Monday, November 9, 2015

The war on Christians

There is a war on Christians.  It is being conducted in the Middle East by terrorist groups such as Isis.

But, apparently, to a particular type of Christian, the was is being conducted here because Starbucks has a red cup for the holiday season.

Seems festive to me, but apparently, a red cup that does not include the words "Merry Christmas" is an insult to the 70% of Americans who identify as Christian, leading to rants on Facebook and You Ttube.

And it seems that the message of the season is lost.

Which is something like this



Moreover, as John Pavlovitz writes,
These continual strident, shouting, red-faced rebuttals to Atheists and non-Christians and corporations are doing exponentially more harm than good in the world beyond the already-convinced; representing Christians as aggressive, bitter brats forever challenging everyone to fisticuffs. 
....So much of our modern Christian culture (from talk radio show hosts to bullhorn screaming preachers to brazen church signs) has devolved into faith-justified antagonism and sanctified fight-picking in the name of Jesus—and I just don’t get it.

I don’t even recognize so much of this stuff as being of Christ anymore.

When did the Good News of Jesus become a massive middle finger to anyone who doesn’t believe what we believe or express faith the way we personally express it? 
....
In so many ways Christianity has lost the plot and bastardized the message, and people are right to reject it. Until we can provide an expression of faith that better mirrors the life and ministry of Jesus, I don’t blame anyone for opting out. 
Or as Gandhi put it, you Christians are so unlike your Christ.  

4 comments:

Kevin K said...

The problem here is that everyone who has something stupid to say now has a platform to broadcast that statement. I mean really? The red and green cup is a problem?

The secondary problem is that it is so easy to focus on that stupid statement and say to the World...See...I told you so. This proves my point. Just as the most obnoxious atheist does not speak for all atheists the persons obsessing over red and green cups does not speak for all Christians.

IT said...

Absolutely, Kevin, but unfortunately they CLAIM to be.

Kevin K said...

That is irritating beyond all belief.

JCF said...

War on Christ...-like behavior (welcoming the stranger---while Syrian). Perpetrated today by the House of Representatives (including my own Democratic Representative). Shame! Kyrie eleison.