Does Literature Cause Division among Christians?

Recently, I had a large number of hits on my blog from a single location. Someone sat at his computer and literally clicked through every article I’ve posted. I know when someone is doing their homework on me, whether through a blog or checking my references… not that I mind of course. Let’s just be clear that background checks are rarely done in secret. More importantly, it made me remember something I noticed in the highly-divided American denominations: lack of fellowship.

American denominationalism—including divisions between “independent” congregations with a denominational spirit—are filled with argumentative Christians who are well-versed in literature of their “opponents”. Very few, however, show any sign of regular fellowship with influential leaders from the “other side of the tracks”. Christian denomination leaders don’t seem to actually sit down and have regular fellowship inside their respective cliques.

At most, they accidentally meet back stage at a conference like Promise Keepers.  · · · →

Dear Holy Rolling Evangelical Absolutists

I’m breaking up with you.

It’s hard to imagine the mind of people who are so convinced that everything they say and do is, literally, 100% from God. I tolerated it for several years, thinking you mistook superlatives (like ‘best’, ‘most’, and other words that often end in ‘-est’) for comparatives (like ‘better’, ‘more’, and other words that often end in ‘-er’). But now I can see that you actually believe this. You genuinely believe that your walk with Christ is best at “100% God, 0% you”. That may be true for you, but not for the rest of us.

Do you actually expect me to believe that your blogs are 100% God’s voice through you, not even reflecting your own style in the least? If that were true, then “God” (as you call it) is long-winded and makes many grammatical errors, but only when “God” talks through you. God does talk to us today, He has prophets, but you seem to think that Prophecy is comparable to a kind of “Holy demon possession”.  · · · →

Papers Please

If you can register it with government, it may be good, it’s probably legal, and I might even give money to it… but it is NOT Christianity.

The Kingdom of God is above the earth and Christians believe that Christianity is the Kingdom of God come down to earth. Actions on the earth register with God—God doesn’t need to register with the earth.

I’m not suggesting any kind of rebellion against the earthly governments on the earth God created, mostly because Jesus didn’t either. In fact, quite the opposite: You don’t rebel against something lower than yourself… that wouldn’t make sense. If governments attack Christians, Christians get martyred because Jesus will bring us back to life—martyrdom verdicts from anti-god governments are rejected by the Courts of the Kingdom of Heaven, thus, we’re resurrected. Beat that. Why rebel against a lower court than yourself? America says it’s UNDER God, so, Christians don’t plan military revolt… well, unless they are in bed with the State.  · · · →

What It Feels Like

I’m a Christian.

I don’t force my beliefs on others. Rather, I enjoy time with people who think differently. But, society doesn’t seem to accept that.

I’m a Christian.

Churchianity hates me if I don’t hate those tho disagree with me. Others who hate Christianity hate me if I believe that ideas like black, white, red, and plaid can be defined.

I’m a Christian.

I have friends who are homosexual. They know I don’t agree with them and they remain my friends. Is this not allowed? Must we agree prior to friendship?

I’m a Christian.

I join the two million and increasing number of Christians, about half of them in Asia, who find that the single greatest thing they did to grow closer to Jesus Christ was to make Jesus their only pastor and abandon clergy. Western Churchianity persecuted them, slandered them, so the Chinese Communists imprisoned them and killed them.  · · · →