Besides being a great description of Christianity, it is a perfect description of the state of the Church of God today. The Churches of God are "weak and ineffectual...defenders of the status quo." Even when self-appointed guru's show up new to the scene, like James Malm and Bob Thiel, they just end up continuing to be ineffectual defenders of Armstrongism.
In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.
There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.
This is an excerpt from King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church
ReplyDeleteWe're WAY beyond disappointment.
The Armstrongist 1%ers are lying, cheating, thieving scum with no morals and only one ethic: The end justifies the means.
What do we mean by that?
There is a Peanuts cartoon where Lucy Van Pelt is dropping a letter into the mailbox. She tells Charlie Brown that she's just ordered good weather for the whole year. And then she adds, "When I say good, I mean good for me".
Charlie Brown responds, "Good grief, she's preempted the whole year!"
Well that's the way it is for the Armstrongists: Their end justifies the means, and by 'their end' we mean all the perks of being an oppressive monster robbing people near blind and telling lying stories so they can, oh, have enough to spend money so their family members can go Irish Dancing. It's expensive, you know. Maybe they'll have to sell off the Auditorium (who in the heck will buy it?) to pay for their profligate raid on the common treasury (by common, we mean the members pool it in for the common good, and it's taken out for the selfish interests of the leaders -- a sort of identity theft, if you will).
Good grief, they've preempted the church.
i love dr. king, of course, and he died the same month as both abraham lincoln and jesus christ, but if he had concerns about churches, he need look no further than his own self...he was a preacher that was known for committing adultery...
ReplyDeleteuntil church hierarchy demonstrates the power to rise above their animal instincts (covetousness, politics, fornication, bigotry, etc), and distinguish themselves, these churches will merely been seen as hypocrites, oppressors, etc., and will empower sites and movements like this one...
Malachi 2 Warned these religious leaders, but they have not heeded, hence they are at the very least lampooned, and at worst killed...
I weep over the fact that MLK was as promiscuous as GTA , and that fellow ministers in his faith "covered" for him.
ReplyDeleteFrom MLK fellow well known activist Ralph Abernathy in his 1989 autobiography...
"Much has been written in recent years about my friend's (Martin Luther King) weakness for women. Had others not dealt with the matter in such detail, I might have avoided any commentary. Unfortunately, some of these commentators have told only the bare facts without suggesting the reasons why Martin might have indulged in such behavior. They have also left a false impression about the range of his activities.
Martin and I were away more often than we were at home; and while this was no excuse for extramarital relations, it was a reason. Some men are better able to bear such deprivations than others, though all of us in SCLC headquarters had our weak moments. We all understood and believed in the biblical prohibition against sex outside of marriage. It was just that he had a particularly difficult time with that temptation.
In addition to his personal vulnerability, he was also a man who attracted women, even when he didn't intend to, and attracted them in droves. Part of his appeal was his predominant role in the black community and part of it was personal. During the last ten years of his life, Martin Luther King was the most important black man in America. That fact alone endowed him with an aura of power and greatness that women found very appealing. He was a hero — the greatest hero of his age — and women are always attracted to a hero. "
indeed those who are truly of Christ do the w9rk of Christ, e.g. controlling ones sexual lusts, and being considerate of the feelings of ones spouse...
ReplyDelete