united church of christ ad = confusion
Just saw the ad from UCC. The one where big bouncer types in front of an unnamed church are telling people who are homosexuals and non-whites that they aren't allowed in. Hmmm....
Are they saying that churches that are not theirs are bigoted or "intolerant"?
Does that other church in their ad toss out the homosexuals because they are merely homosexuals, or because they are wilfully and unabashedly practicing homosexuality?
Are the UCC saying that it's OK to be gay, or just that gays are allowed in their church?
I'm confused.
If they are saying that it's OK to be gay (near the end there are two women, real close to each other, the implication of course that they are lesbians) then I have a question.
What if one woman was older than the other by a couple years? Probably no big deal, right? What if the difference in age was a decade? No problem? What if one woman was 35 and the other 14? Is that OK? Would they draw a line of intolerance there?
Is everyone welcome here, and encouraged? What if it were a straight relationship? What if there was a 60-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl, and they genuinely loved each other? Would the UCC say OK to that? If not, why not?
Where does the UCC draw the line - any line? It seems everyone is invited to this very tolerant church. If we water down the Bible and change the status of what used to be called "sin," keeping with the social winds blowing at the moment, really what use is the Bible? One can justify any lifestyle one chooses. It's easy. Just eliminate a few incriminating verses and ba-da-bing! you can justify anything, even bestiality.
I see the importance of telling homosexuals that they are welcome to the church. Jesus came to save the sick and the lost. But there is a big difference between allowing sinners of all stripes (that would include me) to attend a church and... telling them that their lifestyle, whatever it may be, is just OK, by God.
Would Jesus, the God of both Testaments, say this is all just fine with Him? Would he say that the punishment he bore to free us from our sins was really nothing? Because that's what the UCC seems to be implying. I have a feeling that doesn't make him all that happy.
posted by Ritter | 7:54 PM
3 Comments:
What if this church is just saying that it's not their place -- but God's alone -- to judge a person for their acts? What if they want to include these people to show them the Way? What if they want to be a place of inclusion and peace, as a church of God should be? Maybe they can't do all that in 30 seconds of television.
Church of Unity and Peace? Huh? I'll disagree 100% that the Church is not supposed to condem and just be accepting. Well, ok, not 100%, but 90% or so at least!
Here's the thing, Jesus himself was NOT accepting. He saw where people were lacking and told them. There was no "I know you're a sinner, but nobody's perfect so just try harder, ok?". No, he point blank told everybody that they needed to stop what they were doing and follow him. Or else they would die.
Ok, I can hear it now. "But Charlie, Jesus has the RIGHT to do that. He is perfect. Whereas the rest of us are not. So we can not judge others. What about that verse about the splinter in someone else's eye and a plank our own own?"
But before you keep going on with that, how about this? Jonah, didn't he tell the people of Ninavah that they were sinners and they had to repent or they'd die? Or Paul, how many times did he write the various Churches to tell them what they were doing wrong? Then there was Daniel. He was pretty straight-forward about his faith and let everybody know what he thought about their faith.
Were those people perfect? Certainly not! Heck, Jonah went the OPPOSITE way at first to try and run from God. The point is this: We as Christians can NOT condone other's actions. I think we all agree with that. But, what's more is that we also can not ignore them. Because by ignoring them, we're condoning them.
Think about it this way... Lets say the speed limit on the highway near your house is 55mph. But you always go 65 on there. Now, you pass a police car that's stopped and is looking for speeders. However, he doesn't pull you over.
Well, the first time you just think it's a fluke right? He must have been feeling nice. But what if it happens again and again? Then you decide that ok, the speed limit is 55, but since they'll let you go 65 so, why not?
Later down the line though, you're going your normal 65, but this time you get pulled over. Now, you explain to the officer that it's not fair and that you were just going the speed that the other officers let you go but he mearly points at the sign and says that the law is the law.
You're busted. And there's nothing you can do about it. You'd gotten away with breaking the law for so long, that you just changed it in your mind. But when the final verdict comes down, you're still breaking it.
And that's the situation we're in here. If we as Christians keep looking the other way on issues like abortion, divorce, pre-marital sex, gays/lesbians, etc... then the world will be getting two messages and you KNOW they'll take the easier road (because we all do).
We'll be telling everybody that it's OK to do or be involved in the above things as long as you're a good person at heart. Where in the end, they'll be judged according to God's laws which is NOT so loving and kind when you're put to their test.
And yes, I'm pretty much done with my rant. But I do want to make one point. I have had lesbian and gay friends over the years as well as people who sleep around, have been divorced multiple times, etc, etc... And no, I don't preach fire and brimstone at them and I do NOT want Christians doing that either. But I also have tried to be clear where I stand on those issues and that my stance is aligned with the Bible's.
No, I'm not perfect, not in any way, shape or form. And no, I've not always done that. But I do try to because it's our purpose to spread the word of God. And that means the WHOLE word. Not just the happy, good-feeling stuff, but the fire and brimstone stuff too.
Feel free to contact me at clehardy@yahoo.com if you want to disagree, agree, or in general rant at me :-)
I agree with both comments.
I believe the "church" should be open and welcome to everyone regardless of their sin. Tolerance has nothing to do with it. It is not up to us to decide who may enter the House of God. Welcome them in, preach the Word of God as it is meant to be, live your life the way God wants. Trust in Him. He will take care of the rest.
Sometimes, I think "we" as humans, give ourselves more credit than we are due. These are not our decisions to make. They are God's. We are here to teach the Word and hopefully minister through the way we live our lives.
Only God has the power to judge. We may not agree with gays, pre-marital sex, blah, blah, blah, BUT, we are not given the power to decide who comes to the Lord.
Think about it ... A gay man is standing outside of a church trying to decide whether or not he should go in. If he does, in fact, enter ... who knows; that might be the day he is Saved by the message being preached or by something a congregation member says to him.
I stand as one (in many) who can testify to the phrase ... "God works in mysterious ways").
All I'm saying is ... we need to remember our place and what we are here to do.
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