It saddens me to hear that saintly kids are still being taught that evangelism means avoiding at all costs, the people who Jesus died for. You can now be born in a Christian hospital, go to Christian school, attend Christian university, become a pastor, and spend your last days in a quaint Christian retirement village. There is no need to get down and dirty with society’s low-life scum- just stay squeaky clean and hand out a few gospel tracts. It is God’s responsibility to draw the heathen masses to church.
When I was a child, my elders made it very clear where the line of friendship was drawn. There were boundaries that young, impressionable boys shouldn’t cross, and one bad apple… well, you know. So Communists and non-Christians were not welcome. Being young and naïve I couldn’t tell the difference between these villains and the God-fearing folk, so it was up to my parents and my Sunday school teachers to point out who these kinds of people were:
Smokers.
People who listened to Rock and Roll (Country music was okay).
Anyone who didn’t vote for the conservatives.
The shady characters found in bars, theatres, arcades, or at school dances.
The teachers at school who believed that dinosaurs actually existed.
Guys who wore boxer shorts.
You can see why I spent my childhood strolling between home, school and church. I was safe, insulated, and often alone.
Well, time went by, and society started plumbing the depths of debauchery. Good Christians everywhere flinched, and added other people to the list of outsiders.
Abortion doctors.
Homosexuals.
People who read The Da Vinci Code.
I thank the good Lord that I grew up without these degenerates leaving a stain on my soul. Between my church family and my tighty-whities, I had all the support a young lad would need in order to remain on the Straight and Narrow.
Then I learned about boobies, became addicted to them, and it all fell apart. Imagine my surprise when I looked in the mirror one day, after years of church indoctrination, and saw someone who needed Jesus.
I think that this is where evangelism starts: the place in life where the borders between us and them disappear.
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“It saddens me to hear that saintly kids are still being taught that evangelism means avoiding at all costs the people who Jesus died for.” I’m thankful that our kids havent been taught that. Who in their right mind would teach kids that? With that being said, I will do everything in my God given power to get my kids into a Christian school. It wont be perfect, but having my 4 and 6 year old exposed to pornography and drugs… well I guess I will be guilty of taking my kids away from that at this age. They will have there whole lives bombarded with media crap and the like.
I know you, and I know your kids, and I think you are raising them to be great leaders of the Faith. I have no doubt that they will grow to be mature, balanced adults. I pray, and trust, that they will display as much passion for God and His Kingdom as their parents do.
I also agree that we should protect our children as much as possible from evil influences. Indeed, we are told to flee from temptation, not fight it.
My point remains that we are instructed in scripture to rescue people who live in darkness. This is difficult to do if we don’t KNOW anyone who lives in darkness! The good news for your kids is that there will be plenty of people who don’t know Jesus, no matter what school they attend.
Thanks for your comments. “As iron sharpens iron…”
Actually, your children will grow up to be the kind of people who think it’s OK to hate in the name of Jesus. A group of “good christian kids” put a gay friend of mine in the hospital. He almost died.
Read the red text in the New Testament and live by those words. Especially the “Love one another as I have loved you”. You’ll notice that He didn’t qualify it with “as long as they’re christians like us” or “as long as their not gay”. Check out the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, too. You might learn something.
Saskia, I’m at a bit of a loss. Who are your comments directed towards? I don’t see anyone here who hates gays. My blog post was satirical…
I love this post. Thank you. I’d add people who read Harry Potter to the list! ha!