Confronting those angry at Christianity

rageThere is no shortage of folks out there who are angry at the Church and at “Christianity” in general.  Where did these people come from?  What has caused such a rage and hatred for things.  There are some variations out there in cause.  Some, acting out of their hatred for God will hate anything to do with God – this is a theological truth.  There is also another crew of people out there, who still bear the sinful unbelieving hate for Christ, but they have additional scars as well.  These are the ones catechized by the “church” to eventually leave the church.  Others are angry because they have seen what has happened in the name of Christianity to this second group of angry folks.  They have seen the abuse in the name of “being the church” that has wrought such spiritual damage among the masses.

In his book “Broken” Pr. Fisk really does a good job in putting this second class of folks front and center.  He draws the connection between the fake and forged spirituality of most modern “Christians” and the natural end result of their erring theologies.  This is why I say that the angry ones were catechized to be that way.  Many times they have the same objections to the church that stream from the errors that were “sold” to them as Christian.  So claims of hypocrisy, freedom, boredom, and many other things fill the air, all the natural product of the errors promoted and embraced by most American churches.

So in an effort to confront this, I have begun to ask those who are angry at Christianity a simple question: “Are you sure you have been taught what real Christianity is?”  When confronting this anger, it is very important to remember that this is the product of error, it hurts people and kills faith in Christ.  They expect a fight, that is why there are venting their anger to you.  And they have been wronged.  False teachers have tore into their souls.  They have been spiritually abused, used up, marketed to unto death, and manipulated.  No wonder they are angry, the devil in churchly garb and lingo has damaged them.

Strangely enough, this has all happened in the wake of the church’s great zeal for missions and evangelism.  Nothing has been spared (including sound theology) in the past century in the name of evangelism, but that is the problem – the errors that were allowed into the church propagated themselves in the name of evangelism and now we have what most could call a “burned-over” nation.  People are tired, they have been abused long enough.  Evangelicalism has rotted the spiritual landscape and now created a generation of folks who were “evangelized” to death.

Is there a fix for this?  No fixes, just Christ.  These folks have been sold false Christs time and time again.  Let them meet the real Christ.  The many who have come in His name failed to bring Him with them in their mission.  Ask them, “Are you sure you have been taught what real Christianity is?”  Realize that they may not want to hear it (that is the real danger with error wrapped up in the veneer of truth – it ruins people, destroys them).  Help them to start to realize that false teachers have rendered this unto them in Christ’s name but neither by His command or in His stead.  In the end, invite them to partake in real Christianity, which seeks not to manipulate nor abuse them – but to grant restoration and healing to them in Christ.  Let the righteous anger you feel for those who have been abused in the name of “being the church” propel you compassionately to confront the abuse and call a spade a spade.  Lend an ear and let them hear a pure Gospel for a change.

 

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