The Rebellion (Post 3): Faith, Hate, and Things Like That

Hey everyone! I want to start this blog off by saying that I don't expect you to agree with everything I say. A small portion of this is my opinion on what is currently happening within college and with high school students in respect to their faith. So, with that being said, let's get this started. I have been particularly looking forward to this blog, because as I alluded to in the previous post, I think that the faith teenagers have, or don't have, is the #1 problem among the teenage culture. There are many reasons for this, and we will talk about those in this post.
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Christianity is a polarizing subject among teenagers. If you are not a Christian, then you likely can't stand Christians. It could be that you find them too preachy, or too political, or think that they simply hate everybody that is not Christian. If you are a Christian, you know that some of these are not true. Unfortunately, some of them are true among certain people...or atleast seem that way. The reason that this happens is because of the image Christianity has had for a long time. Many non-christians see Christianity as a rigid, by the book, perfectionist, hateful, hypocritical, organization. Now is this an unfair characterization? I would like to say yes, but for the most part it is not. The reason is the most vocal christians, and the most prominent christians seem to hurt the cause. Whether it is a preacher of a mega church on tv who comes across as insincere, or whether it is the people of Westboro Baptist Church who protest funerals of soldiers by holding signs saying that "God Hates Fags." It could also be a person at your school who condemns people to hell for things that they do. Even though it infuriates us, we tend to just sit back and talk about how bad it is. We have allowed for our faith to be perverted into a wide varitety of different meanings. Different denominations have different beliefs, and those denominations don't get along. You have legalistic Christians who do everything by the book, and if you mess up once you are in trouble. If you don't do everything perfect all the time...well, you are going to hell. If you don't do everything that they believe is right, then you stand no chance when it comes to judgement. You know...Bible Thumpers. This is where hate comes into play, and a large reason why Christianity is often unappealing to teenagers. This is why we have to overhaul this vision of Christianity. No more being insincere, no more hate, no more judgement, and alot more of Christ's love.
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Hate. It's such a strong word, but it is also something that many people see when looking at Christianity. Why is this? Well, that's quite simple...because we often, without knowing, perpetuate the sterotype. I just did an entire blog on drinking and drugs, and how they are a major problem among teenagers. So, I must hate people that do it, right? No. I have friends that do it, and I love them to death. However, people tend to assume that I do hate them, and then there are people that are just waiting to watch them burn in hell. How can you love these people? Aren't you supposed to hate them just like you do homosexuals, atheists, liberals, arabs, science, and pretty much anything else that is not within your church walls. I mean you are a Christian, right? Well, let's see...Jesus spent alot of time with tax collectors and sinners alike. He would share meals with them as it says in Mark 2:16, he offered them the gift of salvation in Luke 19:9, and he had a tax collector as a disciple (Matthew). Simply because these people may be "terrible sinners" doesn't mean we must hate them. We must do the opposite. Why would we give up on these people when our own God hasn't? Why would we not "love our enemies" as it says in the book we all trust? I don't know about you, but it just doesn't add up to me.
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The picture of our faith was painted long ago, and has since been redone to model our modern day religion. "Religion" is another thing that drives teens away. So basically it seems like you have to pray this much, or be this good, or worship just enough, and it just doesn't seem like something you want to do.We are now at the point where simply deciding if we should put anything in our "Religious Views" on facebook, is a smart decision because if somebody looks at this they might think I'm a "crazy Christian!" It also seems so restricting. I mean, how am I expected to give my ENTIRE life over to somebody I barely know just in the hope that He helps me out when I need Him? Then I am expected to pray to this guy, and ask for Him to forgive me? It's like I am talking to dead air!
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I was the person mentioned above. I was afraid of my image, what people would think about me, and I was scared of where this God would take me. When I finally got serious, I began to understand Jesus in a completly different manner. Where before I saw Him as somebody looking to take everything from me and force me to do things, I saw him as my Savior who was going to give me more in return. I thought I would be forced to do something I hated, just because God wanted me too. However I discovered that God will give you the desires of your heart as long as you commit to Him (Psalm 37:4-5). Jesus is more than just your savior though, He is your Best Friend. Sounds a little "kiddie," I know, but it is the absolute truth. Jesus always has your back, He loves you more than you could ever imagine, and more.
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This is where another one of the key points to The Rebellion comes in. You have to break the rules of "Religion." When you break the rules of Religion, you are essentially getting rid of religion. Sounds wrong doesn't it? Sounds like something you shouldn't do? Well, that's the point! If you are going to be a Christian you are expected to pray a certain amount, worship a certain amount, and be a good enough person. Well, I don't think that is enough. I want to break those rules. I want to pray more, worship more, and go above and beyond my potential, because Jesus is worth it. As I quoted in the first post of the series, Erwin Raphael McManus writes in his book The Barbarian Way, "It’s hard to imagine that Jesus would endure the agony of the Cross just to keep us in line." I believe that it is time we break these rules, and cross the line...because our Savior is MORE than worth it. Will we be perfect people? Absolutly not! Will we still be loved when we mess up? OFCOURSE! It's time that we overcome all the hate, all the stereotypes, all the rules, and go above and beyond what we could ever imagine! We must live our lives in excess, so that it is overflowing into other peoples lives! It's time we make a change, it's time we lose control of our lives and see what God has in store for us!
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Hope you are enjoying everything so far, and I hope you keep reading! Next week will be the final week of the series! I am going to cover how we can begin to make the change, and talk about whether or not we can be stopped. So, check back next week for The Rebellion (Post 4): WHO CAN STOP US?
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If you want to read more about how nonchristians percieve Christianity, then check out the book Unchristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity-- and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. You can pick it up on Amazon for pretty cheap or at any bookstore.

The Barbarian Way by Erwin Raphael McManus is available on Amazon or any Christian bookstore.

I would like to give a special thanks to The Almost for making awesome music to listen to while writing a blog!

Have a great week! Check back on Monday for Music Monday!