Mon 24 Sep 2007
Quotable Monday, 9.24.2007
Posted by tom cottar under quotable monday, stupid christian stuff
"It pains me to see the beautiful truths of Scripture being plastered about like beer advertisements. Many think it is wise to "get the word out" in this way but, believe that we are really just inoculating the world with bits and pieces of truth - giving them their "gospel shots." (And we’re making it hard for them to "catch" the real thing!) People become numb to the truth when we splash our gaudy sayings in their eyes at every opportunity. Do you really think this is "opening them up to the Gospel"? Or is it really just another way for us to get smiles, waves, and approval from others in the "born-again club" out in the supermarket parking lot, who blow their horns with glee when they see your "Honk if you love Jesus!" bumper sticker?"
-the legendary Keith Green, in a rant…
You probably shouldn’t read the whole rant here if you like a nice, neat, comfortable version of consumer Christianity (like many of us have)…all the talk against a ‘personal savior’, a ’sinner’s prayer’, and an easy as 1-2-3 salvation presentations just might be upsetting…
2 Responses to “ Quotable Monday, 9.24.2007 ”
Comments:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
September 24th, 2007 at 11:38 am
One of my favorite Christian philosophers of all time. His song, “Rushing Wind” still gives me goose bums even when I just type the name of the song. God used him and took him, what a way to go!
What is even more amazing than this quote, is when this quote was made. Remember he died in late July of 1982, 25 years ago.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Unlike you and Jimmy, I’m not familiar with Keith Green. Nevertheless, I found the quote intriguing and echoing things I have mentioned in non-rant mode.
So I read the site. Where to start, where to start….
I appreciated the insight into the origin of the so-called “altar call”. That information helped me see that my flash of insight from this past summer that it is the somewhat strange way our tradition does confession was, as they say, spot on. And it was obviously much more clearly associated with confession in its roots. It has so degenerated in present times, I guess it’s not surprising that it took more than a decade for me to notice the obvious.
I’ve often had a bit of fun recasting some of the things we say about Jesus as though Jesus were saying them. The ‘admit you are a sinner and invite me to come live in your heart’ one is a personal favorite. I’ve enjoyed too much Buffy, perhaps, but that almost sounds like a vampire requesting an invitation into a home.
I do think he’s a bit hard on the “Jews” in general. Some of Jesus’ best followers were Jews and Pharisees. Even some of the torah-observant or tsadiq who did not follow Jesus, like the rich young ruler, were nonetheless loved rather than rebuked by Jesus.
I’m not a big believer in trying to get people to recognize their status as “sinner” as the starting point for any discussion of conversion or entrance into the faith. It’s certainly not what Jesus did. In fact, he had this strange habit of forgiving sins unasked and then healing people. And this process looks downright schizoid when we apply it to children raised in the faith. We teach them their whole lives to love Jesus and that he loves them. And then at some point, we switch gears and try to get them to see how they are sinners and have made God mad at them. And they need to tell Jesus they love him and ask forgiveness before they will be OK again. No wonder they are confused. They have, after all, been loving Jesus their whole life!
Further, it seems backwards. It’s generally those who follow Jesus, who are in the people of God, who need to recognize their sinfulness and throw themselves on the transforming mercy and grace of our Lord. I mean, why would someone who doesn’t follow Jesus be confessing their “sinfulness”? Since, like many postmoderns, my conversion was more of a lengthy process than a easily defined event, and the roads I followed were many and varied, I’m perhaps more aware than many of the semi-permeable boundaries involved in conversion. I know I had no real concept of myself as a sinner until well after the point in time where my identity was being defined and reshaped as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.
And I don’t think that is at all unusual. The oldest prayer of the Church (which I was doing well before I even knew it was a prayer of the Church) is based on the prayer of the publican. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” And this is a prayer prayed as a believer and follower of Jesus learns to pray without ceasing. It is as we follow Jesus that our sinfulness is first exposed to our eyes and then with our cooperation through the disciplines and life of the church, carved away from us as we are transformed into true human beings.
It is the believers who increasingly recognize themselves as sinners. (And the more you enter into the life of Christ, the more apparent your sinfulness becomes.) Those who do not yet follow Jesus must first recognize and accept the core tenet of the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth. He is Lord. And further, he is the good Lord — far outstripping any earthly power or other god. When that strangely becomes true to you, as it did to me, you are drawn to follow this Jesus. And it is as you follow him that both your current state and that which you were created to be become clear. It is those of us who follow Jesus who desperately need to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer.”
For God help us, we are the worst of sinners.
Thanks for the link, Tom.