In the past few months, there have been a number of interesting articles about famous Christians and the phenomenon of celebrity pastors. The articles approached the issue from different angles, but for some reason they all led me to ask the question: What would be the easiest way to actually become a Christian celebrity? If Machiavelli had written "The Pastor" instead of "The Prince," what kind of ruthlessly practical (i.e. foolish) advice might he have offered to someone trying to become a famous religious figure? I can't be certain, but I think he would probably encourage you to consider four strategies. Let me summarize them briefly and then explain why they are antithetical to Christianity even though Christians use them all the time.
You must offer a merciless critique of other Christians.
Take this recent example, written by a Christian, in the New York Times:
The rejection of science seems to be part of a politically monolithic red-state fundamentalism, textbook evidence of an unyielding ignorance on the part of the religious ... Ken Ham, David Barton and James C. Dobson have been particularly effective orchestrators -- and beneficiaries -- of this subculture.
You must make a concession about, or hold a vague position on, whatever Christian doctrines are currently unpopular.
Space prohibits me from offering lots of recent examples, but you know the issues. Contrary to current thought trends, both Scripture and church teaching throughout history overwhelmingly agree that:
You must make over-simplifications sound like revolutionary ideas.
The secret to any popular movement is simplicity, so people hell-bent on success often build their movement, and win devotees, by promoting a simpler-than-reality "solution" to an old problem. Then they convince people that they are a genius for coming up with this idea, and suggest that it's something no one in all church history has ever noticed.
I shudder to wade into examples, because that opens up the debates themselves, but in the last month alone I have read articles that promoted false dichotomies and oversimplifications like:
You must make Christianity your business.
If a pastor showed up in a new town and sent letters to as many people as possible, asking them to "follow him," and worked hard to "build his brand," we'd call it a toxic case of self-absorption and excuse him from the position. But when Christians today do that online, and encourage us to hang on their every tweet or blog post, they call it a "necessary evil," or the "only way you can make it in this business."
Christianity is at root an idea about Jesus and His place in history. God has ordained that people be used to preach and proclaim that idea. He may even use your mouth, or your pen, to do so. But the constant danger is that we get more excited about our own mouths and pens than the ideas which we explain. As such, the goal of a Christian's work should not be gathering followers but effecting transformation, and we have to be prepared to do that work regardless of whether it leads to recognition and financial compensation or shame and cultural marginalization.
Conclusion
If you read through this article and kept thinking of people who really need to hear this, you have successfully missed the point. The Bible shows that these strategies are the natural outflow of every fallen heart. I'm able to write about these strategies with ease because, regrettably, I know them from the inside. Surely you have used them too, whether on the big stage or just in a small group discussion.
It requires prayer, the power of the Spirit and regular community with other Gospel-minded people to escape these tendencies. Here's hoping we'll all lean on those things, and receive the mercy only Christ can give, when we are foolish enough to pursue our fame instead of God's.
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They blame evolution and then press for its removal from the science syllabus and attack it more generally with such fallacious claims in order to discredit it.
They rare say its untrue, however. Or if they do, that claim is not based on an honest assessment of the evidence.
No, the view seems to be *teaching* evolution is bad. So lets get rid of it and teach children religion instead, so they'll behave well. That in itself is a fallacy, given that religion doesn't prevent violence, but instead often encourages it.
There is not committment to the truth here. Just a view of religion as useful.
When they do something good, then their a "real" Christian.
Its pretty hard to loose when you load the dice in that manner.
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
The Temptation of Jesus(A)
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted(B) by the devil.(C) 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights,(D) he was hungry. 3 The tempter(E) came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God,(F) tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]”(G)
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city(H) and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,”(I) he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[b]”(J)
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[c]”(K)
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!(L) For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[d]”(M)
As to who is Christian and what are Christian beliefs - literally God only knows. Certainly no human can know - not even in the Vatican - and claims that this or that is not Christian should immediately be recognized as nonsense and politely ridiculed.
From my point of view this is the most revealing sentence in the entire article. it is very very difficult to observe and to discern how our own beliefs control our view of reality.
I have been witness to monks that have meditated for over 40 years and the beliefs they learned as a child still remains their view of reality. that is how rigid the human mind can be. but not without hope as once in a great while, the mind sees a new reality and forever lives with a new truth in its consciousness.
For three years as the story goes, Jesus did the pie in the sky bye and bye bit for a plethora of messiah craving Hebrews of the first century. He said a few nice things taken from previous Hebrew leaders and other religious teachers of the world and was then croaked.
If it were not for Paul, a follower who never met or heard Jesus the movement would have died out, it was the Pauline doctrines and slant that made Christianity a breakaway religion.
So don't be so fast to dismiss the preachers, for when the subject is silent it is they who give life to the corpse of the movement
Paul framed those words along with some of his own ideas of "truths" that the world could better understand. if Jesus came back and performed the same miracles and gave the same sermons and released someone who had committed a capital offense, he would meet with the same fate not on a cross but by other means.
Father forgive them they know not what they do was a profound teaching moment for Jesus not a request for God. it was a statement about the innocence of all humans for indeed they knew not what they were doing. the cross was an example of our human original innocence to ignorance to actions based in fear to protect unaware beliefs.
The so called fall is nothing more than from human innocence to ignorance. ie eat from the tree of knowledge thing.
The world is in no way ready for a Jesus, maybe a Paul but not the divine intelligence of a Jesus.
Find me one preacher that understands the deep hidden truths of such words of Jesus as "judge not by appearances". just one.
"Find me one preacher that understands the deep hidden truths of such words of Jesus as "judge not by appearances". just one."
Become a televangelst in a merica. Power, money fame,and hypocrisy are all yours.