2008 Woodie Awards
Are Christians... Christian?
STEPHEN HELEKER
ARBITER STAFF
Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: Opinion
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Jesus was a homeless radical, a rabbi who Christians believe fulfilled the Hebrew promise of a Messiah king. He spent the last three years of his life traveling around his hometown preaching the good news of this new idea he called the Kingdom of God. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and to be one with God, and when he was crucified he forgave us for our sins. Most of Jesus’ time was spent with the poor. He said crazy things like “sell all your possessions and give to the poor,” and “if you have two coats, give one to somebody who doesn’t have one,” but more importantly he said, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” as in within reach. Clearly, Jesus Christ came not just to deliver morals, or to teach a new kind of wisdom—He came to offer a new way of life.
Two thousand years later, are we measuring up to this new way of living? Faith is so politicized and structured that it has been reduced to the level of pure culture. The daily life and ideology of the American Christian has very little in common with Christ himself. Christians seem to care little for the poor, but will fight tooth and claw over political issues like gay marriage. Most Christians support the death penalty when Paul the Apostle, the major theological contributor for the New Testament, admits that before knowing Jesus he committed murder. We live and die for war and empire when Jesus seemed to be leery of both government and violence, and yet somehow we think that this is what the Church looks like everywhere. At some point it seems that we have taken our eyes off of the prize.
Do we even believe in God anymore? Or maybe we just believe in the idea of God, or like having a system of morals.
I believe that Christianity can be saved, that we can live a lifestyle that expresses the truth of the gospel and see the promises of the Bible acted out in our daily lives. However, we are going to have to take it back from the systemized culture and postmodern cynicism—the millionaires and politicians—that have stolen it from us. My brother Marcus and I will be recording a series of pod casts exploring which parts of the Church belong to Western culture and which parts belong to Jesus Christ. We will also be discussing current events with people of all faiths and none. If you are curious about religion or are looking for a place to share ideas, please join us. We will be called the Christian Dishwashers Union.
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 12
bikeboy
posted 10/13/08 @ 11:44 AM MST
Mr. Heleker, you have made numerous (albeit oft-repeated) provocative statements here. Most are from one viewpoint, and could easily and justifiably be seen differently, from a different viewpoint. (Continued…)
enlightenment++
posted 10/13/08 @ 2:43 PM MST
Bikeboy, your problem is your role model is a fictional character. I think Jean-Luc Picard was pretty cool space captian, but I don't base my life around his teachings. (Continued…)
jr
posted 10/13/08 @ 8:07 PM MST
I enjoyed your article very much.Here is where maybe we differ in thought, I believe something has to and will be done but it wont be done by you or me or any other earthly source. (Continued…)
Greg
posted 10/14/08 @ 12:30 PM MST
It seems to me that most American 'christian churches' are little more than tax shelter operations run by unscrupulous charlatans. Truly Christian thinking is alien to the average American. (Continued…)
Patience Dogood
posted 10/15/08 @ 10:25 AM MST
"How can a Christian be pro-life and pro death penalty?"
Wow, this is a really tough question, but I'll take a stab at it, so to speak.
Human babies in womb: cute, soft, cuddly, innocent, defenseless, totally dependent on mother. (Continued…)
Michelle de Carion
posted 10/15/08 @ 5:27 PM MST
It is true that the church does focus on certain issues such as abortion and gay marriage while neglecting others. However, I see this trend slowly changing. (Continued…)
trevor grigg
posted 10/16/08 @ 9:55 AM MST
It is wrong to Stereotype rich christians as not giving any real service to the poor. You don't know! It's wrong for the poor to covet the things rich people have and it's wrong for the rich to not help the poor. (Continued…)
Justin Belmont
Dylan Duke Gintz
posted 10/17/08 @ 10:35 AM MST
Many good points were made. I would like to make a few of my own. I think the article overemphasizes the need for income redistrubution. We can create wealth instead of giving it away. (Continued…)
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