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(04/23/10 3:22am)
A different kind of kvetching board made its way onto campus earlier this month. Cornerstone, a Christian student group, placed a blank board outside the Pit to allow students to write down the reasons why they are not Christians. The responses ranged from questions about hell to doubts about the veracity of the Bible. But two simple complaints were written most frequently: intolerance and hypocrisy.With those criticisms in mind, there is little surprise that last Easter’s Gallup Poll tracking religious identification posted record low numbers for Americans identifying themselves as “Christian” and record high numbers for those answering “None.”The ironic thing about most of the kvetches is that, were Jesus on Earth today, he probably would have written many of the same things.The Christian Church has unfortunately moved away from the core teachings of Christ, becoming intolerant and hypocritical. This is not a new idea; Mahatma Gandhi saw the same disparity between the life of Jesus and the actions of Christians.“I like your Christ,” he said. “I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”The ideas expressed on the kvetching board and a general negative view of Christianity is not unique to students at UNC. According to numbers released by the Barna Group, a religious research firm, only 16 percent of non-Christians view the faith positively. This is a dramatic change from a decade ago when the “vast majority” of non-Christians viewed the faith in a positive light.While the numbers may be shocking, are they really that surprising? The truth is that the Christian faith has grown increasingly judgmental, political and, if radical steps aren’t taken, outdated. Expecting the unchurched to ignore the bad example set by many Christians and instead learn more about the actual man who founded the religion is impractical. Jesus himself left the spreading of his ministry in the hands of his followers, and sadly, modern-day Christians have dropped the ball.The idea of a religion founded around Jesus becoming known as intolerant and hypocritical is unfortunate. Jesus of Nazareth was perhaps the most tolerant and non-hypocritical person of his time. He was actually criticized as being too tolerant.The ranks of Jesus’ followers were filled not with the elite, but with all types of people, including former prostitutes, lepers, low-class citizens, rich and powerful citizens, non-Jews (a scandalous action at the time) and other taboo groups of society.Today, the Church needs a new kind of Christian — those deeply saddened over the disparity between Christ and Christian, who are not on TV and don’t shout in the street (or the Pit), the type who commits his or her life to actually follow the Jesus they claim to believe. The Jesus who not only condemned hypocrisy in his own religion, but touched people considered untouchable, accepted those considered unacceptable and loved without precondition.
(04/23/10 3:21am)
A different kind of kvetching board made its way onto campus earlier this month. Cornerstone, a Christian student group, placed a blank board outside the Pit to allow students to write down the reasons why they are not Christians. The responses ranged from questions about hell to doubts about the veracity of the Bible. But two simple complaints were written most frequently: intolerance and hypocrisy.With those criticisms in mind, there is little surprise that last Easter’s Gallup Poll tracking religious identification posted record low numbers for Americans identifying themselves as “Christian” and record high numbers for those answering “None.”The ironic thing about most of the kvetches is that, were Jesus on Earth today, he probably would have written many of the same things.The Christian Church has unfortunately moved away from the core teachings of Christ, becoming intolerant and hypocritical. This is not a new idea; Mahatma Gandhi saw the same disparity between the life of Jesus and the actions of Christians.“I like your Christ,” he said. “I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”The ideas expressed on the kvetching board and a general negative view of Christianity is not unique to students at UNC. According to numbers released by the Barna Group, a religious research firm, only 16 percent of non-Christians view the faith positively. This is a dramatic change from a decade ago when the “vast majority” of non-Christians viewed the faith in a positive light.While the numbers may be shocking, are they really that surprising? The truth is that the Christian faith has grown increasingly judgmental, political and, if radical steps aren’t taken, outdated. Expecting the unchurched to ignore the bad example set by many Christians and instead learn more about the actual man who founded the religion is impractical. Jesus himself left the spreading of his ministry in the hands of his followers, and sadly, modern-day Christians have dropped the ball.The idea of a religion founded around Jesus becoming known as intolerant and hypocritical is unfortunate. Jesus of Nazareth was perhaps the most tolerant and non-hypocritical person of his time. He was actually criticized as being too tolerant.The ranks of Jesus’ followers were filled not with the elite, but with all types of people, including former prostitutes, lepers, low-class citizens, rich and powerful citizens, non-Jews (a scandalous action at the time) and other taboo groups of society.Today, the Church needs a new kind of Christian — those deeply saddened over the disparity between Christ and Christian, who are not on TV and don’t shout in the street (or the Pit), the type who commits his or her life to actually follow the Jesus they claim to believe. The Jesus who not only condemned hypocrisy in his own religion, but touched people considered untouchable, accepted those considered unacceptable and loved without precondition.
