I wanted to write something special about religion, namely about Christianity. I had many good beginnings to this sort of blog, but as it ends up they all fell flat on their face. It's funny how that often happens, the best laid plans of mice and men...you know? Christianity has often done the same thing, started well before crashing into some large misguided catastrophe. Very seriously I'm thinking of Constantine, of the Crusades, of dead churches filled with live people, of dead churches filled with dead people (spiritually dead), of Christians who claim perfection but forget to help people, of ministers and pastors who don't spend time with people, of Christians who think they exist to be good people and to elect republicans and to make our nation a Christian nation again...I could go on, but I pause this blog to announce that my wife just inadvertently cleaned underneath her fingernail with her teeth only to discover that the last thing she had done with that exact digit was to spread diaper rash cream on my sons bottom area (I say 'area' because it often spreads to the surrounding vicinities...namely the pucker...if you know what I mean).
It's easy to say that the Crusades were way off track from where JC desired for his people to go. Likewise, however, I believe that His Church is way off track from where JC desired for it to be. Some words/ideas that come to mind from The Christ himself regarding his church are unity, held in high regard, purity, good news, helping the poor, taking care of widows, being a light...I could go on, but I won't. I believe that very often we've gotten caught up in th do's and don't's of religion rather than the good news of Christianity. Our 'Good News' has become right actions. And that is a problem. If right actions become our message then I'm afraid that we offer nothing different from any other religion in the world...and that would be a pretty worthless reason for God to become man, to live with human beings, to teach and help humanity, and ultimately to die for. What's the value in dieing so that I can say you're wrong? There is value, however, in dieing so that others can truly live...now that's something I could jump on board with. I like that kind of Jesus. I know people that need to meet that kind of Jesus.