You’ve all likely seen him in one form or another. I suppose, in a politically correct world, we would call them Bullhorn Person, because it can be a man or a woman, old or young. In any case, they are the ones who you hear calling for condemnation of your sin and telling you that you must repent, for you never know which day is your last. Sometimes it is with a bullhorn, sometimes pamphlets, sometimes from a pulpit.
The thing is, Bullhorn Guy, that’s not what we’re about…and it’s not what Jesus is about either. “God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Christ came not to call out our sins and cast judgment, but to love us and show us how to live that love. At one point, Jesus comes to a town where the religious leaders have dragged a woman out in order to have her stoned for her sins. Jesus says to her, “I do not condemn you.”
One visit to the temple, Jesus was approached by the religious leaders, who were hoping to trip him up and thereby discredit him. They asked Jesus what the greatest of the Lord’s commandments was. He replied: “The greatest commandment is thus, that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” But he didn’t stop there… “Second, you should love your neighbor as yourself.” These two commandments are the pegs from which all the Law and the Prophets hang, he told us.
Love, Christ tells us, is God’s message. The love that we show our neighbor is the same love that we show Him. There is no way to separate the two from each other, no way to love God and to hate our neighbor. So where are you getting this message of condemnation and wrath, Mr. Bullhorn Guy?
Sadly, there are a great many Christians who turn to the Old Testament over the message of the New Testament, choosing to quote the Law and the Prophets before the Word of Christ. One might say, “It’s all the Bible, what does it matter?” Well, the thing is that a lot of times, the scripture that is quoted is often lifted out of context and turned for the quoter’s own purposes.
A good example of this is the scripture I see quoted when denouncing homosexuality. Critics and naysayers quote the book of Leviticus, citing the passage that reads “If a man shall lie down with another man as he would a woman, it is an Abomination.” There are a number of flaws with this quotation, the first being context. If the person quoting the scripture were to understand the social context that women were property and thus, to treat another man as property was to degrade his rights and status. Also, I fail to see the same people abiding by the surrounding laws that state “If a child disobeys its parents, it shall be put to death.” and “If a man partakes of pork meat, he shall be put to death.” So if these are so easily cast aside, why follow this single law?
Christ came to show the world God’s message. His message, which we see in the New Testament, transcends the old. I often wonder why people ignore Christ’s simple message in favor of interpreting difficult religious law and prophetic wisdom. To me, this is why the book of Revelation, as it is commonly interpreted seems so off compared to the rest of the New Testament. The New Testament preaches of God’s love and forgiveness, His kindness and faithfulness, His grace and peace. Then we see a single story about a completely different God who is wrathful, vengeful, and unwavering in his judgment. Quite a turn from what Jesus was telling us. Christian means little Christ…shouldn’t we be more like Christ then?
But, back to Bullhorn Guy. Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and so I love you Bullhorn Guy. I understand that you feel very deeply about your view on the faith and that you probably feel that you are doing these people a service, but please…put the bullhorn down. Your message is scaring people…and it’s casting doubt on the rest of us because we’re all “painted with the same brush”.
You hear the word Christian today and almost immediately, if not sooner, a host of negative connotations come to mind. Why is that? How is it that such a good and pure message could be taken so badly?
As a historian, I can readily point to historical events to find one part of the answer. Almost 400 years after Christ, the young Church was seized by the Roman Empire, transformed into an entity of government. When the empire fell, the Roman Catholic Church rose to fill the power vacuum, reigning nearly a thousand years without any form of opposition except by various princes. With the Reformation, the Church’s power began to erode and crumble, but it still held weight. Even today, the Vatican is viewed and treated as its own nation-state, taking full part in diplomatic endeavors around the world, dictating policy for its followers.
The separation of Church and State may be one of the most misunderstood ideas that the Founding Fathers had. Too often today, we believe that this was to protect the State from the horrors of the Church, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The idea of separating Church and State was to protect the Church. These people saw how State control had devastated organized religion and had corrupted it to its own purposes. A small group dictating the thoughts and ideas of the masses.
That’s the same problem we get here, Bullhorn Guy. You’re out there making a lot of noise, and people begin to think that your message is the only one. There are many who see Christianity as a religion of unattainable expectations, a listing of Thou Shalt Nots. The message of condemnation and wrathful judgment is driving them away, making them believe that there is no hope. Then, when they see that many Christians do not practice what they preach, the scorn grows all the more deep.
So I’m asking you, Bullhorn Guy…out of the love Christ asked us to live by…please put down the bullhorn. Let us work together as Christians, little Christs, to live the message that He taught us. Let us show love in our everyday life, even to those we consider our enemies, and an amazing thing will happen.
Thanks for listening, Bullhorn Guy.
