Should the Church Apologize?

It seems that the latest fad is for churches to apologize for hypocrisy, racism, the Crusades, burning heretics and generally being self-righteous jerks. Well, count me out.

I well remember, as a young preacher, talking with an older mentor about some complaint I had with the church for which I was preaching. He said, “Dwight, remember that the church is made up of people, and people don’t always act right. The church Jesus built is perfect.”

That set the course for my attitude for the rest of my life. The church need not apologize to anyone. Some folks in the church probably need to make amends and the sooner the better. I may be one of them but I can only speak for myself.

Anyway, who has the authority to speak for the church? The last I checked Jesus is the only head of the church both in heaven and on earth. The headquarters are wherever He is, not some lovely and ancient city in Italy. I don’t think He would take kindly to me or anyone else speaking on His behalf. You guys who are going around making apologies better shut up and repent…you are overstepping your boundaries!

Furthermore, it was not the church that sliced, diced and fried its enemies. It was a political group under the guise of the church but bearing very little resemblance to it. That counterfeit “church” is guilty, but not the one Jesus built.

Is Christianity the Cause of Wars?

It gets very old hearing that Christianity is the cause of wars.  If we define Christianity as any group of people who claim to follow Christ, the accusation may be true.  But if we are talking about the actual followers of Christ the claim can never be true.

To follow Christ, the Prince of Peace, is to walk in His footsteps.  It is to apply His teachings and the teachings of His apostles to every aspect of our lives.  There is no excuse for the crusades and other political wars fought in the guise of Christianity by the ignorant and misguided.  The Kingdom of God is enlarged by persuasion, not coercion.  Christ-followers pray for their enemies and win them over by love, respect and service.

I am tempted to belabor this point with a bunch of scripture quotations (the source or our worldview as Christ-followers) but nearly everyone has access to the New Testament and can do their own searching.

You’ll find a lot of fighting in the Old Testament.  These incidents, however, fall into the category of God-sanctioned punishment, defense and survival.  Often, Israel was punished for disobedience (idolatry, debauchery, injustice, etc.) by infidel armies from surrounding nations.  They were preceded by prophetic warnings.  As they conquered Canaan, they were the instrument of punishment (Leviticus 18:24-28).

Don’t make the mistake of buying-in to the rant of those who parrot the nonsense they hear elsewhere.  The teachings of Christ and His apostles comprise the only hope for peace in this fallen, war-torn world.

Writing Blogs I Will Actually Read

This blog is where I make an occasional rant that readers should take for what it’s worth…which may not be much. For example, what follows is not one of my “spiritual” compositions…it’s just whining and complaining.

So, okay…I’ve been trying to catch up on my blog reading. Sometimes I start and then just decide I can’t spend the energy. So, If you want me to read what you write, here are some suggestions.

One, keep it short. I just don’t have time to read a chapter unless it is really, really compelling.

Two, use paragraphs for goodness sake! Every professional will tell you that paragraphs break up the reading into digestable bits. If you write everything into one block…I will most likely skip it.

Three, try to use decent grammar. If you are going to use incorrect grammar, make sure it is on purpose. As Carl Sandburg (who knew the rules of grammar quite well) said, “I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.” Poor, unintentional, grammar discredits you instantly.

For, Hay — use the rite word and learn to spel. I can’t stand it when peeple misspel stuf. I’ll bet you feel the same way to. I start reeding one of those and cant continue because of there terribel speling. And, don’t trust your spell-checker. Here’s why:

I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC
It plainly marks for my revue
Mistakes I cannot sea
I’ve run this poem threw it
I’m sure your please to no,
It’s letter perfect in it’s weigh
My checker tolled me sew
— anonymous

5, use hole words. I no u can do it. Y would u use letters when u cn use wrds? And skip the smiley faces, OK? Blogging is not texting.

Six, if you want me to read your stuff, tell me somewhere who you are. When I stumble on a new blog that seems interesting, I want to know something about who wrote it. Put an “about” button somewhere so I can see what you look like, where you live, what you do for a crust, and so forth. Since I write and read gardening blogs, it is especially important. Where do you garden? What’s the climate like? What’s your soil like?

Seven, don’t write until you have something to say. Don’t blog just because you have one. It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” Amen.

Okay, there you have it. I feel better already.