TILL HE COMES Blog

I’m a bookoholic. I am always reading at least ten books at once, and I have made a little rule with myself that I can’t buy another book until I’ve read half a book. Yes, my rule allows me to buy two books for every one I read. I don’t see a problem with that, but I’m still in denial.

Anyway, I’ve been waiting for a certain book like a man waits for his wedding night. Well, maybe not quite like that. And look what I got in my e-mail box today:

CBD Shipment Confirmation

ITEM 068188	DESC I Became/Christn	QTY 1	PRICE EA 9.99	SHIP DATE 02/19/08	SHIP VIA USPS

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So for the next week or two, the mailman is my best friend. Since I’m currently jobless, I’m going to sit out on the front step with a stack of books and a beer and wait. (Well, not a beer since I’m at Dallas Seminary, and we’re not allowed to drink.) And once my mailman buddy brings me golden bubble-wrapped package, all those other books will go bye-bye for a while. Besides, who needs a job anyway?

Why am I so pumped up about this book? It’s the first book by my favorite blogger, Vince Antonucci, and is called I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.

I (clearly) haven’t read it yet, but I can tell you that if the book is anything like the blog, go buy the book right now. I bought mine from Christian Book Distributors.

Once I get it and read it, I will post a short review here. I’m sure the book will live up to all my “wedding night” expectations. (Don’t let me down, Vince!).  Oh, and for anyone who wants, here is an excerpt from the book.

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Some days, I’m ashamed to be a Christian. Today is one of those days, and I want to issue a public apology to all people everywhere who were ever hurt, slandered, abused, or hated in the name of Christ. I am sorry for what has been done.

The reason I feel this way today is because of a website I ran across which is solely dedicated to spreading the terrible idea that the God of the Bible hates everybody. The site is so mean and hurtful and angry, I kept wondering if it was just a terrible, horrible, awful joke. I am not going to post the site, because I don’t want anybody to go to it. It is the most despicable, hateful, hurtful, angry, website I have ever come across, and it is all run by “Christians” who claim to be working for “the Gospel.”

One entire section of the site is geared toward helping Christians gather and picket people and businesses with signs that say “God hates _______ (fill in the blank).” I am astounded at the people and places they are planning on picketing, and the way they do it is despicable. They call such events “Picket Crusades.” It’s very reminiscent of the actual Crusades, except that swords and horses have been swapped out for signs and bullhorns.

Personally, I think God hates “Christians” who do such things. Maybe some of us other Christians should get a group together and go picket these picketers. We could write signs that say “God hates people who make signs that say ‘God hates _____ (fill in the blank).’” I’m jesting, but that would be quite a circus.

The truth is that while I feel very sorry for what has been done in the name of Jesus, I also feel very sorry for the people who do it. What is going on in their lives, hearts, and minds to cause them to say and do such things? I feel awful that they think this is the way God is. I wonder what can be done to show them the true love and grace of God?

Anybody want to start a ministry focused on reaching Christian picketers?

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My wife and I are currenly undergoing the biggest crisis of our lives. I cannot go into details right now, but this crisis is definitely not the biggest crisis that can happen to a family. We are all healthy, no one has died, we still have a home, etc. However, with what we are going through right now, we find it very easy at times to be angry at God and other Christians.

And as we ask ourselves, “Why is this happening to us?” one reason Wendy and I keep coming back to is that God wants us to understand how a life crisis can lead a person to deny and reject Jesus Christ. We haven’t gone through one-tenth of what some people go through, but I think we now have a glimpse of what it is like.

When bad things happen to a person, it seems like God doesn’t care. Then, to make it worse, Christians come along and many of them stab you in the back. In such times, people are prone to think, “God must not exist after all. Or if He does, and this is how He shows His love, and this is how His people treat one another, I want nothing to do with Christianity.” One thing is for sure, as the country song says, “It’s times like these you find out who your friends are.” And in times like these, it certainly doesn’t seem that God and Christians are very good friends. (And for you Christians who think that is a heretical statement, go ahead and prove it true by making a critical comment below or on your own blog.)

So I see why people leave the church. I see why people turn to alcohol and drugs. I see why people become atheists.  As another country song says, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

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I have a friend who looks at all that is wrong with the world, and then looks at the average Christian and as a result, wants nothing to do with Christianity. He says that it appears Christians would rather spend their time arguing and debating theology than helping the poor and homeless, and would rather drive Hummers and build huge church buildings than drill wells in Africa or feed orphans. He doesn’t think that Jesus would be a “Christian” if Jesus were alive today.

The other day, he showed me a YouTube video where a secular rock artist posted his video about this very thing. The artist is very angry. The video and song lyrics show Christians going to church and pastors preaching sermons, all the while ignoring the hungry and needy that are all around them. The basic message of the song is ”Christians need to stop praying and preaching and building huge cathedrals for themselves, and start doing something that actually helps!”

After I watched the video, my friend turned to me and said, “I think there is a special place in hell for Christians.”

Whether you realize it or not, this is the prevalent attitude toward Christianity among those who are ages 18-35. (If you don’t believe this is true, you probably don’t know many non-Christian 18-35 year olds.) How have we as Christians come to this, and what (if anything) can we do about it?

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