Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Christianity’s Image Problem

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image

This morning I read an article entitled Christianity’s Image Problem which prompted some thoughts.

Because we live out the Christian life imperfectly, we give non-believers plenty of opportunities to criticize our hypocrisy. Matt Appling, the author of the article, brings this out in his post. Christianity has an image problem because of Christians. This is true, but I would add that even if we were to live out the Christian life perfectly, we’d still have an image problem. We would have this problem because Jesus, the focus of Christianity, had an image problem.

Jesus has an image problem because He claimed to be God and he confronted self-reliance and willful sin wherever he found it.

Did you ever notice that the only ones in the gospels who seem to be comfortable around Jesus are the hookers, tax thugs, destitute, sick and homeless? The ones that loved to be around Jesus were the ones that came from a starting point of brokenness and need. All the needy people loved and followed Jesus because he met them in their need. All the respectable, clean living, self-sufficient, moral people seem to have had an aversion to him.

Jesus’ PR problem is primarily because he is Holy God confronting a sinful world. If you are unwilling to admit that you have a sin problem then you will not like being around Jesus. If you are unwilling to admit that God has the right to delineate moral from immoral behavior, then you will not like being around Jesus. If you are unwilling to acknowledge the existence of God or the propriety of worshipping God, then you will not like being around Jesus.

Jesus has a PR problem because his nature does not line up with our desire for a genie-in-a-bottle God. We want a God who gives us what we want, when we want it and does not make any moral demands in return. Jesus is not, nor ever will be this type of God.

Jesus polarizes humanity. He demands an all-in response. Those that are unwilling to go all-in fall into two camps. The first are those who are confused by him and brush off religion as a waste of time. The second camp contains those who are angry that Jesus would demand such a choice. Apathy or anger are the two choices, neither group will score Jesus highly in the polls.

This is the core of Christianity’s image problem. We are seeking to emulate one who would not change who he is and what he came to do in order to be more popular.

Francis Chan on the Holy Spirit

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Forgotten GodI would like to share the following quotation from Forgotten God, by Francis Chan:

“I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn’t come through, I am screwed.”

Convicted? Encouraged? Challenged? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Jesus does not agree with this church marquee . . .

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A friend of mine, @jimworth, tweeted a link to this picture:

Jesus Doesn't Agree

The problem with this statement is that Jesus doesn’t agree. In John 14:6, Jesus is recorded as saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus made a definitive statement that only those that believe and trust in himself will get to Heaven. This is an exclusive claim. You must choose to accept this as true or declare it to be false, there is no middle ground. It can’t be “sorta” true. Jesus won’t allow you to think of him as just another spiritually enlightened man. He is not just another prophet. He is the way or he is not the way.

If Jesus is correct in his statement, then all other religions are false and Christianity is the only true religion.

If Jesus is wrong and there are many ways to get to Heaven, then Jesus is irrelevant and Christianity is a waste of time. If Christianity is just a bunch or rules or moral principles, then it has very little to offer.

But if Jesus is correct, and Christianity is true, then we are offered a way of being in right relationship with God. Jesus is that way.

You can’t have it both ways. You cannot worship Jesus and declare other religions to be equally true. You have to make a choice. Jesus demands that choice.

What this church presents may be new but it is definitely not Christianity.

Tozer on the Presence of God

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TozerThis is a quote from How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit, by A. W. Tozer.

“[T]here is an unseen Deity present, a knowing, feeling Personality, and He is indivisible from the Father and the Son, so that if you were to be suddenly transferred to heaven itself you wouldn’t be any closer to God than you are now, for God is already here. Changing your geographical location would not bring you any nearer to God nor God any nearer to you, because the indivisible Trinity is present, and all that the Son is the Holy Ghost is, and all that the Father is the Holy Ghost is, and the Holy Ghost is in His Church.”

As I read this, the question came to me, what would the church look like if we lived this out? What would my life look like if I always remembered that God is beside me every step of the way?

If Jesus was riding shotgun, would I loose my cool when I’m cut off in traffic? If I took into consideration the presence of the Holy Spirit, would I think the thoughts that I do or react to people and events the way that I do? In many instances, I would not.

The point of Tozer’s paragraph is that the Holy Spirit is within us and sees what we think and do.

In Psalm 139:7 David writes, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (NASB) The answer to this rhetorical question is “nowhere.” There is no where I can go to get away from God in the person of the Holy Spirit. None, zip, nada.

The point of this post is to remind myself and by extension, you the reader, that God is always present and that I should act accordingly.

The good news is that when I fail (not if I fail), God has provided a means of dealing with the failure (see 1 John 1:9).

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