Christianity vs. Christian Spirituality: Part Two

DICLAIMER: Please understand that the statements contained in this blog series are broad brush strokes, and intended to incite thought and action. This is not intended to include everyone calling themselves a Christian. Jeez...take a deep breath people :)

(Continued from yesterdays post below)…...Herein lies the problem, Christians have spent so many years hiding behind the doors of their churches, they have no idea how to effectively function within the modern culture. As a result they have no relevance in society. In my opinion the church is well aware of this fact, but because they are trapped in a corner sort of speak, they have no choice but to lash out. They lash out in self righteous judgment, as if to say, “Maybe if we keep telling them how evil they are, they will stop picking on us.” However, the world will not stop progressing, and the Christian religion shows no sign of progressing, so the rift between culture and religion gets wider, and wider.

So here we sit. The institution of church has stopped contributing to culture in favor of separation, and the culture, without the presence of a true witness, continues to grow darker and darker. They keep their existing patrons through fear of the wicked world, and they get people through false promises of peace and prosperity. All the while hoping on hope that one day they will grow big enough to once again regain control of the culture.

False promises play a large part within the culture of the church. People are drawn out of the secular culture and into the Christian religion through the promise of a life that is defined by peace and prosperity. They have a mantra known as “the sinner’s prayer” which promises to bring Jesus into ones life and to save from hell. Although there is no scriptural premise for this sinners prayer it is now the limpness test for whether or not someone will ultimately end up in heaven or hell. “Have you asked Jesus into your heart?” The one million dollar question.

The sinners prayer is the cure all, end all for the life that has been defined by worldly sin. Once a believer has prayed the prayer they have the guarantee of eternity in heaven. Although many, if not most, of those claming to have prayed the prayer show no sign of true change after having prayed, the act of praying is all that really matters. From the point of “conversion” the “believer” is then ushered into what is called discipleship.

Discipleship is the process of teaching new believers the rules and reiterating the promises. It’s basically a class on how to do Christianity. Although discipleship is not a bad thing, it has become less about truly educating the believer about their faith, and more about forming the believer into a homogonous saint. Discipleship is designed to help progress a believer from the infant stages of their faith into a more mature faith complete with service, and tithing (giving money). After discipleship, the new believer is considered to be well on their way to a mature Christian faith.

Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not opposed to biblical discipleship, but I am opposed to this form of discipleship. In the book of Matthew Jesus’ instruction to the church was to go into the world, make disciples, and then teach them to do the same. Discipleship within the Christian religion has nothing to do with launching the believer into a life of service to God and people, it’s about establishing the rules that they must follow to be considered an acceptable Christian. Granted, the new convert is taught about the basic principles of the faith, but the true spirit of disciple making has long been lost and forgotten.

Where does all of this leave us? It leaves us with religion. Christianity is no longer contributing to culture, salvation is based on a mantra, and maturity is defined by obedience to the Christian moral standards, which sadly are based on fear of the culture.
Rules have been established that have no biblical precedent, and “true faith” is defined by church attendance and monetary donation. All told it looks more like a social club than a revolutionary movement.

The similarities between Christianity and Catholicism are staggering. In both world religions the institution of the church holds priority and authority over the individual. Both have liturgical practices, and both put more emphasis on church attendance than on true change. Think about it, how many Christian churches have you attended? Have you ever seen anything but a slight deviation in the way those services are conducted.

· Opening Prayer
· “Worship” (stand up)
· Communion (optional once a month, or after lecture) (sit down)
· Special Music (Optional)
· Prayer for lecture
· Lecture (Sit Down)
· Prayer for offering (stand up)
· Offering (sit down)
· Closing song. (stand up)

This may not look like priests walking down the isle with censors billowing incense, alter boys in white robes, and opulently dressed pontiffs, but its liturgical practice none the less. Every where you go it’s the same thing. Why? Because it’s a religion! Religion is about conformity, not individual expressions of worship.

I have to pee again, so….

Part Three tomorrow…..Stay tuned for more of my self-righteous opinions