Losing My Religion
Posted by Nate Bush on Jul 29, 2010
This week Anne Rice wrote on her Facebook page: “For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”
I understand that feeling. I have felt it and in kind wanted to wash my hands from the “anti” nature of many moralistic teachings in American pulpits. It seems that many preachers could sum up their messages on Sundays with the phrase, “You suck, try harder.” Many in the right wing American theocracy are great at pointing to the world around them with the exclamation, “You’re lame; I am better than you.” This is not the biblical presentation of the gospel.
We start a new series this weekend at New City called Losing My Religion. Although I don’t plan to leave the Bride of Christ during this series, I do plan to shed my religiosity and leave my self-righteousness behind for the righteousness of Jesus.
The gospel says that I am a sinner in need of grace. The gospel of the Bible prevents us from thinking too highly of ourselves. The gospel prevents us from the proclamations of moral superiority, as if our morality could save us.
It hurts to hear the words of Ann Rice. I hope she meets Christians who live the gospel, and I hope she does not paint the church with too broad a brush. I hope she does not claim a moral superiority over the church and become merely a liberal Pharisee. I hope that she does not become religious without Christianity. It is so easy to be religious.
The only difference between the left and the right is where they draw the lines. Both Democrats and Republicans divide the world into good and bad. Biblical Christianity does not divide the world in to those categories, but into the categories of sinners in need of grace or sinners saved by grace. When we see ourselves in contrast to the righteousness of Jesus and His salvation, we can no longer be intimidated by the boss who powers over us or feel superior to the homeless man on the street. The gospel is an equalizer. It humbles us because we are sinners. It also emboldens us, as we are saved by Jesus.
We can only be good because God is good. Jesus lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died. Without Jesus we would all be bankrupt morally.
I want to hang out with and do life with gospel people. Gospel people live for others and for God. This is Christianity. Why would anyone want to leave that. Let’s embrace the gospel-centered life and leave our religiosity behind.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
I wish you well during these messages that you are about to deliver and I hope that your congregation can feel your heart as well as hearing God speak through you.
xo,
Sadi
ps-
if you ever plan on delivering a message like the last one I heard at my old church (you know the one;), please have a heart-to-heart with me first, ok??
July 30th, 2010 at 6:55 am
Thanks Sadi. AND we will definitely talk.