And they might pay for it.
The above picture is a little odd to run into, but read the signs below them and figure out a little of what's happening here.
This is a Christian group that has gone to a gay-pride parade, holding signs that apologize for how the church has treated gay people.
Now the question that's above everything else I have to say, is this: what was your reaction to that statement? What did you think of those Christians?
Because that reaction speaks volumes.
I understand the controversy of what they are doing. In their eyes, those Christians are showing love to people who have been hurt. To hardline evangelicals, they are condoning an act of sin. The world would say Christians are finally being more accepting, and the church would say that's exactly the problem. I understand the tension here.
I understand there's tension in any potent act of Christian ethics, from the traditional acts of giving food to the homeless to the more controversial ideas of Nuns handing out clean needles to drug addicts. We as Christians wrestle with what constitutes loving our neighbor and approving their actions. Often we wrestle with this to the point of inaction, scared to make any move lest it's the wrong one. But let me take a different angle on this, and possibly show us something new.
The picture above was taken from a large image sharing site called Imgur. Traditionally this is a site that shares a lot with Reddit, with both having a large Atheist community. So the question is: what reaction did the frequenters of the site, that sort of community, have to this? Here's some responses:
As you can tell, they loved it. On top of that, this site is meant for people to load pictures that they quickly want to share with their friends. It's almost a throw away picture site. Yet this image and a reposting of it are ranked in it's top hits of all time. That means not only are people sharing this, but people keep coming back to see it.
At the very least, I think we as Christians can accept that this action, and boundary pushing actions like it, open up conversation. It lets us interact with a world that's hungry for love. More importantly, it lets us interact with the world in a way that the world can understand. This is a way to show God's love to people who have no other way of seeing it.
In my opinion, when it comes to communication, the quality of the content of your message matters much less than your ability to have people hear it. You could have the most information imaginable inside your brain, but if you can't communicate it to anyone in a way they will understand, then it means nothing. So I translate that principle here: it matters so much more that we communicate the base idea of Christianity, that God loves people, than where we place that fine line of accepting homosexual behavior. Going to a gay pride parade and telling people they are loved is a way to do that. Sure, people can mistake what that means of God's thoughts on their sin, and people did in the comment section of that website, but that shouldn't stop us from starting the conversation in the first place.
To use Reddit language:
This is a Christian group that has gone to a gay-pride parade, holding signs that apologize for how the church has treated gay people.
Now the question that's above everything else I have to say, is this: what was your reaction to that statement? What did you think of those Christians?
Because that reaction speaks volumes.
I understand the controversy of what they are doing. In their eyes, those Christians are showing love to people who have been hurt. To hardline evangelicals, they are condoning an act of sin. The world would say Christians are finally being more accepting, and the church would say that's exactly the problem. I understand the tension here.
I understand there's tension in any potent act of Christian ethics, from the traditional acts of giving food to the homeless to the more controversial ideas of Nuns handing out clean needles to drug addicts. We as Christians wrestle with what constitutes loving our neighbor and approving their actions. Often we wrestle with this to the point of inaction, scared to make any move lest it's the wrong one. But let me take a different angle on this, and possibly show us something new.
The picture above was taken from a large image sharing site called Imgur. Traditionally this is a site that shares a lot with Reddit, with both having a large Atheist community. So the question is: what reaction did the frequenters of the site, that sort of community, have to this? Here's some responses:
As you can tell, they loved it. On top of that, this site is meant for people to load pictures that they quickly want to share with their friends. It's almost a throw away picture site. Yet this image and a reposting of it are ranked in it's top hits of all time. That means not only are people sharing this, but people keep coming back to see it.
At the very least, I think we as Christians can accept that this action, and boundary pushing actions like it, open up conversation. It lets us interact with a world that's hungry for love. More importantly, it lets us interact with the world in a way that the world can understand. This is a way to show God's love to people who have no other way of seeing it.
In my opinion, when it comes to communication, the quality of the content of your message matters much less than your ability to have people hear it. You could have the most information imaginable inside your brain, but if you can't communicate it to anyone in a way they will understand, then it means nothing. So I translate that principle here: it matters so much more that we communicate the base idea of Christianity, that God loves people, than where we place that fine line of accepting homosexual behavior. Going to a gay pride parade and telling people they are loved is a way to do that. Sure, people can mistake what that means of God's thoughts on their sin, and people did in the comment section of that website, but that shouldn't stop us from starting the conversation in the first place.
To use Reddit language:
tl; dr: Saw this pic on Imgur, wish I was holding a sign with them.
