Approximately ten years ago, Anne Rice (the insanely popular author of The Vampire Chronicles and other books) publicly rededicated herself to the Catholicism of her youth. It was a big moment for Christians. Christians everywhere stumbled over one another to claim her as their teammate. There’s something encouraging for a Christian to be able to claim someone like Rice as a fellow believer. Rice’s popularity transcends race and religion. Her books are loved by people of all walks of life; so when she set aside her normal genres to begin writing fictional accounts of Christ’s life, Christians were thrilled.

Currently, Rice’s faith has again garnered some attention. The author recently announced on her Face Book page that she giving up Christianity in the name of Christ. Rarely does an author of Rice’s status engage her fan base in the way that Rice does. Her announcement was followed by several engaging dialogues between her and her readers. Basically, Rice’s position is while Christ is still the center of her life; she can no longer tolerate Christians themselves.

Rice has levied serious charges the Church. In her announcement, she claims that Christians are a “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.” Specifically, Rice is refusing to be associated with a church that is “anti-gay,” “anti-feminist”and“anti-artificial birth-control.”  In the comments that followed her announcement, Rice made it clear she wasn’t speaking of just the Catholic Church, but rather the global Church that includes Catholics and Protestants alike.

The reaction to Rice’s announcement has been mixed. Some Christians have responded with love and understanding and, quite frankly, others have responded in a way that seems to validate her point. Non-Christians have reacted much in the way Christians did ten years ago when Rice became a Christian – they have stumbled over themselves to rub it in the faces of all those Christians they know. In their opinions, Rice has put into words what they were thinking all along.

Does Rice Have a Point?

Does the Church deserve the charges that Rice has levied against it? Personally, I don’t think so. She is not the first person to make such charges against us and she certainly will not be the last. Outsiders have been quite vocal about the Church’s perceived hatred of homosexuals, women, and close-mindedness. My response is that outsiders are really in no position to make such generalizations. I’m a church insider. I have gone to church the vast majority of Sundays over the last ten years or so, I am pursuing a graduate degree at a conservative Christian college and seminary, I teach Sunday school and engage with Scripture on a level most people probably never will and I can attest to the fact that the charges Anne Rice has made (and others agree with) are not coherent with the reality I see on a day to day basis. It simply isn’t true that most Christians are close-minded, hate gay people or prefer weak, docile women. There are no secret meetings where we discuss our hatred for those who believe differently from us. In fact, most of the time we are far more concerned with how we can love people better. My point is, however, that those on the outside of the church (those who don’t spend their Sundays learning the Word and hanging out with Christians) aren’t in the position to pronounce such a judgment. In my line of work, my fellow employees and I are evaluated by our supervisors on a yearly basis; the most common complaint in response of these evaluations it that the supervisors spend very little time actually evaluating our performance. I’ve even been evaluated by supervisors I had never actually met prior to the evaluation! I wonder sometimes if these outsiders have made a genuine assessment of Christianity or if they are simply pronounce us all guilty based on a small sample.

Here’s the problem. Deserved or not, the perception is there. For most people, perception is reality. Also, if we are being honest, there are some Christians who are guilty as charged. Christians such as Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church may be in the minority, but they manage to make us all look bad. The Church needs to recognize and apologize for the hate that exudes from such people. In the face of such criticism, we need to love louder than ever before!

How should the Church respond?

1. 1. With love: The Christians job on a day to day basis is to love the people that God created. Too often, we condemn the lifestyles of those outside the church without ever expressing our love for them. Scripture tells us to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). I’m not suggesting we turn our backs on the truth of Scripture, but I am suggesting that far too often we overlook the love. Paul taught that the comfort of Christ was supposed to fill us up and overflow to others (2 Corinthians 1:4). More than anyone we should realize that, as sinners, none of us are saved except through the grace of God and the act of Christ on the cross. God’s offer of grace is extended to everyone – even those with lifestyles we don’t agree with. In most case, we should love now and preach later. Or better yet, leave the preaching up to those who are trained to do so. If we focus on love, the world will respond.

1. 2. With Integrity: Last Sunday, my Bible study class explored the concept of integrity. Too often, charges of hypocrisy are warranted. We so quickly judge others yet fail to practice what we preach. Paul writes that we are to be the “Fragrance of Christ” among the saved and unsaved (2 Corinthians 2:14-17). In the same passage Paul writes about how God often puts His followers on display. This is a frightening concept for all of us who aren’t living as we should. How are unbelievers to respond if we don’t live as the Scriptures say we should? We should be aware at all times that we may be the only Christian someone knows as well as the only Bible they ever read. God puts us on display for these moments and it is in these moments we can shape a person’s perception of the Church. We need to strive at all times to exude the scent of Christ to a world that needs Him. Not just on Sundays and every other Wednesday … always.

1. 3. With Knowledge: We need to study God’s Word. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to always be ready to offer a defense of our faith to those who ask. Quite frankly, too many of us have no idea what the Bible says or even what we believe. We go to church for the entertainment, the prestige, or because our mothers told us we should. We need to learn what the Bible says. Not just in bits and pieces but as a complete narrative. We need to understand that the Bible tells a story of Creation, Fall, and Redemption.  We need to understand how our belief in Christ fits into this story. How can we ask any unbeliever to embrace the Word if we haven’t done it ourselves?

Basically, Rice’s accusations should serve as an impetus for a personal inventory. The Body of Christ needs to examine itself to see where we fall short. We should strive to walk closer to Christ than ever before. To some degree I can identify with what Rice is saying. When I was a new believer I boldly told people that while I followed Christ I did not consider myself a Christian. I was afraid to be associated with how the world perceived my religion. I didn’t want to be associated with the shortcomings and the failures of those Christians who had come before me. As I matured in my faith; however, I realized that if I walked away from those failures, I was walking away from an amazing story of redemption. In the midst of such human stupidity there are amazing examples of Christ-likeness within the body of His Church. It is edifying to be associated with such people as Mother Teresa, C.S. Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, and … well, I could create quite the list. My point is this – no Christian is perfect. The global Church certainly isn’t perfect. We have made many mistakes that the world often refuses to overlook. Who can blame them when they are simply mirroring the attitudes that far too often we display ourselves? If we want the world to take us seriously, we must love them as Christ loved them; we must extend His comfort, forgiveness, and love to a world that does not know Him. We must live with integrity and exude the scent of Christ everywhere we go. Finally, we must study His Word and know what it is we believe.

Maybe then, the Anne Rice’s of the world will feel comfortable calling themselves Christian.

“The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith,” said Hume. “He is said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of redemption and forgiveness offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger is, ‘Tiger turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

Hume’s comments were made on the show Fox News Sunday when a member of the shows panel predicted Woods would rebound from his current mess and win the Masters tournament in 2010. Hume’s words have been interpreted by some as inappropriate proselytizing and by others as disparaging to Buddhists in a firestorm of responses across the blogosphere.

This story caught my attention because Hume was involved. While I did not watch him a great deal during his career at the Fox News anchor desk, I was impressed by the story he revealed in the course of his retirement. Hume related how he had turned to Christianity in the wake of his son’s tragic death and how he hoped to spend more time serving Christ in his retirement. His testimony caught my eye. I was impressed that a prominent figure such as Hume was willing to share his faith to a nationwide audience. Hume seemed to me to be a genuine and honest person at the time.

In light of his past, I doubt Hume was in any way trying to insult or degrade Buddhists with his comments.  In fact, I am a little stunned that his words were perceived that way. In fact, his comments seem fairly accurate. In the course of criticizing Hume, Buddhist writer Barbara O’Brian writes that that the concept of sin is foreign to Buddhism. While forgiveness from one person to another may be a part of a Buddhist’s faith, there is no concept of divine forgiveness in Buddhism. Christ’s take on sin was a little different … in fact; one of the things that irked the Jewish leaders of the day was that Jesus dared to forgive sins:

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5: 20-21, NIV)

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7: 48-49, NIV)

It seems as if Hume was accurate when he said Buddhism doesn’t offer the kind of redemption and forgiveness offered by Christ. Buddhism’s claim that there is no sin makes it clear there is a huge difference on the issue between the two faiths. Hume was right to claim the two faiths are different (there’s no denying they are), but his words were taken as insulting because they were unsolicited. Proselytizing has been given a negative connotation in our modern culture because it is assumed the act is unwanted by the recipient. It is viewed by most as being forced on the recipient against his or her wishes. In that regard, Hume did offer unsolicited advice for Tiger Woods. According to most people, this fact alone places Hume in a bad light; this is a shame, however, because in my experience, some of the best advice I ever received was unsolicited.  

In a perfect world and circumstance a Christian will have the opportunity to forge a relationship with a person before sharing Christ with them. In the absence of that relationship, it is too easy to interpret proselytizing in a negative light. Hume shared his faith with Tiger outside of a caring relationship and on such a public stage that it was too easy for others to misconstrue what he was trying to do. It’s important to remember; however, that we are not always presented with a perfect situation. Sometimes, as Christians, we have to take the best shot we have and share Christ in spite of the backlash. Hume took that chance and for that should be respected.

Criticize Hume if you must … but how awesome would it be if Tiger did turn to Christ in his darkest moments? What if he did become a Christian and use his faith to inspire countless fans and youth? We’ve all been in Tiger’s shoes in some way or another. The enemy loves to expose and embarrass us. The enemy loves to drag us through the gutter whether we deserve it or not. In Christ, there is a clear path to turn darkness into light. It is up to us to flip the switch.

I’m all for free-thinking and I am fairly certain God is as well. My common response to the question of why a good God would allow anyone to go to Hell is that He obviously thinks it is important for people to be free to reject Him. I believe that free-thinking is an inalienable, God-given right. I also believe that stupidity of this nature should be exposed and confronted.

One of the goals of the Center for Inquiry as presented on their website is to end the stigma attached to being a nonbeliever. I’m all for that goal as stated. I believe that atheists are every bit a creation of God as I am; however, I believe that competitions such as the “blasphemy challenge” reveal more about the organization than they will ever admit. I suspect their real goals are less about ending the stigma attached to nonbelievers and more about reattaching that stigma to Christians. The competition is unproductive, divisive and should be an insult to all free-thinkers … religious or not.

Perhaps my perspective is a little skewed. I’m in favor of both Christ and science. Obviously, I am a Christian. I believe that the Bible is inspired and fully confess a belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am also a fan of science. Perhaps due to all the episodes of Star Trek I’ve watched in my life I am a huge proponent of space travel. I can get lost for hours looking at the images of space that NASA provides on their website. Also, I lost a mother to cancer and have a child with type one diabetes and a step son with epilepsy, so I get a little jazzed up anytime the news reports that scientists are one step closer to curing these and other diseases. Simply put, science is cool.

I do not believe; however, that science and faith-based religions are at odds.

I think atheists are out of line when they suggest that faith should play no part in science; rather, I feel that faith should be the driving force behind science. Let me explain. To be human is to be curious. The human race is born with an innate desire to explore and learn. We are programmed to ask really big questions. This programming, much like our innate moral code, comes from somewhere beyond ourselves; I would suggest the possibility that it comes from God. Dawkins and his kind suggest we should stop short of asking the really big questions. It is okay to ask how the human machine works or how it came to be what it is, but the second we ask “who” put the machine in motion, atheists slam on the brakes and tell us we’ve gone too far. I’m sorry, but if science is unwilling to even entertain the big questions, I want new scientists.

For example, when I look at look at a great piece of art, I can study its lines, shape, and composition for awhile, but eventually I’m going to want to know who painted it. To become truly intimate with a piece of music, you must eventually come to know the composer. Who was she? What type of mood was she in when she wrote it? Of what culture did she belong? Without asking these questions, we might as well examine art with our eyes half shut.

In all honesty, I don’t expect science to answer all of the big questions. Along with our innate curiosity, we are also born with a certain uncertainty about life after death and God. Christ has eased many of these fears for me, but I would be lying if I told you all my questions have been answered. It might be a little idealistic to believe that science can answer all of these questions; however, it is inspiring to know that every time there is a scientific breakthrough, we are one step closer to understanding our creator. I believe science has a high purpose that is encouraged by God. Scientific proof may not be required to believe in God, but if God is real, He can teach us and speak to us in a variety of ways including the Bible, His creation, and science.

It might surprise you to know that students in the United States currently rank 29th amongst other developed countries in science education. Atheists tell us we shouldn’t allow the big questions that concern creation in the classroom. Perhaps if we were able to ask those big questions and hint at the possibility of a God, our children would be inspired to accomplish more.

• The survey revealed that the majority of Christians believe that the Holy Spirit and Satan are just symbols of good and evil forces rather than living creatures.
• In addition, almost 30% of Christians seem to doubt that the Bible is accurate in the principles that it teaches.
• Nearly 40% of Christians seem to think that Christ sinned while he walked among us.

