Am I Offended?
I make no secret that I consider my religion, New Testament Christianity, to be the truth and the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God. (Some of it is obviously symbolic and apocalyptic rather than literal and other sections are limited in their application, but all of its moral commands and statements of doctrine are true.) I also make no secret of the fact that I consider other religions to be simply wrong at best, though I do hold Judaism near and dear to my heart as a true but incomplete revelation of God.
Alot of people disagree with my beliefs and that is their right, both legally and morally. God will deal with those who believed false religions and the New Testament instructs me to let God, Who knows the heart, handle it.
Am I offended when a Jew, Muslim or follower of another religion proclaims that Jesus is not the Son of God. Not really. That is what their religion believes and they are simply being true to it. Now I am offended when a supposed Christian, wearing a cross and clerical collar and carrying a Bible, walks into a Christian pulpit or Christian Seminary and declares that Jesus is not the Son of God. I am not offended when an Atheist declares the Bible to be a lie because that is what Atheists believe and that is what I expect from them, but I am offended when "Christian" ministers and scholars say that it is a lie. What is offensive is that the person is trying to claim a title (Christian) that does not match what they believe and they are attacking the Church from the inside.
Was I offended when Mapplethorpe photographed an image of Christ in a container of his urine. Not really, I thought he was an idiot. The crucifix is simply a work of art and not confused with Christ Himself. The photograph said more about the artist than it said about my Lord.
I was offended that tax dollars paid for it.
I was not offended by the elephant dung Mary either, but again I was offended that tax dollars paid for it.
I am not offended by people who disagree with my religion and honestly say so, but I am offended by pretenders who take our symbols and name and then treat them as something false and unholy reflecting their unbelief, while pretending to believe. I am not offended by people who disagree with my politics, as I don't take it personally, but I am offended by those who resort to name-calling and bully-boy tactics to silence their opposition. I much prefer discussion based on facts and reasonable opinion to those who simply scream "Fascist" or "Pinko" without any consideration as to what those words actually mean.
I am not offended by those who artistically abuse the symbols of our faith. I am however offended when tax dollars will pay for these images and "art objects" but a public display of the 10 Commandments is not allowed.
Alot of people disagree with my beliefs and that is their right, both legally and morally. God will deal with those who believed false religions and the New Testament instructs me to let God, Who knows the heart, handle it.
Am I offended when a Jew, Muslim or follower of another religion proclaims that Jesus is not the Son of God. Not really. That is what their religion believes and they are simply being true to it. Now I am offended when a supposed Christian, wearing a cross and clerical collar and carrying a Bible, walks into a Christian pulpit or Christian Seminary and declares that Jesus is not the Son of God. I am not offended when an Atheist declares the Bible to be a lie because that is what Atheists believe and that is what I expect from them, but I am offended when "Christian" ministers and scholars say that it is a lie. What is offensive is that the person is trying to claim a title (Christian) that does not match what they believe and they are attacking the Church from the inside.
Was I offended when Mapplethorpe photographed an image of Christ in a container of his urine. Not really, I thought he was an idiot. The crucifix is simply a work of art and not confused with Christ Himself. The photograph said more about the artist than it said about my Lord.
I was offended that tax dollars paid for it.
I was not offended by the elephant dung Mary either, but again I was offended that tax dollars paid for it.
I am not offended by people who disagree with my religion and honestly say so, but I am offended by pretenders who take our symbols and name and then treat them as something false and unholy reflecting their unbelief, while pretending to believe. I am not offended by people who disagree with my politics, as I don't take it personally, but I am offended by those who resort to name-calling and bully-boy tactics to silence their opposition. I much prefer discussion based on facts and reasonable opinion to those who simply scream "Fascist" or "Pinko" without any consideration as to what those words actually mean.
I am not offended by those who artistically abuse the symbols of our faith. I am however offended when tax dollars will pay for these images and "art objects" but a public display of the 10 Commandments is not allowed.
posted by shoprat at 7:42 PM
5 Comments:
Well said, and is pretty much the way I see it also.
Great post.
And the whole tax dollars thing...yeah, I'm doubly with you on that.
Amen!!!!!!!
Absolutely!
I agree with you completely on my (our) tax dollars paying for this crap. Good point on display of the 10 Commandments.
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