I was browsing the internet today and stumbled upon an article about author Anne Rice who declared that she was through with Christianity.
Someone else posted a link to a different article on Facebook about this subject, entitled Club of Christians sometimes feels too big. This stirred-up something that has been in my heart for a while now, so I thought I’d say something about it here and include some links for your perusal.
It was no surprise to me when Anne Rice stated her reasons for wanting nothing more to do with Christianity. When Christianity becomes merged with politics and opinions, it becomes a toxic mix that totally puts people off and it can become a vehicle for pride and bigotry. It does not matter how justified you feel you are in stating your opinions, it does not matter how scriptural you believe you are; the fact is that when you believe that you are right and everybody else is wrong – it simply annoys everybody around you.
I think the number one reason that so many people dislike Christians, especially evangelical Christians, is that they are so fixated on getting other people to believe the same things they do. Yes, of course, we want other people to accept Jesus – but not in a manner that is forceful and potentially annoying. For too long Christians have been told from the pulpit that it is up to them to win souls for Christ and that they are lazy and uncaring if they don’t. But this can cause Christians to become intrusive and even cocky in their approach to sharing their faith with others. I know that it is important to spread the good news of the Gospel – but it puts people off when Christians become, quite frankly, rude and obtrusive.
Christianity should be something that is amazing, something that speaks for itself. If the Holy Spirit is within us, we can trust in Him to reveal Christ to other people through us. I know this sounds like a cop-out: an excuse to avoid having to potentially embarrass ourselves by sharing our beliefs. But it is not if we truly believe that it is God who lives His life in us and through us.
We should be able to simply relax and allow things to take their course naturally – including witnessing to others. We must trust in those subtle promptings in our heart when sharing something as important as the Gospel because some people might not be ready for it or might be put off if we are too hasty to relate our testimony to them.
Many Christians believe that it is our lifestyle that attracts others to know Christ. But this has been taken in the church to mean that Christians must aim towards living a squeaky-clean lifestyle that is rather unrealistic. I have personally found that people in the world couldn’t give two hoots about how clean a Christian’s life is.
There are many Christians who believe that they must prove themselves and their beliefs to a sceptical world, through achievements. This inevitably leads to the pursuit of the miraculous. I know what I’m talking about here, not because I believe that I “have all the answers”, but because I’ve been through all of this myself. I know what it is like to feel utterly disappointed with your life, to have a low self-esteem and to earnestly desire the approval of others. For such people, the allure of the miraculous is very enticing. In evangelical circles, or perhaps I should say charismatic circles, there is a constant barrage of testimonies about how God moved in an awesome, supernatural manner in someone’s life. Quite naturally, there is a tendency to want to replicate such things in your own life. But is this pursuit of the miraculous realistic and is it necessary? Whilst I believe that the miraculous has its place in Christendom, particularly in ministry, I believe that the life of the average Christian is meant to be lived without a smattering of incredible, supernatural occurrences. Welcome to everyday life people!
Picture Ruined Irish Church courtesy of Qole Pejorian.
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