Thoughts from a Random Mind

            There are certain segments of society that have a major problem with Christianity. Perhaps it’s because someone tried to force-feed the gospel to them or used a heavy-handed approach in their presentation. Maybe they came from an environment that was godless. Regardless of the reason why, some see Christians as people who are trying to infiltrate the entire of civilization with their beliefs. I understand that this whole heaven or hell deal can be a very hard pill to swallow. If you are ignorant of what religious groups beliefs are you’re liable to fall into the trap of disliking or possibly even hating something you simply don’t understand. 

            While Christians ARE trying to spread the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide, as a rule, we are not trying to rule the world in an effort to control those who don’t agree with us. I wonder if part of our problem is that some believers are too “in your face” with their evangelistic endeavors. I mean, do as you feel led by the spirit, but show mercy and kindness and not intolerance and distain. God gives His creation the right to not agree with us and also the right to walk their own way. Now we believe that is a pathway away from God, but as the old saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink”. We aren’t supposed to scare people into receiving Christ. We are to reason with people, while listening to their doubts and questions and attempt to answer them in a polite and respectful way. “Turn or burn!” in my estimation, is NO WAY to present the gospel.

            Now there are some folks who actually speak out against organized religion, saying it evil and controlling. These folks are known as “anti-Theists”. It seems to me that they would be the restrictive ones, for they have a philosophical position that actively opposes belief in God or gods; however, goes beyond simple atheism (the lack of belief in a god) by actively critiquing and sometimes even advocating for the dismantling of (all) religious belief systems and institutions. This would be doing exactly what Christians are accused of doing; forcing their ideology on others. Sounds downright communistic. They can’t just disagree and not believe as we believe, they have a need to totally irradicate any and all belief in ANY God / gods. That way they wouldn’t have to think about heaven or hell or sin or judgment. They can just live and let live, according to THEIR rules, set up with their own prejudices and preconceived ideas.

            Christianity lays man’s guilty status before them, revealing to them their sin and people are very uncomfortable with that. They don’t want to feel forced to make any type of decision, especially one that involves “religion”. I honestly think we should let our lives be our witness, rather than what we say. As the saying goes, “Talk is cheap ... actions speak louder than words.” We needn’t talk about living for Jesus. We really need to just do it. Learn about Jesus, then attempt to replicate His behavior. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries