I think all
religions deal with this question.
Churches and
the Christian faith in general are in decline in this country. What follows are
generalizations of a complex subject, but I do believe they address the root
cause of the decline from what I see people express online. Typically the
conservative side of the Christian faith points to the liberalization of our
culture as being responsible for the large part of the decline.
In a
conversation about faith that I was having with a friend I mentioned that the
current political climate was having a deleterious effect on the faith. People
are leaving the church in droves because of not only the position of the
Evangelical Party supporting a President who is at his very best an abysmal
representative of the faith, but also because of the expressed conservative
intolerance and maltreatment of so many others. This would be in areas of other
religions having rights, racism, immigration, Muslims, abortion, the
environment, guns and bigotry. Hot button issues. (By no means is that intended
to be a complete list.)
In response my
friend said that if they’re leaving the church then their faith must not be
very deep.
That sentence should have been in the
paragraph above it but I wanted it to stand out. I think that it’s really
important and I have been reflecting on that ever since. I believe that what he
said is very true for probably the vast majority of Christians and for good
reason.
After all,
Jesus, when he was on the cross, cried out wondering why God had forsaken him.
He was deep in his faith. He is the faith. Now I’m sure that theologians offer
a lot of different explanations for what he said but it’s pretty apparent that
his faith in God the Father was shaken. So, if you’re questioning your faith
you’re at the very least in good company.
The bible
has stories about people and tribes being left alone for awhile to their own
devices and then converting to other faiths or losing their way. Even the inner
circle of Jesus had their doubts, weak moments. Jesus? Who’s he? Never heard of
the guy. There are also examples of people whose faith was rock solid and never
wavered. More on this later.
There are
modern examples aplenty of people questioning their faith. Mother Teresa had a
crisis of faith in her journey. Pastors have renounced their beliefs in
Christianity. In times of personal tragedy, especially when children are
involved, people can question or lose their faith. The actions of Professional
Saints can make people question their faith. Needless deaths can cause people
to question their faith. Where’s God during natural disasters? Have you heard
the expression “If this is what Christians believe I don’t want any part of
their faith”? That covers a lot of ground.
Here’s an
example of what I’m talking about that I just now pulled out of the comments
section of a post responding to comments that President Trump made at the
Annual Prayer Breakfast. Prayer. Breakfast. His comments were quite a bit less
than Christian. He takes his pettiness and vindictiveness wherever he goes. He
lives it. He is a bully. This is the example that the Evangelical Party holds
up as being the Chosen One. His Christian supporters cheer him on. This is how
the person responded:
“I'm having
a hard time holding on to faith when it's Christians that are being hateful and
horrible. This situation with Trump worship and people thinking Trump is the
path to God is disheartening. It's a grotesque, money-worshipping path and I
want nothing to do with it.” END OF QUOTE
People are
saying that if President Trump is representative of the faith then they want
nothing to do with it. They want no part of a religion that actively supports a
man like him.
The internet
is full of these kinds of comments about the Christian faith in other issues
being covered as well. I have read thousands upon thousands of similar comments
over the years. As in, if this church supports gay marriage I’m outta’ here! Typically
the comments when people talk about not having anything to do with the
Christian faith have nothing to do with the absolutely fundamental core belief
of the faith. There is an afterlife. There is life after death. There is more
than this. How do we get there?
Their
responses are usually directed at the examples they see Christians make in our
lives in the secular world. Their comments are usually made in response to how they
see Christians reacting to gay marriage, abortion, immigration, other
religions, the environment, etc. People don’t become believers by accepting the
faith’s position on immigration. People become believers by accepting Jesus as
their savior and believing that there is an afterlife. Shouldn’t life after
death be more important than a particular political view or secular issue? How
do we get to that dialogue?
As saints
we’re supposed to spread the “good news” and witness to others. In other words
I’m a Christian because I believe that there is in fact more than this. That
there is an afterlife. That the story of a man named Jesus somehow survived a
couple of thousand years of history. That Jesus provided not only a path to
salvation (achieving an afterlife) but also an example of how we should try and
live in this life.
Some examples provided from the New Revised Standard Version
(NRSV) of the bible:
“…for I was hungry
and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick
and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
How did Jesus feel about people that didn’t do the above?
More from the NRSV:
“Truly I tell you,
just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,
you did it to me.’ Then he will say to
those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no
food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you
did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison
and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that
we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and
did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as
you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And
these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.”
There is
good and evil in the world. Love is most important. Love God. Love people.
Those are the two big commandments. Treating the poor and sick is what we’re
supposed to do. Take in the immigrant (stranger). Racism is wrong. Greed is
wrong. Essentially that humanity (people) comes first. We need for those who
don’t believe to come through the door of conversation, not drive them away.
The
Evangelical Party* has different priorities. They would have us serve their Caesar,
their “Chosen One”.
The
Evangelical Party has the money to spend when it comes to advancing the Jesus
that they are recreating in their image. President Trump amplifies their voice.
