So the question Christians must ask themselves before hating the Muslim teachings — vis à vis the Qur’an — is “Does God consider it (the Qur’an) to be evil?”  This could be a very long post should I go in-depth of this subject.  I will do my best to summarize my position.  Revelations states, “If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”  The Qur’an contains parts of the Old Testiment but does not contain the entire book of scripture.  (Yes, I realize the irony of using one holy text to debate another holy text.  For a non-spiritual perspective on this topic, visit my sister-site.)  Additionally, the Qur’an teachings are different from Christian teachings.  Finally, the nail in the coffin comes the diety of Christ.  Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  The Muslim faith treat Jesus as a prophet, not God in flesh.  Because the Apostle Paul warns, “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing”, Christians are called to “have nothing to do with them.”  Because of these reasons, the Qur’an must be rejected by all God-fearing Christians.

However, there is a difference between the Qur’an and the Muslim.  There is a maxim (read not scriptural) that says “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.”  While there is no direct scriptual reference to this, it should be the motto of Christians everywhere.  God condemns sin.  However, God so loved his people that he sent his Son to die for our sins.  Nowhere in scripture does God call Christians to kill Muslims (despite the beliefs of the early Crusaders).  Additionally, scripture does not call Christians to burn the Qur’an or any other sacred texts.

God does, however, calls us to be at peace with everyone as much as we are able.  Additionally we are not to “repay evil with evil.”  Finally, we are called to live so that “no one can criticize [us].”

While I believe that burning the Qur’an is not sinful, I do believe it goes against the spirit of the word of God.  While burning the Qur’an can be justified by the letter of God’s law, it does not take into account the spiritual consequences.  While Christians should not be overly concerned with how the world views them, if we are to influence hearts and minds, we must be willing to let some things go.  This is one of those situations.  Yes, the Qur’an and the Muslim faith are evil.  However, God loves Muslims as much as he lives Christians.  Burning the Qur’an will only further the divide between Christians and the heart of Jesus.

Therefore, I humbly encourage my Christian brothers and sisters to pray for this church and this event.  God is still in control, regardless of whether Rev. Jones follows through with his book burning.  Let us pray that God speaks to the church boldly and that the church hears his voice.

Update: According to various sources, Rev. Jones has canceled the burning of the Qur’an. Hopefully, any other planned burnings will follow suit.

I’m currently at work waiting for something to install and instead of working on my final exam for my MBA class, I decided to get something off my chest that I’ve been pondering for quite a while.

Heaven: what will it be like?

This is a question that has been pondered by both Christians and non-Christians alike.  The Bible mentions heaven a number of times.  The most famous, and probably the most familiar, verse, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”  Theologians have argued for centuries what this verse means.  There are also verses about heaven being a great banquet.

But somehow, I don’t think this really captures heaven.  Allow me to provide my version of what I think heaven will be like.

For all you Christians out there, this is meant to be a purely hypothetical exercise.  I have no Biblical bases for any of these ideas.  Let’s say this is kind of what I imagine it will be.  So please don’t leave comments about how much I’m wrong.  Allow me my imagination.

When I die, I imagine that I’ll be in some sort of line to check-in.  After all, there’s only one gate and they just can’t let anyone in there.  I’ll probably asked to submit some sort of proof of identification.  I’m sure that identity theft is pretty rampant there as it is here.  But unlike here, it’s 100% fool-proof.  I don’t think it will be long to check in.  After all, it is heaven.  I’m sure the weather will be quite pleasant.

After checking in and the bell-hop taking me to my new eternal house, he’ll give me a brochure with things to check out and upcoming events.  The one thing he tells me to do before I turn in for the night is to go to the new resident orientation.  “All of the frequently asked questions are answered there.”

I think there are standard questions that Christians want to ask God when they get to heaven.  Questions like “What really happened to the dinosaurs?” or “Can I see how you made the world in 6 days?”  And I’m sure at some point, God got tired of answering the same questions over and over again.  He’s a busy guy.

Anyway, the new resident orientation is held at the biggest IMAX theatre you could imagine.  But not so big your neck hurts but bigger than anything you’ve ever seen on this side of eternity.  A video plays with some famous celebrity that you didn’t know was a Christian comes on saying something like, “Welcome to eternity!  Now, you might think that’s a long time but with everything there is to do, it will feel like it just flew by!”

After the video answers the most common questions, you can ask the community liaison more specific questions, which she answers.  After that, you’re given the eternity card.  This card grants you access to the VIP sections of heaven.  (Not sure what makes it VIP if everyone gets the card.  But, hey, I’m not God.)

Next there are worship sessions and great sermons.  Everyone has the chance to sit down with God and Jesus.  And the rest of eternity is spent checking out all the things that are in heaven to do.

So, that’s kind of what I think will happen.  I know it sounds kind of silly, but hey.  It’s my imagination. 

In other words, if you’re not attracted to someone when you meet them, you may grow to accept them despite this.

This is actually not as horrifying as it sounds.  Put simply, Bob equated looks to any other quirk.  It is only the society at large puts a large value on looks that makes the evaluation much harder.  And I think this is something worth thinking about.

Ever since the dawn of time, looks and beauty have been coveted by society.  Open any magazine, watch any commercial and you will not find one unattractive person.  Heck, even Ugly Betty isn’t that ugly!  The story of the savior of the Jews was predicated on looks.  The Jewish people expected their savior to be a military ruler, not a carpenter born in a manger.

The difficult part of not judging a person by their looks is that we’ve been taught from a very early age that looks are important.  In school, we’re told to fit in.  Dress like other people to be accepted.  Don’t talk to strangers.  If someone looks dangerous, don’t go near them.  Stay away from sketchy neighborhoods.  All of these rules are predicated on looks, not content.

Unlike content or our personality, looks are immediate.  Men suck in their get when an attractive women walks by.  It’s like instinct.  Women check their make up before leaving the bathroom.  Yet I’m willing to bet that no one ever goes out of their way to change their personality.

I think the world’s obsession with looks says something very disturbing about our true nature.  Perhaps we hope that if we make the windows look nice, we won’t have to worry about the mess that’s inside the walls.  Or maybe if people notice how cool I look, they won’t ask me about the last time I talked with my parents.

If looks could tell a story, it would be probably be the opposite of what is really going on.  I think of looks could kill, they would kill the insecurity that every one of us holds deep in our souls.  The same insecurity that is responsible for using our looks as a crutch.