Warning: this is not a pretty sight. Too much fundamentalism for Stuart is much like too much Mountain Dew for middle school students - both end up caustic and cranky in the end. This grumbly rant is a cautionary tale. A week filled with Way of the Master ministries, Kirk Cameron and John MacArthur don’t mix well.

I’ve learned from this and it won’t happen again.

I feel like I’m hearing the same conversations and the same arguments about the same things lately. I’ve gotten ear fulls. And it’s always about the same two things. The two things that have been making me sick are: religion and politics. Needless to say, I’ve been pretty cynical lately. Then, I heard some quotes from founding father, Thomas Paine, over the radio today that only spurred me on further.

Thomas Paine on Politics:

Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.

Thomas Paine on Religion:

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

So, I’ve come to these two conclusions: 1) religion and politics just don’t work and 2) there’s not much difference between the two.

They’re both about conviction, power, control and being right. Both involve pushing forward a certain dogma of beliefs and practices. The problem with both is that they’re all too human and easy to define. They both seem to boil down to “what we can do.” And the more I follow after Christ, I find out that life has less and less to do about me. It’s not about power or control, but giving those things up. The more I walk, the more I find myself being farther and farther from those two things. So I could care less about religion and politics, thank you very much.

Many of you know that I have a deep love of John MacArthur of “Grace to Who? Ministries” (note the thick sarcasm), so when I saw this on Joe Martino’s blog, I had to share it. I was given Johnny Mac’s new book “The Truth War” and I couldn’t make it past the introduction. I tried, I really did. But what a bitter, pompous old man. He was trying to deconstruct the post modern/emergent movement, but it was evident quickly on that he had no idea what he was talking about. You know the people that try to make arguments based on second hand information? They can be heard say things “I heard that them Mexicans are going to eat my social security check” or “proctor gamble is run by the anti-christ.” Johnny pretty much embodies that and does a good job here with missing the point. His main point always seems to be that he’s right and the rest of you can all go to hell, because he can back it with scripture. Needless to say that there’s not much love between Johnny and I.

But if you do enjoy, narrow-minded, dogmatic, misinformed, confused, creepy old men who lack humility… this book may be for you.

[This is a ramble continued from here...]

Are we, as Christians, connecting people with Christ?

Some of us can become worshipers of the Word (i.e. the Bible) and suck the life right out of it. I believe the Bible is the divine inspired word of God. But I also believe that without God the pursuit and reading of the Bible is boiled down to mere words on paper. Many may argue this, but it isn’t as if they words put in a correct order that make up the book create a mystical union of spirituality. God illuminates scripture, God breathes life into it. Think about the Trinity. Is the Bible part of the Trinity? It’s not the Father, Son and Holy Bible.

There are those who are unwilling to leave the safety of the church and walk amongst the sinners. They would rather pour over the Bible, but never live it. What have you gained if you know the words, but are unwilling to walk it out? If your love of the Bible and fear of “sinners” keeps you hidden away from the world, you’ve missed the point of why Christ came in the first place. You’ve forgotten that he didn’t just die for you.

Evangelism isn’t about being right when others are wrong. It’s not about proving a point. It’s about investment and a relationship. It’s about us showing the love of Christ to an unbelieving world. It isn’t easy, but it’s what we are called to do.

If we don’t mirror Christ, nothing we preach will matter.