I ran into an old friend today. A friend I haven't seen in over a year. I've known her and her husband since we were at least 15. We went to high school together, partied together, had dinner together, got in trouble together, vacationed together... You get the idea. I am now 34. We have known each other for more than half of our lives. We've known each other LONGER than we haven't known each other.
My wife and I used to attend a "Supper Club" every month that involved this couple and two other couples. We were the best of friends. We shared laughs, we shared tears, we shared fellowship and many other meaningful things.
ALL of those things ended exactly 364 days ago today.
I started writing this blog.
After that...everything changed.
A difference of "Theology" shattered several friendships. This one was the one that hurt the most.
After this couple read my thoughts/beliefs on this blog they decided that they could no longer be friends with me because of a difference of THEOLOGY.
The exact words were that "the Lord instructed them to have no parts with this".
The simple fact that they now knew that our theology didn't align was enough to evoke "the Lord" to cut off a lifelong friendship.
I would like to take this time to point out the definition of Theology.
Theology: 1.The study of the nature of God and religious truth; rational inquiry into religious questions, esp. those truths posed by an organized religious community. 2. An organized, often formalized body of opinions concerning God and mens relationship with God. 3. A course of specialized religious study.
Why is it that when we can't agree we must divide? the definition itself points to questioning what you know.
Men have been arguing over this for THOUSAND"S of years! How dare any one of us declare that we have it figured out. How dare anyone of us declare that we know right from wrong. How dare anyone of us declare that we know how to translate exactly what was written and rewritten thousands of times. (sorry for the rant) That was the frustration and hurt of losing good friends over such silly matters.
I'm ending this with a plea, no, not a plea. I'm begging all of you who think you have it figured out...I'm begging all of you who think you are right...I'm begging all of you who use the Bible to correct/chastise/divide the one's you know and don't know to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop, and think before you speak.
I believe that conversation and questions will yield knowledge and wisdom. No one ever chose to switch sides because they lost the argument.
Hello Chris
ReplyDeleteMy wife showed me your blog. She knows that I have experienced (and currently still do) similar feelings and thoughts as you do as it pertains to Christianity...more specifically, the Church, its denominations and "theology". Like you, I am an ordained minister, and have preached at various churches as a guest. But never have I actually served as the leader of a church. I could go on and on about my experiences and thoughts, but a lot of the things you share and believe and the inner turmoil you have experienced as a result of your own personal "re-birth" for lack of a better word, has prompted me to just simply let you know: You are not alone Brother! I wont waste your time with my own rants, however I would be curious to share conversations with you. While I am no genius, I think we may have many ideas and thoughts in common. Isnt it ironic how we strive so hard to bring people to God and His Son, Jesus...only to lose them once they have become enveloped inside the clutches of inner church dogma and practices? The very thing we work so hard to accomplish only becomes our greatest battle. So many people believe that they are doing God's work when in reality they are only doing their own work. Be it for ego, pride or just the sake of numbers, people never learn that nothing good can ever come out of trying to hijack God's plan for the sake of their own personal gains.
But I will stop there. You are not alone...and Im glad that I am not alone either. For a long time, I thought I was the only one who thought this way. I love God. I love Jesus. And without either of Them, I am nothing. As it turns out, accepting and believing in God and Jesus turns out to be the easiest part. Living the true "Christian" life becomes the greatest struggle for most people. It seems that so many Christian leaders (and followers) would do good to remember the words of Job when he thought he knew it all: "Surely I have spoken of things that I do not understand"