Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Hollywood Faith
Chaplain Mike:
There is little I hate more in life than lies. Recall the days of when I weighed over 400 pounds. I had a denial of sorts going on in my life - I paid little attention to many of the effects it had, but I could never bring myself to say "I'm not that big."
I think that is where the church is - we keep saying "Jesus" over and over so we figure we are not lying. But by failing to examine the ramifications of what we do, we fail to notice that we are lying. We are trying to live like normal people when we are bloated and fat. Denial is a form of lying.
We need to learn to hate these lies. Christianity is not a fantasy into which we escape - it is a reality - what more it is the only reality that makes life here bearable.
In the cartoon world of contemporary American evangelicalism, it’s all about bigger, better, and simpler. Help folks think their dreams can come true. Create “moments” for people in the congregation that they will never forget, that will “bless” families in safe and sanitized settings. Remove the messiness and reality of day to day life. Instead, put a sentimental, heart-tugging version of life up on the screen and make people feel it. Embrace the possibilities.I agree, but that seems to be a rare sentiment. People want disnefied faith or we would not be offering it.
Evangelicalism has become “Disney-ized.”
[...]
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to the faith, I want the real thing, not a Disney caricature.
There is little I hate more in life than lies. Recall the days of when I weighed over 400 pounds. I had a denial of sorts going on in my life - I paid little attention to many of the effects it had, but I could never bring myself to say "I'm not that big."
I think that is where the church is - we keep saying "Jesus" over and over so we figure we are not lying. But by failing to examine the ramifications of what we do, we fail to notice that we are lying. We are trying to live like normal people when we are bloated and fat. Denial is a form of lying.
We need to learn to hate these lies. Christianity is not a fantasy into which we escape - it is a reality - what more it is the only reality that makes life here bearable.
Technorati Tags:lies, reality
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
