The Christian Evangelical Know-It-Alls (The Jews for Jesus are in there, too).
So, I doubt there's anyone who does/can read this blog that has not heard "The Good News" that Jesus asked his disciples to spread (Mark 16:15). Most of me believes that if Jesus existed that there's a chance he was a reasonable person... he asked this shortly after the resurrection, so, chances are that, yeah, a healthy handful of people hadn't heard.
It's been a while since then though, don't you think?
I actually believe you would be hard pressed to find a person in a civilized society who has NOT heard the story of Jesus. These mission groups that I tend to hear about are mostly off to places that, again, have HEARD it. Sometimes I think it's an excuse to go to Europe rather than passing out The New Testament. The people I hear about going to less civilized parts of, say, Africa are not evangelists.
And, besides, Jesus doesn't seem to be asking that you badger people. He simply asks us to tell the news of what has occurred. He said nothing about putting religious tracts in Jewish books in public bookstores (this actually happened... I was in B&N a year or two ago and found a religious tract about The Truth in Christ in a Torah handbook) or repeatedly sending messages about how He died for you to people who are merely of a quieter denomination of Christians. The way I read that simple verse is that he asked that the disciples tell the story... it's up to the person listening as to what he or she wishes to do with the tale.
Sometimes I feel people just need an excuse to behave badly, or to have a righteous cause, or to feel like they know something that you don't. Now, I'm not trying to say that I'm against people sharing their opinions... I genuinely enjoy discussions of religious differences. I appreciate new perspectives or old convictions. Still, I'd rather people engage into this sort of discussion due to mutual interests in sharing and understanding one another rather than viewing the goal to be changing the other person's mind.
We hear incredible stories about the lengths these radical evangelicals go to all the time... that little squabble we refer to as The Crusades to con artists making use of Gd and the general kindness of people to get what they want to the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on your door. I, however, heard for the first time toady of Christian Magicians that magic their way into converting you.
The article was published late last year about The Fellowship of Christian Magicians. After reading the article, it seems to me that the writer is more upset about the gimic, the method that is needed to get people to see The Truth. I think it's a little worse than that. I'll illustrate:
Apparently, one of these magicians performs this quarter trick to make his point...
He calls some kid on stage and asks that kid to mark a quarter. That quarter is meant to symbolize the kid's life. He mixes some mumbo jumbo on how precious that life is, the quarter represents a treasure, blah blah... Then the magician brings out a silver cube. The cube represents Gd's will for that specific child's life. He then asks the naturally curious child if he/she wishes to see what's inside the cube. Of course, the kid says that yes, that would be nice, thank you. Only, there's a catch! The magician explains that if the kid wants to know what's in the box, he must give up his "life" to Gd. He then asks the poor kid again what his choice is now.
My fantasy is that, once in a while, a kid takes his quarter back and walks off the stage. But, no, like most innocents, he knew that the magician wanted The Right Answer not a Reasonable Answer for a kid who is just getting used to the idea of how great life can be. The kid says he'll give it up, and then he is permitted to open the box. In a small series of little boxes packed in like Matryoshka dolls, the child finds his/her marked quarter and another unmarked quarter. The kid gazes in open-mouthed amazement while the magician explains that when you give your life to Gd, Gd returns it to you to use for Him.
How convenient. Show them how to give it up and get it back. Aside from failing to make your point, you might as well be the Easter bunny. All we do is go to church and then the basket of chocolate eggs will be waiting back home.
I chuckle at the quote in the article to follow this charming little story:
Pulling biblical lessons out of a hat may seem forced, but as the website of the ministry Seeing Is Not Believing puts it, "Many people will come to see a woman get cut in half that would never set foot in a church building otherwise."
-Catherine Price
I don't know why it doesn't occur to people that maybe church isn't for everyone. Especially after going for years and years, I think most of us need a spiritual break. We've heard it all over and over and OVER again. Repetition, from my own humble experience, only goes so far. We're not reinterpreting the message to the times, to who we become as we age, or even really just thinking about what has been written, when, and why. I'm not bugged by the magicians because of the gimic and the new level to which evangelism has descended... it was only a matter of time before drawing out news everyone has heard resorts to a Dancing Bear act to keep your interest. I'm bothered that they think they can prove to unsuspecting children that Gd exists or has a plan for their lives at all. Faith, like love, arrives when it does and not a moment or a hat trick sooner. Isn't there a verse about that? (Well, Solomon 8:4 discusses that love cannot be awakened until it is... I feel the same way about faith... even from the faith verses once peruses, The Bible gives the benefits of faith rather than a prescription for getting it).
Here is the link to the article: Christian Magicians: Do you believe in magic?
(I got a little cranky after the first page of this four page article...)
There are just so many of us and time changes everything... do we really possess the audacity to believe that a single one of us has it all figured out?
All our "magic tricks" are just that. Who's going to be there for that kid when he or she finds out how the magician did it? Where's the little box representing and proving that Gd is not responsible for our stupid ideas? For our deceptions? For how we manipulate the innocent or harass the VERY well-informed?
1 comment:
Quick story. My father speaks Romanian. He was approached by a man who asked him to help translate something into Romanian. Naturally curious, my father asked what the document was and for what purpose he needed it translated. The man responded that it is a religious text his mission group would be using to help convert Romanians to a true Christianity. My father asked the man if he knew that Romania had its own orthodox church that is one of the oldest in Europe. The man responded that he did not see Romanians as true Christians. My father refused to translate the document.
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