Sean R. Reid

This was over at XXXChurch about the reactions of people, Christians and non, when see see the “Porn Mobile.” Sadly it seems they run into more “Christian” resistance than they do secular:

Today I found the following passages** and thought they were rather appropriate for the scene; [youversion]2 Corinthians 3:1-15[/youversion] discusses the concept of legalism and cautions against legislating spirituality and morality; [youversion]Romans 7:5-7[/youversion] talks about how such legislation usually results in rebellion more often than purity.  Short version: if you want to make sure someone does something you don’t want them to do, make it illegal.

My version?  I’ve run into a LOT of  “Christians” in my life that sound like the older gentleman in the parking lot.  To be perfectly honest, it made being an atheist the easiest decision in the world.  Nothing supported my stilted worldview than a legalistic, close-minded, loud-talking religious person practicing Quotation Christianity (aka “Christianity”).  Christ spent time with lepers, whores and tax collectors.  He was surrounded by sinners CONSTANTLY.  A common theme I’ve discovered as I’ve begun reading various Bible passages is that God often chooses the LEAST.LIKELY.CANDIDATES.  He takes those from the very bottom and after setting their eyes upon Him they rise to the top.  Abraham to David to Paul, practically all of Judges.  Seriously, from bottom to the top. Not because they followed the laws but because they fixed their gaze on the Lord and walked in the light through acceptance of God’s grace.

Since converting I can rightly be called a Jesus Freak.  I’m all in.  Done. Dedicated 150%.   I’m sure the gentleman in that video had the best of intentions.  However, his actions are not embracing the disenfranchised and bringing others into the love of Christ.  I pray daily that I don’t become a Quotation Christian.  I also pray for those Quotation Christians that I let lead me away from faith.

To truly have the Spirit inside of you then you must be willing to embrace those that will spit in your face, challenge your beliefs and continue to love them. If you can’t do that then you are trapped in your own quotation marks.  Your laws will make you a prisoner.

*note: I’ve begun using The Message Translation of the Bible.  I really like this translation particularly for my blog posts. The strucuture lends itself to my rambling style more effectively without losing the message.

**edit: I just want to clarify that the passages were part of a recent batch of devotionals. I  don’t want to give any misrepresentation with regards to my Biblical scholarship.  These are being put in front of me more than I am able to just pluck them out.