As of late I can’t help but feel ashamed a bit, being a Christian. I’m not so much upset with Christianity in general as I am with the people who proclaim to follow it. I understand that people aren’t perfect, this including Christians, but at what point are we Christians really trying or just drifting souls trying to scrape by with as little countenance as we can.
One of the problems I’ve had is forced religious practice. I’ve been in both Christian and Catholic school from Kindergarten till my graduation from a university, and all of them had required religious services the student need to attend to (chapel, mass, etc.). I believe the schools that enforce this think they are helping the lost students along the way, and building up the student’s faith, and I’m sure to some point it works. But is it really worth it? Forced chapel and worship has done nothing but made such practices stale to me. Let’s pretend for a moment that a chapel service was like Christmas. It is an event that happens that we willingly take part of, and are glad to because it is our decision to. But what if the government made you celebrate Christmas in July…and than bi-monthly. Wouldn’t Christmas lose it’s meaning? Our spirit for such things is meant to be actively engaged, and that’s why I stayed in the back of chapel and never stood. Not because I wasn’t a believer or had a hardened heart, but if my heart isn’t into the mandatory worship, who am I fooling by singing anyway? Certainly not myself, least of all God.
Secondly is the often sidetracked escapades of the Christian initiative. Why do so many Christians feel as a whole that homosexuality should be on the forefront of the Christian agenda? What threat do homosexuals pose? People have somehow gotten it into their heads that either A) when homosexuals have the right to wed, a black hole will rip open through the skies and swallow us all into perdition, B) gays marrying will end with people marrying trees, children, and donkeys. Okay, I’m exaggerating but one could possibly go wrong? 
Now Christian groups are spending money for Proposition 8, which will not allow gays to marry. This same money could have been used for so many things to help people, but instead God’s money is being used to hurt. As much as I’d want America to be a Christian nation…it isn’t, so why shouldn’t people have the right to marry one another? What if the tables were turned? What if Christians weren’t allowed to marry? Really think like that a moment. Let’s say a group despised you so much that they wouldn’t let you get married. Not so easy to brush off when it’s happening to you, is it? Jesus told us to love everyone and instead Christians spend a lot of their time wrongfully hating and going on crusades for all the wrong reasons. I can’t help but feel one day some of us as Christians will be staring into the face of God, and he’ll show us all the people were turned away from him for petty differences. And God will wear great sorrow on his face and say “You knew these faces…they should be here with me, why did you turn them away at the door when they came knocking?” And we’ll have to sit their in shameful silence, knowing he’s right.
This next problem I have with Christianity is actually very small but for some reason it makes me boil much hotter than the others. Being by the Point Loma area I’m sure many of you have seen The Rock, a huge church right next to a mall with lots of parking. And despite all the signs that tell the church attendees that they cannot park there, they do so anyway. They sweep the parking lot in droves, some going into Trader Joes so they can feel okay with themselves. If we as Christians can’t follow the simplest of rules, how are we to handle the harder ones? Now I know we aren’t perfect, and never will be. But we can be so much better than we are.
Lastly I frequent a forum of a Christian artist who graduated from Point Loma and is involved heavily in the arts. I originally joined because there were many Christians that would post topics and discuss with each other. And since I’m not currently involved in a Bible study I thought this was the next best thing. It’s taken my some time to realize it but the forum is really a meeting place of Christians that have come together to make fun of what they view as the “opposition”. Sure ribbing and humor are fun, because in it we get a few laughs and can also open up views to otherwise taboo topics. But their humor had become straight down verbal fisticuffs (much like the presidential campaign as of late) and what’s the point? Their particular victim this time was a former Christian music singer named Ray Boltzg who I guess came out as gay recently. I’m not really sure who he is but they began tearing into how horrible his music was and made childish gay jokes. Now these are people ranging from their early 20’s to 50’s, and yet they aren’t mature enough to realize when they are no longer doing God’s work. I confronted them about it but (not surprisingly) was met with a cold shoulder and blatant disregard so they wouldn’t have to feel accountable.
Titus 3:2 “Believers shouldn’t curse anyone or be quarrelsome, but they should be gentle and show courtesy to EVERYONE.”
