Guest ephymeris Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 Thanks for this post. It sounds familiar and to me it is interesting, that some of the really devoted xians ended up as ex-xians on this forum and not the lukewarm xians. Is it a kind of help to calm down the inner fire? Does it make you more stable? In my xian walk every song and every sermon was intended to "challenge" you and to "light the fire again". But this "challenge" never got answered by the xians I have met. one or two out of two or three hundred went to a missionary school, but most were content with the everyday life. Is the everyday xianity the standard or should the devoted evangelist life be the standard? Who knows? It is interesting that this topic came up. I think the so-called "sold-out" evangelists, missionaries and pastors are tolerated by the run of the mill churchers in order to keep the aura of the mythology alive. There is also the strange tendency of the pew-sitters to relish in the tongue lashing and shame that the more devoted leaders unleash on them from time to time. Once the tongue lashing is over, they can say "Amen!" and compliment the preacher, evangelist or visiting missionary. They feel "expunged" of all guilt. The sin of luke-warmness and laziness has been expiated with the pound of fist on the pulpit and the sprinkling of saliva on those who sit on the front pews. It all keeps the myth alive to them. The shared mythology of evangelical Christianity is like a bubble or a balloon. It is kept inflated and afloat by the hot air of the figurehead representatives and by the shame-based emotionalism of the pew sitter. Of course the preachers, pastors, evangelists and missionaries all need their sponsors, so the proclaimed myth of the "sold out" Christian is pretty much a farce. It is enough for a few ordained ones and even lay-persons to be hyper involved in ministry and evangelism. The rest must stay home, pay the monetary guilt offering to supply the ministers and feel kind of bad that they themselves aren't "sold out." If they were to really do what the scripture calls them to do, by a literal rendition of the bible, there would be no money to pour into the institution. I think staying in the safe waters of "lukewarm" is what allows so many to continue to consider themselves as christians. They feel catharsis in the pattern of receiving scolding from their preacher, saying a repentant prayer, shedding a few tears, and going back to their lives feeling like they've absolved themselves of guilt. It's mighty convenient for those who feel like they are meeting their christian obligations by showing up once a week for service. It's when you take it seriously enough to be really "convicted" and try to eradicate hypocrisy from your own life, that's when "god" starts "talking" to you and the internal conflict starts. That's when you realize the contradiction and futility of god's awesome plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 I think staying in the safe waters of "lukewarm" is what allows so many to continue to consider themselves as christians. They feel catharsis in the pattern of receiving scolding from their preacher, saying a repentant prayer, shedding a few tears, and going back to their lives feeling like they've absolved themselves of guilt. It's mighty convenient for those who feel like they are meeting their christian obligations by showing up once a week for service. It's when you take it seriously enough to be really "convicted" and try to eradicate hypocrisy from your own life, that's when "god" starts "talking" to you and the internal conflict starts. That's when you realize the contradiction and futility of god's awesome plan. I think you are onto something there ephy. At the bottom is a low self-image created by Christian teaching and its like a feedback loop. They do get satisfaction from listening to this tripe, and it is self-perpetuating in their psychology. Despite all the talk of the "eternal security of the believer," no one actually believes that or the churches would be empty. They must continue to come back to get this absolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGeek Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 I missed a lot, didn't I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 I missed a lot, didn't I? Quite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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