Color me old-fashioned, but I still remember when
The sermons were affirming, 'cause the Lord liked us better then
It's 2044
And I don't want to be my brother's keeper no more
Color me chicken yellow if I liked it in the ozone
Call me lemon jello if I lacked a little backbone
We're King's Kids, dang it
And we used to know what a housekeeper was for
Tickle my ear and I'll pay for your show
Sing about stuff that I already know
Whisper sweet nothings
Pour a nightcap
Gimme that old-time easy listening
~Steve Taylor, from Easy Listening
Not too long ago, my Pastor preached a message series titled 'Radical'. I didn't walk out of church one Sunday during the whole series feeling entirely comfortable with myself. I remember thinking, 'This is what church is supposed to be like." So many people would disagree, but really, what is a sermon for, if it's not for challenging us to rethink something in our lives? What good is a sermon that just makes us feel like we have nothing we can improve upon? Why bother running a race if you've already attained the end goal?
It got me thinking about the alarming trend in so many churches today. You know the trend I'm talking about. The one where the Pastor is ever so popular, especially with the media, because he bucks standard Christian "traditions" in favor of being more inclusive. I didn't think any faith could be more inclusive than one based on the premise of "For God so loved the world...", but I guess I was wrong.
More and more, large so-called evangelical churches are espousing a more watered down version of the Bible, doctrine, and truth.
"I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think that the church needs to just … this is the world that we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are,"`
~Rob Bell, in an interview with Odyssey Networks.
Give me one Biblical reference that says followers of Jesus need to get with the times, change to mesh with the world we are living in. I can give you two that say something entirely different.
Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever.
~Hebrews 13:8
And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God
~Romans 12:2
"A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better...This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
Rob Bell, in his book, Love Wins.
Excuse Me? So, Mr. Bell has thrown out entire sections of the Bible, because they are not about love, peace, forgiveness and joy? Really? Those are the only personality traits Mr. Bell wants us to bestow on God. We can throw out all His other qualities because they might be contrary to Mr. Bell's all inclusive new religion.
I have long advocated that today's world needs less fire and brimstone and more hope. But the message of Christ's willing death, the idea that He sacrificed to offer us something we don't deserve and can't pay for on our own, IS hope. The idea that there is something more than this life IS hope. Jesus is that hope, and guess what? There isn't a single verse in the Bible that says anyone is getting to the hope without Him. Not one. There are plenty of verses, even ones Jesus spoke himself, that state that without him, there is NO hope. That without Him there is NO other way into heaven. That's what the Bible says. You can refuse to believe the Bible, refuse to believe Christ's very own teachings, but then you can't claim His name. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible apply and which don't. You can't toss the book of Romans out the door and pretend it never existed.
Christianity is not an exclusionary faith. God accepts anyone who chooses to believe in His plan of salvation. But you have to start there, and you can't run around spouting feel good garbage to make it seem "better" to people who have no desire to follow God. You can't tickle people's ears with what they want to hear, because heck, the world is changing and we need to get with the times.
It's contrary to the Bible. It's contrary to what Jesus taught. It's Easy Listening for a world that needs Heavy Metal.
