The First Thing About Love.

So statistically speaking, in our granparents/parents' day, only 5% of all people our age were not associated with any church or religion. That percentage is now 35%.

I believe this to be because of the fact that christianity has been associated with:

a. narrow-mindedness

b. intolerance

c. hypocrisy

d. selfishness

e. ignorance (synonym of a and b, i know)

The sad truth is that a lot of these prejudices against christians are not necessarily unfounded. How many christians have you met that are bible-bonking, turn-or-burning jesus freaks that refuse to accept you the way you are? I know I've definitely met my fair share.

I think christians for the last couple decades have it all backwards. We're supposed to love people, wounds and all, and let God do the rest. Unconditional love. The kind of love that Jesus showed the lepers, the broken, the prostitutes, the tax collectors. These were some sketchy frikkin people, but they were the ones he kept closest to him. He came for the broken, not the perfect! The lost souls are the one that need love the most, and we've got it all backwards. I think if we changed that stereotype around, maybe more people would go to church. Maybe less people would want "In God we trust" taken off the dollar bill. Maybe I wouldn't have to constantly defend myself as a christian in an everyday setting. MAYBE PEOPLE WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE EMBARASSED TO BE A CHRISTIAN ANYMORE. There was a time when people would ask me what religion I held to and I would say "I follow Jesus. But I'm not a christian." Just because I didn't want to associate with the group. I realize this was wrong. And rather than shunning christianity, like Ghandi said, I chose to "Be the change I wished to see in the world." In other words I decided that yes, I would tell the world "I am a christian" but then live by example and live in love. Then maybe would start to see that church isn't all about keeping out of hell. It's about loving the people that are living in hell every day on the streets. Every day in their broken homes. Every day in their self-medicated cookie cutter condos. It's about rescuing people from the hell they encase themselves in, and loving the CRAP out of them until the world burns and we all go skyways.

Cool story:

My man Dennis (who by the way, recorverd alcoholic, spent 2 years in prison and now runs The Crossing, where about 8 different churches meet, one of them being this really awesome biker church) goes to intensive care treatment centers and prays for the patients. He met this one lady who was dying of a disease (he didn't say which), and he would read the bible to her EVERY DAY for about two months. The doctors would always say "You should really wear a mask and gloves, her disease is terminal and you could get it." And he would simply say "My God is bigger than germs." And he would sit with her every day, and he was fine. He was there for her dying breath and read Psalms (couldnt remember which one) to her as she passed. He said that she died smiling.

I just thought that was so cool. Anyways. See ya!