God Hates the World?

Today was the wrap up in a series of messages at my church revolving around the subject of love. 1Corinthians 13 was the banner for the month and served as the creed we shared during service. This morning, as my parents delivered the message instructing on ways to love the lost, my mind paced back and remembered a video I had seen months earlier. Many of you have already seen the video link I posted on my wall. Here is the link again for those of you who would like to see it. I recommend watching it before reading the rest of the note.

Warning: Definitely offensive to Christian and Non-Christian alike.

When I first saw this, I thought it had to be a joke. But when I researched the Church further, I was disappointed to find that this was serious. One of the general feelings that people feel when they watch this video is profound sadness on how Christians can fail so horribly at love. How their misguided theology can destroy the tenements of Faith. While it saddens some, it enrages others. it definitely angers me to know that there are churches teaching hate. They take sides as if we are in a war with sinners. We are at war with sin. When you neglect love and preach hate, you lose that war.

I'm apalled at the deplorable example that this Church is setting for their community. I only shudder to think of how many people who are genuinely seeking truth will turn away from the Gospel because of their actions.

While I was listening to the service for the second time (I had to run sound for both services today) I was also reading Dan Kimball's "They Like Jesus but not the Church." (I have to read people I disagree with because there's so few people to argue with around the house. So I fight with books... they can't yell back...) Anyway, I was reading his views as to why people outside the Church have such poor perceptions of wha tthe Church really is. When I remembered this video, it began to clear some things up...

When people see Churches and Christians who act like this and forget about love, it's very easy to see why many people are losing respect for Christianity. While many may hold Jesus and his teaching in high regard, they want nothing to do with the Body of Christ because somehow it has tarnished its reputation through poor representation.

I took it upon myself to answer the question "How can the Church overcome these negative perceptions?" I'll be writing some pseudo-sermonette notes in the next few days and weeks covering each issue I found from Dan's book.

These are the issues and perceptions I hope to cover and offer solutions to overcome them:
* Christians are just Right-Wing Conservatives with an ulterior political agenda
* Christians only finger point sin and condemn people for what they do
* Christians are close-minded and blindly follow beliefs while bashing anyone else who claims truth
* Christians are just a bunch of hypocrits
* Pastors and other Christians are only in it for the money. Christianity is a scam.
* Christians are pompous in thinking they have the only foothold on truth. There are no absolutes.

If Christians can unite and dispel these misconceptions and prove themselves keepers of the word and that they really love people, then maybe there's hope.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
"Love never fails...
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1Corinthians 13:1-8a,13 NIV)

God Bless