Aaaarrrgggggg. Chapel.

The chapel speaker at my school last Wednesday basically gave the "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sermon (Jonathan Edwards) without the metaphor of the flimsy spider being held loosely over the pit of hell.(He read imaginary notes from people who got sent to hell instead) I was extremely uneasy throughout the sermon. The following seem to be the two schools of thought on the message:

1) He spoke things that were true. It is true that passages in the Bible condemn a person to hell who does not "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." (He said "accept Jesus", which I'd imagine is maybe the same thing.)Since they were true, it does not matter how he said it or why he said it. We are sinners who need to hear truth, even if it's hard. We can't experience mercy and love until we understand sin and our guilt. Christians don't talk about hell often enough.

2) That the message was inappropriate and condemning. He should not make judgments. He should not motivate people to Christ by trying to "scare them out of hell". Jesus is more than "fire insurance," and consequently, he should not be approached as a way out of hell.

I tend to think that while we were created to be eternal beings, and the concept of an "eternal damnation" or "separation from God" is very real, that it isn't the whole message of Christ. If Christ's message is one of God's love and a betrayal, and humanity given an opportunity to be made new and clean and holy again, then attempting to explain the person and message of Christ by scaring people over going to hell is a lie.

To say the least, I was saddened by the negative reactions of my friends and peers who have a hard time learning about the truths of Christ as a result of messages such as this.

~~Thoughts?

To the Emotionally- Charged Evangelical Fundamentalist Recruiters of my World:

I probably owe lots of people apologies...even though I'm not very sorry yet...

This week has been "Spiritual Emphasis Week" at school, and it's brought to the surface plenty of emotions and tensions that have been buried in my chest for a long time. In short, I'm reminded of how much I don't like Christians.

I don't exactly know how to explain why I don't like you people, or what exactly you do that that bothers me...maybe its because you frustrate me by spending more time discussing accountability partners and why you aren't doing devotions and why not dating is making you a better Christian than about Jesus....maybe it's because the way you present the Bible makes me want to burn it.......or maybe its just because I think you’re stupid and intellectually incompetent…..

I read an article recently by a lady who described her reaction to "churcyness" by saying something along the lines of "I don't have a problem with God; I just can't stand his friends”. I completely understand where she’s coming from…

I honestly don't know what to do with you people. I'm angry at how you present Jesus’ message, and how being around you seems to suck the magic out of the Gospel. I'm saddened by what it seems like following Christ means you, and I'm embarrassed by the way your social and political ideology affects my reputation.

.....I want you people to know that I'm sorry....I'm sorry for my bad attitude and for being arrogant and for thinking that I'm better than you. I'm sorry for considering you narrow-minded idiots, since I'm sure that somehow that's not the case. I'm sorry that in my anger I haven't made much of an effort to love and care for you. I'm sorry for not listening to you and for not liking you....I'm sorry about how I'm more concerned about my reputation and the way you affect it than helping you understand. I’m sorry that I forget that God loves and cares about you and thinks that you’re important, and I’m sorry that I don’t treat you that way...you deserve better, and I apologize.

.... I think mostly I'm sorry about the fact that I'm not very sorry yet....

…..I’m working on it………just not quite there…..