When Christianity is Lost On Christians

I am so tired. Tired of Christians who seem to have lost the meaning of what it is to be Christian. I know -- I'm opening up a can of worms here (who am I to make such judgments as to who is and who isn't Christian?), but it's getting very old to watch folks who call themselves Christians acting in a way that is so un-Christ like, AND doing it in the name of Jesus. It is simply disheartening. I've been so dismayed by others who claim to love Jesus yet have forgotten how forgiving and loving Jesus is with all of us, and that Christ calls us to behave like Him. They seem not to know how to forgive or to tolerate others. They may call themselves sinners seeking forgiveness, yet forget that their brothers and sisters are also sinners deserving forgiveness. I'm sure many of my Christian friends -- conservative and progressive alike -- have experienced this frustration.

As it happens with many of us in the Social Networking world, my list of 'friends' on Facebook has become unwieldy. I have 'run into' many friends and acquaintances from my past whom I haven't seen in 20, 30 and 40 years and I've added them to my friends list. I often forget that these friends are diverse in their faith, politics and opinion. It's funny how I expect them to be exactly like me and are surprised when they are not. Recently, one my friends from high school posted a diatribe on liberal/progressive politics that was frankly offensive because it was a mean-spirited attack based on stereotypes. Because he was my 'friend,' it posted on my Facebook page for my other friends and family to see. I responded to the post making clear that I was offended -- I did not rebut the points listed in the post, simply that I felt that it was wrong and that I was frustrated that it appeared on my Facebook wall.

In response - I was attacked. Attacked by two former school mates who are born-again Christians. These men profess their love of Jesus on an regular basis, yet acted in a way less than loving. They accused me of being a socialist -- which wouldn't be so bad if they really knew what socialism was, of being a pedophile -- referring to my profile picture of me wearing a clerical shirt, and they attacked my religion. They did not ask my opinion, nor did I offer it. They attacked me based on stereotypes without knowing my views. They do not know my political affiliation nor my values, yet they spoke as if we had long philosophical discussion on politics, religion, theology and morality. To say the least -- we never had such discussions. I still bristle thinking about the nonsense that they posted...mostly personal, baseless attacks.

What to do? I wanted to respond in anger! I wanted to attack their Christianity and their ignorance of the Gospels. I wanted to engage in a long discussion on the Beatitudes, the hypocrisy of many Christian leaders in regard to government, empire, and lack of charity that these men seem to embrace -- as indicated in the post that was originally made. It took much prayer and discussion with others to NOT respond in a way that would just be a vent of my anger rather than anything that would be helpful. I still felt the need to respond, so I wrote one of those letters that we often feel the need to write, knowing full well that it would never be sent. It was addressed to one of the posters, "Bob" who started by attacking the fact that Catholic priests use the title 'Father' and misusing the Bible to support his claim that one should only call God 'Father.' He did not know the specific New Testament reference but only: "...doesn't it say that somewhere in the Bible?"

I'll end my diatribe by sharing a bit of the letter:

Bob...that same verse in Matthew (Matthew 23:9-11) states that you should not call anyone teacher either. Being that you've taken the verse out of context and used a literal interpretation, let me know when you make your children stop calling you "daddy" and also scold them for referring to their teachers as "teacher". And you may also want to stop reading any scripture written by Paul (Saul of Tarsis) as he often referred to himself as spiritual father of the Corinthians. After all , there is no way that YOU are a hypocrite -- which is exactly what that scripture really addresses as Jesus was referring to the hypocrites who call themselves teacher and father .

Your misrepresentation of priests is disgusting. I can't believe that you are that naive to fall into the media trap that suggests that all Priests are child abusers. The scandal of course is that ANYONE would abuse a child let alone clergy, and that ANY institution would mishandle such an abomination the way that the Roman Catholic Church has mishandled it. The actual number of priests who are child abusers is not known, but most studies and estimates put the number approximately 3-5% (according a survey of studies). Even if the number were larger, that doesn't give you the ticket to systemically bash priests. Maybe you would like to read the Gospels about judging others (who should that be left up to?) and forgiveness and love, and report here what you've read.

Bob, I've seen you post on being Christian many times. You are not shy about sharing Jesus and your love for Him. However, what's been absent in your posts is Christ's love in you and any coherent knowledge of the Gospels. What you repeatedly write is anger, venom...and quite frankly something that's more reflective of the Enemy than of God. You talk about reaching out to others about joining your church like you were introducing them to Amway rather than teaching others about the Divine Message that God loves us and delights in us. You are so busy condemning others that it seems that you have forgotten that Jesus IS LOVE. Period.