(03/24/10 3:46am)
A crowd of more than 9,000 gathered last August for a Christian conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Those headlining the conference focused on teaching the “prosperity gospel,” a doctrine that promises abundant financial blessings from God in exchange for your own generous giving to a pastor or ministry.Looking at the economic state of the world, it’s easy to imagine the appeal of such a promise, but the message is a sham and a reckless Christianized distortion of the American dream.The prosperity gospel is a complete departure from the message of love and sacrifice Christians claim to believe. And, most notably, from the teachings of Jesus, whom they claim to follow.This so-called “doctrine” is an unfortunate blending of American culture with the teachings of Jesus. The false teaching is hypocritical and contrary to the life of the homeless and penniless Jesus as described by the Christian faith. A man who would be completely out of place in much of the American church.The American Dream, such an integral part of the culture of the United States, has slowly made its way into American Christianity. Many Christians have grown to believe that the “prosperity gospel” is solid theology and that the buying and selling of God’s blessing has biblical credibility. However, a cursory glance at the words of Jesus is all that is needed to expose the teaching for what it is: a scam. Jesus’ teachings explicitly spoke to the idea of prosperity by asking, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole word and forfeits his soul?”Jesus did not promise his supporters a comfortable American lifestyle complete with a white picket fence and a house in the suburbs. Instead, he warned that whoever desired to be his follower must “deny himself and pick up his cross daily.”How can anyone claim to follow a man whose life was lived with “no place to lay his head” and ended in execution, and yet live a life focused on wealth accumulation and comfortable living?Christian leaders in poorer countries, unaccustomed to the luxuries Americans enjoy, do not preach prosperity theology. However, the propagators of the teaching, whether they are dishonest televangelists broadcast across the country or well-meaning missionaries, are exporting the gospel of money to the world’s poorest places and to people who cannot afford to be duped by false doctrines.John Piper, one of the most vocal opponents of the prosperity gospel, summed up the destructive message saying, “Believe this message and your pigs won’t die and your wife won’t have miscarriages. And you’ll have rings on your fingers and coats on your backs.”Rather than selling the less fortunate a “gospel,” Christians should be giving their own time and money and energy to help them. Donation-free.If Jesus were alive today, he would probably have some harsh words for the Christian leaders spreading false doctrine, just as he spoke against the religious leaders in his own time.
