Condemnation Christianity
Condemnation Christianity
I have been noticing some “evangelistic” signs lately that have made me pray and ask questions of God. One sign reads, “Jim Morrison John Lennon & Jerry Garcia Are: Burning in HELL! And YOU could be Next! Got JESUS?” Another sign can be seen at the bottom of the blog. These signs are used by street evangelists to draw people over to them so that they can preach the word of God to the people. Many of the people that come over to these signs are very upset by what they say. What is your first reaction? Does condemnation Christianity work? If it does is it lasting?
One point of view is that I am very turned off by the approach, by the arrogance, condemnation they portray. How does the sign maker know if Jim, John, and Jerry are in HELL? What right does he have to judge these “rockers”? I look at the second sign and see the arrogance in the person who made the sign because they left out Protestants, conservatives, etc. Does the sign suggest that Protestants have it right and do not have to repent? I have a very good friend who is Catholic and has greater faith in God than I do. Why are they in danger of Hell’s Fire, but the sign maker is not?
A second point of view is what right do I have to judge the sign maker. Jesus said we are not to judge, lest we be judged. Even though the sign maker is doing something I might not agree with, if I judge him, am I just as bad as he is in judging people that read the signs? Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemies, turn the other cheek, to help those in need. I want to be a person who shows the love of God to all people no matter what. If I do that, isn’t God big enough to handle the rest?
March 13th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
First, I’ll start with a quote from my professor. She is teaching us all about the Old Testament prophets. Many people base their authority to judge and shout about hellfire on the “example” of the Old Testament prophets. However, almost every OT prophet preaches judgment with a broken heart, and preaches restoration simultaneously with judgment. My teacher’s observation is this: “Anyone who preaches judgment with a smile on their face is sick.”
Jonah is a prophet who did not preach restoration. And what a shining example he is - a pouting man who told God he was so angry he wanted to die! Hmm, I think he might be categorized as “sick” by today’s standards.
Do we have a right to judge these people? I assert that we have the right to judge their actions and to speak the truth IN LOVE to them. To point out that they are distorting God’s message of love into a message of hate. To point out that scare tactics are un-Christlike and may be a stumbling block. Of course we do not have the right to judge them as people. But we do have the right to take action against their actions and to be proactive as a method to nullify the potential damage of their actions. In fact, we should resist and lovingly correct them even as we fervently pray for them to experience God’s love so powerfully that they can only preach love in response.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:48 am
I think we use the term “judge” too generically. Of course we are not to judge the eternity of a person, Jesus is the only one who can do that. But if that is to be taken as a true statement, haven’t we made a judgment against the actions of the signmaker? In other words, by believing we should not judge the eternity of others, we judge the actions of those who do.
I think this is a must. We must judge the actions of others and ourselves. It is inevitable. However, what we do with that judgment is more critical. Making a judgment on actions can be used to be abusive or restorative. We must choose to judge and take action that is restorative as Elaine has said above. Let’s choose to be bold in a way that brings the grace and love of God into our world and removes the abusive and oppressive.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Wow, looking at the picture posted above literally makes me sick. God is a loving God. Doesn’t the word say to love our nieghbors as thyself? Well, I never remember screaming at myself and telling me I was going to hell in a hateful way. I continually nurture myself and evaluate my actions to try to better myself. Those hate messages just don’t work. The person who displayed that sign probably thinks he or she is doing this great work of the Lord by putting that sign up. But clearly, the bible teaches a message of love, forgiveness and humility. When will we realize that kindess gets you further than anger? I think we must stand against actions like above and declare the true message.
March 19th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I just love that this sign starts with “Democrats”, almost as if that’s the largest “sin” in America…..you can’t make this stuff up.
March 19th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Oh wait, I missed that it actually says “Demoncrats”….that’s even better. I’m filing that one away for future use!