Catching Waves with Christ!

as_surf_bede_2048At first I thought this was a video of somebody mocking Christianity.

If only that were the case.

As it turns out, we do the best parody of ourselves.

If this was all I knew about Christianity, I’d be an atheist.

It’s no wonder people don’t take Christianity seriously.

Apparently, nothing calls sinners to repentance or preaches Christ crucified [1] like a cowabunga beach party.

No, I haven’t contacted the people behind this video. Nor do I plan to. Romans 16:17 comes to mind, as does the Large Catechism:

All this has been said regarding secret sins. But where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it, you can without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard against it.

There’s no shortage of theological excrement in the church today. But unless we learn to smell it, people will keep on mistaking it for chocolate and eating it up.

Christ cannot be the foundation of any school that would present itself in this way, even if they talk about Jesus and have the word “Lutheran” in their name. How you act is a reflection of what you believe (Matthew 12:33). Sadly, what was intended as a joke [2] could end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Yes, Jesus is mentioned in the video—any false teacher worth his salt will have the appearance of religiosity. Remember, wolves dress in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15) and Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Of course, false teachers may not recognize themselves as such and may even think they’re doing the work of Christ (Matthew 7:22-23).

This organization’s theology is foreign to Christ and the Scriptures. The way in which Christ is approached here (i.e., the irreverent setting and behavior) is directly at odds with the way Christ is approached in Scripture (Isaiah 6:5; Luke 5:8; Revelation 1:17). In short, what we have here is both a false anthropology and a false Christology, to say nothing of an implicit disdain for the liturgy.

Given the choice between the two, talking about Jesus wrongly is worse than not talking about Him at all. No doctrine is better than false doctrine.[3] This place would be better off sticking with the waves and leaving theology to the professionals.

 

[1] Repentance and grace will always be at the heart of genuine Christian education.

[2] And not a very good one, at that. How could someone possibly mistake a Lutheran school (in Michigan) for a surf school?

[3] Again, given the choice between the two.

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