"us" and "them"
i had a good conversation with my mom the other day about worldviews. christians, it seems, tend to fall into incredibly....poor...worldviews. we speak of winning souls, converting peoples, reaching the lost, of "them" and "us". is it just me or do these ideas seem offensive, insensitive, and incredibly not inviting to anyone who would be labeled as a "them". as if they are a game to be won, a soul we are changing, a heathen that we are taming. who wants that kind of help from a religion responsible, historically, for massacres, hypocrisy, infecting governments, abusing women, molesting children, and various other miserable actions. granted thats just the bad side, but if we, as christ followers, expect people to believe we have all the answers, then we are missing something. we arent supposed to have all the answers. we dont have all the answers. i guess thats where i'm going with this. no one has all the answers. it is not "us" and "them". it is "we". i believe we are all on the same journey. all at a different point on the path. some further in understanding what its "all about" and others just starting or not even knowing that the faint unrest within is a god whispering their name gently across the cosmos. "we" are on a journey. we interact with people who are all over the spectrum on this journey but we can all learn from each other. everyone understands something better than i, and i'll have more insight into some random thing than every person i run across. that is the point in sharing our lives. we help each other. if, as a christian, i think that people with other religious beliefs or lifestyles or worldviews have nothing to offer then i have missed it. we are not winning anything over the "others", we are sharing a journey with all people. we are all on the same side deep down. that faint whisper through the cosmos calls each name. he loves us all. he is relentless. he will not weary of our turning from him...all of us. so, i say we speak to this whole worldwide comunity when we speak. the truth is for us all and loves us all and will stop at nothing to prove this to each one of us. the truth does not seek out "us" and not "them". the truth will speak into every heart words of love, reminding us that love is what we were made for. "we" are on a journey and i for one aint gonna act like i have it any more figured out than some heathen who lives in the jungle somewhere and prays to his mud hut. just because i think i know Who its all about doesnt mean i get to change people. Truth works in his own time. Love is not on my schedule...and He knows how to love better than we can begin to try to. it is His purpose and pleasure to do all of the changing, wooing, winning. and it is not to "them", it is to all of us. haha...little bit of a rant...sorry.
Posted in: on Thursday, May 18, 2006 at at 11:48 PM
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Kevin Glaser...dunno if you remember me..amy oglesby. i was amy adams best friend? we used to sing nsync together in your galant...anyway, i found your blog through your myspace, which i found through amys myspace...and now i am here.
all this to say, i totally agree with your post. I've come to the conclusion that *most* christians are what make "non christians" not want to be one of us. ya know? sometimes I can't believe that I am labeled in the same group as other believers.
I went to a bible college in south carolina from 03-04 and we were REQUIRED to participate in and graded on a certain ministry that they stuck us in. jankey, huh? how can you grade somebody on how well they share the gospel?
i believe we all (christians and non's alike) inherently know which way is the "right" way, and that we all know God exists. I believe everybody knows what and who they should believe in, and those who say differently are only running from it. Does that make sense? I am definately writing a whole post on here sooooo I will stop....
ha, nice "talking" to you again too, after like 5 years or something...
"the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians; who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
-old skool dctalk
Hey man, we just watched Elizabethtown. Now we get it. Have a good road trip.
Stay on Hwy 8 for 43 miles. You'll see a billboard for Frank's Weiner Stand, "The best weiners this side of the Mississippi." There will be a small dirt road on the right. Take that road for 6 miles until you see a midget with a pitch fork. Stop the car, offer a Hamilton for the pitch fork. If he accepts the offer, take the fork back to the road and continue on your journey. If he declines, get back in your car and drive home. Stop for ice cream.
hey guys:
amy, glad you found the blog. thanks for your thoughts. haha, i miss amy-squared. hope youre doing well.
carly, love that quote. when i was younger i took it to mean people that said they were christians and then went out and lived crazy partying lives and typical cliche bad stuff...but i love that it makes the transition to now when i see other things as way more destructive to the picture painted of christians. like not loving people or treating the world like a public bathroom(avoid as best you can and if you must go in dont touch anything).
lew crew(like that...i just made it up), glad yall watched. i'll miss yall a lot. cant wait to see you in a month and a half-ish when this wraps up. yall are big timers.