I literally thought that Christianity was for people who were crazy, missing teeth, ignorant, hillbillies, racists, über-conservatives, republicans, and/or homophobes. I actually thought that Westboro Baptist Church (http://www.godhatesfags.com/)
reflected the shared belief of all Christians. (Just to be clear, WBC is not associated with any other church in the world. I disagree with 99.9% of what they believe as do all Christians who believe what the Bible says)But then my mind got BLOWN! I met a Christian and to my great surprise, she had teeth! And they were STRAIGHT! Also, she was cool. She wasn't weird at all. She enjoyed "normal" things, "normal" music, sports, she wasn't a hillbilly OR a racist! She wasn't even a homophobe! All my original concepts of what Christians were were ruined. Then ya know what I discovered? She wasn't the only Christian like this!
I learned that Christians listen to more than just hymns. Like this guy:
His name is Lecrae and he's a sick rapper and he LOVES Jesus!!! All his music is focused on Christ.The more I learned about the Bible and Christians, the more I learned that the faith is based on love. Yes, there are people who label themselves as Christians but don't love others as Christ taught us to love. There are always people who misrepresent a group and it's REALLY unfortunate.
This wasn't my original intention when I began this post but now that it's come up, I wanna remind my Christian amigos to take that label of being a Christian VERY seriously. You represent more than just yourself, friend. You represent our entire faith and our Savior! That's definitely not something to take lightly so please don't just throw the term "Christian" around as if it carries no weight.
Anyway, the point is I realized something. Christians are actually pretty cool. Not all of them. Some are still kinda weird. I've definitely met my share of socially awkward Christians. But I've also met WAY more really cool Christians. That listen to cool music and play sports and like fashion and have great senses of humor. And guess what! I voted for Obama. I helped on his campaign. And I didn't get kicked outta Christianity. Apparently it's acceptable to be a democrat. Christians are diverse so don't watch tv and see some weeeeeeird Christian who wears a black dress everyday with a collar and black cloggy lookin shoes and can't come out in the sunlight for fear of melting and be like "Yea, all Christians are like that." Believe it or not, sometimes television misrepresents and stereotypes Christians.
So if you don't wanna be a Christian because you're a democrat or because you think they're outta touch with modern culture or somethin (stupid-sorry) like that, you MIGHT wanna reconsider. I'm listening to M.I.A. right now that's ok with Jesus!
I also wanted to note what I meant by homophobe. Yes, I believe homosexuality is a sin just like lying or murdering or stealing or lusting, or sex outside of marriage. Hating the sin is not homophobic. Hating the PERSON is homophobic and a sin. I have many friends who are gay and I love them dearly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RWEllqh5J0
Chels - every culture has some "normal" and some "weird" people. Remember also that some of the beliefs of the WBC people - such as that gay people are going to hell - are still held by the bible believers, and that's wrong, and also ridiculous. And that's why the stereotypical beliefs that you described in the beginning are so prevalent.
ReplyDeleteThe name "Christian" is to be taken very seriously. If anyone calls themselves a "Christian", they are stating that they believe in a God who made all things, made them good, and has provided salvation through Christ Jesus to humanity who has totally rebelled against God himself...in short.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the name of Christian has been thrown around like it is a mere removable sticker that anyone can slap on their foreheads. May it not be so...
One question I would have for Sue: Who do you think goes to "hell" and "heaven"? Would a good person go to heaven?
I believe almost everyone goes to heaven - truly evil people go to hell (if there is one). I, however, am NOT a Christian. I am proud to be Jewish, like Chelsea was (also like Jesus was, btw!)
ReplyDeleteWhere do you draw the line between evil and good? And you are correct that Jesus was Jewish and the messiah referenced throughout the old testament.
ReplyDelete