The results listed above astound me because they clash with core teachings of Christ and the Holy Scriptures. I can understand when Christians differ on some matters. For instance, some Christians feel you should only attend church wearing a jacket and tie while others prefer a more casual “come as you are” setting. Some Christians prefer traditional hymns while others like contemporary worship songs. Some Christians teach that one should never drink alcohol while others think there’s nothing wrong with taking an occasional nip. This kind of stuff doesn’t really matter to me because they are matters of opinion. I have no problem worshiping Christ alongside someone who has different opinions than I do. Heck, even the apostles occasionally disagreed with each other, but they didn’t let their differences cause them to stumble in their devotion to Jesus. I do not have to totally agree with someone in order to call them my brother or sister in Christ. The above statistics, however, hint that Christians are in doubt concerning core doctrinal beliefs that are clearly presented in the Bible. This is something entirely different than disagreeing with me … it is disagreeing with Christ!

I guess the question is, “Does it really matter?”

My answer would be an emphatic yes! Don’t get me wrong, I think Christians are often prone to drawing inflexible boundaries around issues that are of secondary importance to the Gospel. I hate to see Christians who are unable to set aside matters of opinion and worship Christ as brothers. For instance, I have heard one Christian recently (and repeatedly) tell the story of a heathen who dared enter a church wearing a hat in 1955. I mean really, get over it already! Disagreeing over matters of little importance distract us from Christ’s message and presents a poor front to the non-believers who are always watching us. Issues like those listed above are different. They strike at the very core of what Christ taught us. If we begin to doubt the principles presented in the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the sinless [God] nature of Christ; we are doubting the very things that Christ confirmed in the lessons He taught us. When we begin to doubt things like this, we are telling Christ that we don’t really believe or trust Him. If that’s the case, why are we calling ourselves Christians when there are plenty of alternative faiths in the world to explore? The nature of Christ is really quite simple. As C.S. Lewis put it, Jesus is either God or he is diabolical. Only a diabolical and evil person would claim to be God and intentionally mislead millions of people. You either believe him, or you don’t. There is no comfortable in between.

I have attended several different churches in my life. I have seen worship conducted in a variety of manners. I am comfortable worshiping with people that disagree with me on a variety of issues. I believe Christians should be wary not to be inflexible when they draw doctrinal boundaries. There are; however, certain beliefs that I feel no Christian should waiver on; such as:

• The Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit
• Jesus was both God and human
• The inerrant nature of the Scriptures in the original form (I will soon write a post on this one)
• Heaven and Hell as real and tangible places
• The existence of an enemy that is opposed to the will of our Father

Perhaps I would add more to the above list if given time, but you get my point. There are certain beliefs that make us Christians. Without them, we are no different than anyone else.

The Importance of Knowing What You Believe

The above mentioned survey also revealed that Christians are deeply confused about their beliefs. For instance, half of the Christians who stated they didn’t believe in Satan also claim to believe that people could be under the influence of Demons. What? This is more than illogical, it is inane. Even more confounding is that one third of the Christians who claimed the Bible, Koran and Book of Mormon all teach the same truths also claim that the Bible is inerrant. This is hard to believe because even a passing knowledge of the listed texts reveal dramatic differences in their teachings. It really is astounding how confused and unlearned many Christians have become.

I profoundly believe that it is important for Christians to know what they belive in order to represent Christ well. Our faith is under attack continuously by those that don’t believe and it is important that we are able to defend it intelligently. I understand that people are wired differently. Some really enjoy digging into the Scriptures and studying them while others just have no interest or talent in that pursuit. This is where community becomes important. It is important that Christians get plugged into an environment with a knowledgeable pastor that can teach the truths that are revealed in Scripture. Even those of us that enjoy studying the Bible on our own should recognize the importance of maintaining a dialogue with other Bible scholars so that we aren’t led astray. Studying the Scriptures is much like a science in that not just anyone can do it. There is more to studying the word of God than just a daily devotional. If a Christian isn’t willing or able to put in  the time necessary to learn the principles of studying Scripture and then applying them, they should be willing to find a pastor who is. Pastors should then recognize the incredible responsibility and importance of the task in front of them. Our teaching pastors should be educated and disciplined in the science of studying and communicating Scriptures. I’m not trying to disrespect the volunteer pastors who feel they are called to evangelize and preach … there are many small congregations that rely on these volunteers, but whenever a congregation has the opportunity, they should turn to a professional and educated pastor to teach the Scriptures.

I guess I am calling on pastors everywhere to recognize how confused Christians are and to do their best to fix it. Meanwhile, I am calling on Christians to quit learning what they believe from the History Channel, the SciFi Channel, and Dan Brown books. Either study the Word of God or get in touch with someone who does!

It really does matter what we believe.