What do You Believe Deep Down in Your Soul?
"God Hates You" ???
Wow, I can barely wait to hear more...
Imagine what it must feel like to have those words stab your soul?
We all know that words can be extremely brutal and wound people to their core. If we can be hurt by a loved one’s or close friend’s slight off-handed comments, imagine what an onslaught of rejection and hatred by a group of people who claim to speak for God can do to a person.
My good friend Hump sent the following to me earlier today.
Now, I imagine any decent citizen with any degree of compassion can see how this is extremely sick and simply nonsensical. I imagine this has little to do about God and more about some pyscho-maniac’s ego. This is simply and plea for attention from someone with a warped, distorted, and demented sense of God and self.
Hate and fear that has not been transformed by love will continually transmitted and projected on to someone.
But how often is the message of "God Hates You" sent intentionally or unintentionally in subtle degrees by people in the church by their words and actions toward others.
Why all the hate and fear?
It doesn’t transform hearts and the worlds.
It doesn’t lead to repentance, just ask Jesus.
Why are parts of the church so afraid of love?
Is it because we are afraid that love cannot truly redeem and transform a person’s heart and the world?
I hear more talk from parts of the church about sin than I do love, why?
The only thing I can think of is that deep down parts of the church are afraid; afraid that someone may skate by on the message of God’s grace as if we somehow are the gatekeepers for God. Seems like God's grace has reached all of humanity through the arms of Jesus.
Deep down do we believe in the God revealed in the face of Jesus?
Deep down do we really believe that love heals, restores, transforms, redeems, renews and resurrects life?
Do we really believe it... deep down in our soul?
18 Comments:
Phelps really is a piece of work. Within the past couple years, he's made stops here to Colorado Springs to picket Focus on the Family for being too liberal. Whaaaaa???
I wish there were some shorthand to say, "I'm Christian, but I'm not THAT kind of Christian."
The weird thing is, Jesus really didn't care for the Pharisees of His day. Those who followed the law perfectly, encouraged others to do so, and condemned others really bugged Jesus. Folks like these are today's Pharisees and they are still bugging Jesus.
hi Rick
thanks AGAIN for the message of love here.
I used a quote from here over at my place today.
As I've said earlier - we are afraid to love, and to bring a message of love, it's as if it's a watering down of the Gospel somehow.
God hates sin, but loves the sinner. It's been said over and over, it's what He demonstrated, yet somehow -along the way - we've fallen into the trap that the Pharisees did. As Becky wrote - they are still bugging Jesus and ironically He loves them anyway.
Somehow for me though the religious know it alls are the hardest of all to love :(
Lord have mercy on me!
Becky,
"Jesus really didn't care for the Pharisees of His day," but He cared about them. Otherwise, why would he keep on bugging them?
When I first came across this group, my heart was broken. Their website is so full of hate it just blows my mind. It's "christians" like this that Paul talked about in Romans 2: "For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."
How so very sad.
B~
Lorna had some confusion about who I meant when I wrote "this group," so I wanted to clear that up. I was referring to the church in Kansas with the"God hates you" signs. Their website itself is hard to explain, or comprehend.
B~
Fear sells more capably, more effeciently, and with more long-lasting repercussions than love will ever be able to do. Even on Valentine's Day, fear of either being forgotten or doing the forgetting is a big motivating factor in sales on that day (not to mention the fear-enduced guilt of seeking forgiveness for a wrong done to another).
Love is hard. Fear is easy. But love we must, since it's worth everything, as fear is worthless.
Hi Rick, you know I am fighting my own battle in my own church and appreciate your words of compassion. I have not even broached the topic of the suffering of gay people among the strictly orthodox. I do not dare. No compassion whatsoever.
thanks for always bringing it back to love. you've had a lot of barbs thrown at you over the past few months, and i guess that should be expected, but you always bring it back to love.
and that my friend, makes you all that.
and a bag of chips.
peace from the so i go guy.
I feel sick reading the words "God Hates You". I really do.
Thank you Rick, for counter-balancing that sick feeling I just got.
I can't imagine anything hurting me more than believing that God no longer loved me, let alone hated me.
How much harm has been done trying to explain that God "feels" in a way that is totally foreign to him. I do believe in the power and healing of love, but I am afraid I sometimes put limitations on it.
I have this naive idea that in the end we won't see the fruit of love.
Nor will we see the fruit of justice.
We will see the fruit of both combined.
And that is the paradox.
Is it because we are afraid that love cannot truly redeem and transform a person’s heart and the world?
I think the reason we're afraid to love is because we fear it will change us. We all understand that love carries a cost, that love - the transforming, redeeming, renewing and resurrecting kind of love - will turn our lives upside-down, not to mention inside-out.
And I've got my hands full at work right now and the kids have something on every night this week and I have to get the car into the shop - was my drycleaning ready on Thursday or Friday? - and I still have to. . .
I mean, don't be messin' my life up with that 'love' stuff.
And not to be too hard on most folks I have to point out that there's a case to be made for saying that the place most people live out the kind of love you describe is in their living rooms; that is, in their families and in their marriages.
Abominations like Phelps, on the other hand, don't want to love simply because there's not enough room in their heart for someone else and their hate.
The irreverent Phelps has been a blight on America for a long time. He picketed one of the most Conservative (and legalistic) churches in Sacramento last year, which summed up where he's at. When you are the the far right of the far right you are in the Land of Discordia. Phelps is not a Christian and I don't have any qualms about saying so (even though it is probably the one thing I have almost never said about anyone). The "God Hates F*GS" movement he heads has about as much significance as a news conference with David Duke, Larry Flynt or Tonya Harding.
Outstanding comments. Thank you.
I was hesitant to mention this clown for it only gives attention to him. If folks would ignore him he may go away.
I agree, I don't think he is a Christian either.
I think the poor guy has never known the pure, whole, unconditional love of God.
Somebody should tell him the good news!
Lately this topic has been in many of my conversations. I have so many feelings about the story you shared. First and foremost, my husband is a United States Marine and I honestly don't know how I would act if we were at one of his friend's services and people came with signs to picket. I'd be so mad and angry, I'd have to pray that God would allow me to be civil with those people. Secondly, those people, however good they think their intentions are, are doing a diservice to those who don't know Christ. They are just reinforcing the hypocritical stereo type that most people have about Christians.
I just posted on how to truly love others, which you are right, it is all about love, we must SERVE others, putting others before ourselves.
This question has been lingering in my mind and still I fail to ask my soul. I can enumerate two things that my soul knows very well. The most important of them all is that God is good. This is simple and does not need a lot of explanations. I may not have a bountiful life, but I am blessed spiritually. Also, my soul consideres life as a passage, which will lead me to the eternal creator.
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