This documentary certainly looks like it will be worth looking out for. More at Lord save us from your followers. I am reminded of two quotes from Mahatma Gandhi:
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
“If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”
Outstanding! Thanks for this post…I’m passing this on to many of my friends. Also, this is a great web-site….thanks for all the time energy and effort you put into it.
Definitely looks like its worth going to. Hope it comes out somewhere nearby.
I have to point out the obvious question: As Christians, how seriously should we take the criticism of non-Christians? (Even someone as admirable as Gandhi.)
Obviously, we should not discredit the cross through hypocrisy, nor should we behave in such a way that would give outsiders an excuse for their disbelief. And we ought to present the gospel as Life-Saving Truth because we truly care about the person in question, not simply because we are trying to win them to our “team.”
But here’s what I struggle over with this sort of thing: aren’t the criticisms of nonbelievers (that is, persons lost in the enveloping darkness of sin, in active if unconscious rebellion against God) somewhat compromised and suspect from the start? Are nonbelievers – even ones as admirable as Gandhi – arguing in good faith? Remember, the Bible makes clear that the cross is offensive to the world, and that Christians will be hated just as Christ was hated.
How many concessions should we make in our effort to make Christ appealing to the world? (Or is that the Holy Spirit’s role?) How reliable should we consider the criticism of those who are lost, blind, and deaf? As Paul put it: “Am I seeking the approval of man, or of God?”
Andy –
If we are to take Jesus’ directive seriously, to go and preach the Gospel to all nations, we must take seriously the feedback from those nations, to whom we have for centuries been preaching. I suggest that failure to do so has contributed greatly to the contempt with which many non-Christians hold us, the church, and her Christ.
What if you were selling cars, the finest cars that ever were made or could be made, but the whole world held you and your cars in such contempt that very few would consider being seen in one, much less driving, much less buying one?
After a little while, you might want to have a little talk with your marketing department. You might even think about firing the people in the department (see Mt 7:21-23).
Every single one of us is the marketing department.