They’re both into punishment for those who dare to disagree with them. Their
Jesus has an agenda that matches that of their leader, President Trump. The
teachings of their Jesus become subordinate to the actions of President Trump.
He gives them their power, NOT Jesus. He provides them the judges and law that they
want. It will be a Christian God that children pray to in church. Christians
won’t have to serve those that they don’t like. Muslims will be persecuted.
It’s okay to separate the families of brown people. They are scum. It’s okay to
be greedy. It’s okay to name call. It’s okay to bully others. It’s okay to
encourage violence against those that disagree with them. It’s okay to kill
people. Trump rallies are the Evangelical Party in action. Lies are their
truth.
The
Evangelical Party spends BILLIONS advancing their agendas. They serve the
Republican Party. They serve President Trump. President Trump is their Chosen
One; the head of the Evangelical Party as well as being the head of the
Republican Party. When President Trump talks about the evil “Dems” he catches
up the Christians along with everyone else. In other words Christian Dems are
evil too. You can’t be against the Chosen One and be a Christian. Anyone that
criticizes him is evil. The media is evil. Muslims are evil. He is the truth
teller. He is their Chosen One. Salvation isn’t in their platform. Salvation
doesn’t come up at the rallies of the Chosen One. But he is learning the necessary
messaging.
Through
President Trump they are all powerful and the rest of us are flies to swat into
the afterlife. An afterlife that we don’t qualify for because we don’t support
their master.
Again with
the afterlife. What about those who don’t believe in an afterlife? How do we
reach out to them? Atheists make some good points about how religion causes
rather than solves problems in the world. Especially when people seeing the bible
used to oppress those least able to fend for themselves.
I watched a
television talk show where Ricky Gervais, an atheist, made the comment to the
host that if civilization ended and everything had to start over again we would
eventually end up with the same scientific books and the answers that they
provide but that we wouldn’t end up with the bible again. The host was stumped
for a response, but I think Gervais was wrong.
I submit
that it was various disciplines of science that gave us the bible as we know it
today. Before the written word primitive mankind looked to the skies and
wondered what is it all about? Is there more than this? How did all of this
come about? Is there good and evil? What started it all? If there is a God then
how was God created if there was nothing before God? The questions are endless.
Science tries to answer these questions. Science has its limits.
People will
search for and come up with explanations as to how we came about. This is how
so many religions came to be. Various ways of answering universal questions
were devised. People came up with God as a way to explain the unexplainable.
At some
point faith becomes a question of belief in something that can’t be proved with
any of the scientific disciplines. It isn’t any wonder that people lose their
faith or that their faith isn’t very deep. It seems that it is our human nature
to question our beliefs, to search for answers and to figure out how to live
our lives and conduct ourselves. I believe that’s a good thing. We need to have
conversations about what we believe and why we choose to believe that way when
there are so many choices available. This is where as Christians we are to
engage others as to what we believe is possible.
The
Evangelical Party is using religion to gain power. To impose their will upon
the nation and on people who hold other beliefs. They, with the assistance of
the Republican Party, seek to recreate government in their own image. They will
fail. It’s just a matter of how much evil they will inflict upon others before
they’re brought down by the weight of their own intolerance.
Religion has
been used as a panacea to the poor. A way to keep the poor down and happy
regardless of their situation. Because no matter how bad their circumstances
there is a better life beyond. A life where they are equal. A life without pain
or sorrow. A life where skin color doesn’t matter. A life where wealth isn’t
measured in material acquisitions. A life where we have the knowledge and the
understanding that we need.
We need to
make it clear that Jesus is about making life better in the here and now NOT
just the afterlife. There isn’t anywhere in the bible that Jesus said that the
rich come first (in fact, he often says the exact opposite). Emphasis on Jesus.
He said that we should use our resources to minister to the least among us.
When people read the bible to support evil acts they’re reading the bible
wrong. We are supposed to speak out to the truth of the Good News.
Times like
these are where we depend upon those rock solid people to help us through those
moments of doubt. Those folks that remind us that we aren’t alone; that we
aren’t insignificant. That we matter. That God is always with us in our pain
and suffering as well as our joy. That we can also apply our beliefs to make
life better in the here and now. Then we can support those rock solid people if
they waver. We can stand with them. We can amplify their voice in the darkness.
We can make Jesus a beacon for what is right. A Jesus that does not tear
families apart. A Jesus that puts people before Caesar and Rome. A Jesus that
does not turn a deaf ear to those crying for help. A Jesus that recognizes all
of our humanity.
* These are
the types of Evangelical organizations
that I’m referencing: The Falwell
Empire, The Robertson Empire, Christian Broadcasting Network, Focus on the
Family Action (Citizenlink), American Center for Law and Justice / Christian
Advocates Serving Evangelism, Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family
Association, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, National
Organization for Marriage, Faith and Freedom Coalition. Not a complete list.