(02/18/10 4:09am)
On April 8, 1966, Time magazine asked “Is God Dead?,” setting off furious debate among Christians and atheists.Since that time, the discourse has taken an increasingly malicious tone, relying on stinging sound bites and monolithic attacks.Due to the overwhelming majority of Americans self-identifying as “Christian,” the debate in the U.S. exists primarily between Christians and atheists. And the fault for the discussion’s shortcomings lies in both camps.Instead of embracing the discussion as an opportunity to model faith, when confronted by skepticism, many Christians tend to become defensive or give intellectually dishonest answers. Speaking in “Church-ese,” believers quote a handful of Bible verses and expect that to be the only answer needed.Quoting the Bible to a non-believer has its uses in some circumstances. However, Christians should consider how they would respond if a Muslim quoted the Quran to prove Allah was the only God. It’s similar to speaking loudly to someone who cannot understand your language; somehow yelling at them will make them understand, right?Simply relying on the argument that a man named Jesus is the son of God because he said he was will not convince or convert an atheist, nor should it.Instead, theological honesty is needed. Admit that there are some aspects to Christianity that cannot be proven or even explained and must be taken on faith.Tired diatribes linking the following of Christ to going on bloody crusades, the terror of the Spanish Inquisition or any other atrocity committed in the name of God are likewise disingenuous. Interview any self-proclaimed Christian on the street and they will wholeheartedly repudiate the atrocities of past Christian radicalism.For that matter, portraying Islam as a violent religion based on a small group of radicals is equally deceitful.Atheists could benefit by asking honest questions that challenge, rather than taking an air of superiority and painting believers with broad brush strokes, such as “full of inconsistencies,” or “full of historical inaccuracies.” Militant atheists have seemingly made it their mission to personally attack a believer’s intelligence, caring little for a debate of any kind.Undoubtedly, there are individuals on both sides of the “God debate” who are wholly uninterested in having a fair dialogue over the existence of God. But to those of you who are interested in a civil debate, consider these final observations.When Christians tell a non-theist that he or she is going to hell, the Christians put themselves in their God’s place as a judge of another’s character. Rather than condemning the skeptic, is not “loving one’s neighbor” the biblical action to take?And atheists might find fresh insight or new appreciation for fellow human beings by taking the time to be skeptical of their own skepticism, rather than seeing every believer as an accomplice to every atrocity carried out in the name of a god. Whichever side you fall on, do not let stuffy dogma, narrow-mindedness or petty hate cloud your thinking. Instead, suspend your disbelief or moral superiority for a moment and listen.Who knows, you might just change your mind.Ryan Lee is a journalism and English major from Lewisville. E-mail him at leery@email.unc.edu
(02/03/10 4:28am)
Parents feel it when looking at their children, millions felt it as they were captivated by Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency, religious-minded people feel it as they find their faith, and Tar Heels experience it as they become “true blue.”It’s the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself. It’s an experience that moves beyond scientific description and exposes the inadequacy of human description. It exposes the deeper meaning of life, the intangibles of existence.“It” is the human condition to believe. To believe in something greater, something “other.”When attempting to describe it, words, pictures and songs never do it justice, but still the feeling remains. Writers, philosophers, painters, dancers, singers and composers (just to name a few) are driven to illustrate it through whatever medium they can. They never fully succeed …and that’s the point.Although the feeling may be experienced collectively, it is always translated by the individual. No two dialects of belief are the same; your belief is shaped by your own thought patterns and experiences.Even though the feeling cannot be defined by science, it must never be disregarded. The tacit knowledge of belief is an essential part of who we are as a species. Something within us has been hardwired with a desire to believe in something, anything.In 1997, Hollywood released a movie that spoke to this very topic of unexplainable belief. “Contact,” starring Jodie Foster, centered on a mysterious signal sent from outside our solar system containing plans to build a device capable of transporting one human to visit with its alien messengers.The film culminates in a worldwide televised trial of Foster’s character, Ellie, a cynical scientist who scorned anything improvable or approaching the spiritual. Ellie’s account of being transported through a worm-hole and spending 18 hours on an alien world was being criticized and even mocked because only a fraction of a second had passed on Earth during her supposed journey.During the inquiry, Ellie is asked if they should take her entire experience on faith, since she has no proof of her 18 hours on the alien planet.“I had an experience,” Ellie replies. “I can’t prove it. I can’t even explain it. All I can tell you is that everything I know as a human being, everything I am — tells me that it was real. I was given something wonderful. Something that changed me. … A vision that tells us we belong to something that is greater than ourselves ... that we are not — that none of us — is alone.”Through a single exposure to the unknown, Ellie was forced to recognize that there was a realm of existence larger than even her brilliant, analytically oriented mind could grasp. Even though Ellie was unable to convince the world that her trip actually took place, she still believed. Whether you find your belief in your favorite basketball team, your children, your country or God, believe in something. In a world that values tangibility over all else, never let your personal experiences and beliefs be scoffed at. Instead, wear them proudly.Become a believer of belief.
(01/20/10 4:23am)
In the society we live in, change is a constant. The need to adapt, adjust and reevaluate is ever-present.