Re(3): On tolerance

Thank you for answering my questions. I wanted to find out where you were coming from before I influenced you with any opinions I might hold. As you may have suspected, I come from a slightly different angle. I do not deny that there is not a certain amount of self-righteousness that goes on in the Christian community. Further, I have not had the same life experiences you have had, or observed the same cross-section of people you have observed, so I will not presume to speak on your behalf. This being said, I will attempt to explain the conclusions at which I have arrived, based on my own observations.

As I stated, I do not deny that there are not abuses that take place in the church, and not just self-righteousness either. However, I would like to believe that these cases do not represent the vast majority of Christians, but rather reflect a small, though no less troublesome, exception to the rule. We all know that it takes "just one bad apple to spoil the bunch," or as someone has wryly noted, "No matter what side you are on, there are always those you wish were on the other side." Further, when these sorts of situations come up, we are wise not to "sweep them under the rug," but to deal with them prayerfully: denial of a problem never gets anyone anywhere.

On the other hand, I think we need to be cautious not to unduly malign our fellow brothers and sisters, particularly when we do so in the public spotlight. I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the church at Corinth: [speaking of public lawsuits taken to court among non-believers] "Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" (1 Corinthians 6:4-7).

It has also been my observation that the vast majority of the programming on Christian radio has been very fair, balanced, and a real encouragement and breath of fresh air. I have heard very little that constituted "self-righteous garbage." Most was very intelligent, well researched, and highly relevant to the lives of everyday believers. I suppose this could vary from station to station and program to program, though I don't think abuses of Christianity is the norm in Christian broadcasting.

Please don't get me wrong, Tony. I am not condemning you for the stance you have taken. However, I am aware that this forum is in the public domain and can read by any and all who come surfing in off the web. For their sakes and the sake of clarity, I want to provide the other side of the issue. I am the sort of individual who is always trying to see the other perspective, to try to accurately access the "big picture" as much as is possible, and to carefully and prayerfully think before I speak or write. I don't want to be naively positive, yet I am optimistic about the future and try to access reality as realistically as possible. Balance is probably my single biggest objective: as those who know me well can attest, "balance" is a key word with me—an overarching goal I strive for to the very best of my ability, followed closely by accuracy and fair-mindedness in speech, action, and research.

You certainly couldn't be more correct in what you say about our need for the Savior. While I believe, humanly speaking, there is much good in most people, not one—no, not one single one of us measures up to the standard set by our Heavenly Father; our righteousness is as mere filthy rags in light of such a holy and pure Being. You are also correct to say that we will never earn or buy our salvation. It is through faith by grace alone that we are saved, and this so that no man can boast.

As to my own thoughts on why people behave in self-righteous ways: I think it is often a complicated combination of factors and beyond the scope of this post to address fully. Chief among these, however—aside from an improper understanding of the Scriptures—is an underlying insecurity and uncertainty of their own status in the eyes of God. Closely related to this syndrome are people who act as though they have "one up" on everyone, their superiority complexes making everyone a little ill at ease, as all the while, they desperately hope they won't be "found out." Why would they need to show themselves superior if they were not first trying to compensate for feelings of inferiority? I have often said, "Show me the most arrogant man you can find, and I'll show you a man haunted by a low self-esteem." (If the term "self-esteem" isn't to your flavor, substitute in "insecurity" or similar synonym.)

In his excellent book Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?, John Powell devotes Chapter Six to a "Catalog of Games and Roles" that people play. Under the entry "prejudice and bigotry" he writes:


Whether or not you or my other readers see the fit between this description and self-righteousness, I think insecurity is at the heart of most forms of behavioral excess, a syndrome we all suffer from to some degree or another, be that in the church or without. At its root, I think it stems from the very "sin problem" of which you imply in your discourse on the Savior, which gives us a sound explanation for why we all feel such insecurity at times. It is never a pleasant task when dealing with people who are caustic or abrasive, though it does help, I believe, to be able to take a step back and try to identify where the source of the immediate problem originates—to put ourselves in the shoes of the other as best we can. Generally, the uglier someone is acting on the outside, the more in need of love they are on the inside, which goes back to your advocacy of love. As difficult as it seems, sermons rarely help us when we act like this: we who are secretly dying inside, so hungry for love we push everyone away, often unwilling or unable to admit our own vulnerabilities even to ourselves. We are to be pitied, not scorned.

And yes, you are quite right. Christ Himself says that others will recognize us, His disciples, by our love: love is the very fundamental element of Christianity and what most sets it apart from all its rivals on the religious marketplace. No other religion in the world centers around a God who cared so much that He would—indeed, did—willingly die for those who deserved nothing but what they had coming to them. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) didn't do that. Neither Allah nor his prophet Mohammed did that. Paganism admires its heroes and heroines of courage and valor, pantheism doesn't even embrace the notion of a transcendent deity . . . no other religion in the world centers on a story that is at once both so hideous and grotesque, yet so beautiful—the ultimate paradox of the God who became flesh and made His dwelling among us in the most blessed act of love the world has ever witnessed.

In summary, I would like to believe that those Christians who do not act in accordance with the love afforded them are the exception and not the rule, that though churches are organizations of people, and they will always have problems simply because they are made up of people, (for people always have problems, and some people and churches undoubtedly more so than others)—that despite all the many limitations of the flesh and all the many setbacks, that we are still a church triumphal who will raise the victory banner high, proclaiming the Gospel message to a lost and dying world. We cannot ignore the problems in our midst, but in the same breath we are not to make too much of them either, particularly in the public market place where it is a common excuse—the recitation of a "well-rehearsed" line provided by media bias, to use Powell's description—to dismiss Christians as a bunch of narrow-minded, self-righteous bigots and to caricaturize them as such. I, for one, do not believe this is the guiding rule of the church international at all—I don't think it is an accurate reflection of most Christians—and I don't intend to give Satan (or anyone else) any extra ammunition by multiplying my voice on top of it all. Through my newsletters, it is my prayer that I encourage Christians to take thought of their actions, while showing non-Christians a caring and Godly influence: implicit in all of this is that I do not believe this sort of behavior is the guiding norm. I will identify specific instances of abuse to be certain, just as I did in this article about the minority group of Christians who disrespected the group of pagans, for these examples are already under the scrutiny of the public eye, already sowing seeds of discord and destruction.

In the meantime, we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, are to be patient, striving to be fair, accepting what is good, rejecting what is not, setting our eyes on what is ahead, forgetting what is behind, and straining toward the prize, toward the sound of "Well done, good and faithful servant. Well done! Come, enter into the happiness and glory of thy Master."

I hope this clarifies my own thoughts somewhat without causing offense, for I mean none. I debated on even voicing my perspective, but decided, after much deliberation, that it would be prudent to do so for the benefit of all. Say, and you never mentioned any more information on your RADICAL outreach, either. How is that coming along? I hope you didn't think I was trying to belittle you: I was asking a sincere question. I think your desire and willingness to take a stand for Christ and to exemplify what it means to truly be a man of God speaks volumes for your character. Keep the faith, brother, and don't let my opinions sway you in your convictions: continue to do what God would have you to do; continue to be who God would have you to be. As for long-haired, Christian "hippies" like me? Take what we say with a grain of salt. :)

God bless,
Eric