There has been something nagging at me for the longest time...and that is that authentic Christianity, as described by the presence and words of Jesus in the Christian Bible...does not exist.
The Rev. C.T. Vivian, a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, said in a recent interview I conducted with him, "Whose God is God? We are a nation that says it is Christian, but is not! (We) tell God we are Christian whether He likes it or not!"
What Vivian was alluding to was that professing Christians have a tendency to ignore the Gospel and the things that Jesus said to do. Author Philip Yancey said in his book, What's So Amazing About Grace that many Christians do not read the entire Bible, including and especially the Gospels. He said that many Christians read and rely upon the Pauline epistles for their direction; Pentecostals, he said, rely and study almost exclusively the Book of Acts. The Gospel is pretty much ignored by Christians, an anomaly because it is a truth that since Christians call themselves the same, they ought to embrace and follow Jesus' words. Christians recognize Jesus' birth and death, and celebrate the fact that Jesus "died for our sins," but they leave the heart of his message strangely alone.
There is something wrong. Yancey said in an interview about his latest book, Vanishing Grace,: "In short, the West is becoming increasingly post-Christian, and we need to adjust our approach because the Good News no longer sounds like good news."
The lack of authentic Christianity hit home when I heard Donald Trump say he had never asked God for forgiveness. His words carried their own weight, but the larger problem was that the Evangelical community, which professes to love God like no other ...love Jesus like no other ...was silent.
The Evangelical community lost its credibility for me at that point. While I have not agreed with many of that community's stances on issues such as right to life or gay marriage, what I always believed was that they were grounded in the words of Jesus the Christ.
But at the heart of Christianity is to love one's enemies, to forgive "seventy times seven," and to ask for forgiveness: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who trespass against us." Christians pray that prayer weekly. Does Trump not pray that prayer? Does he become silent when it comes time to say those words?
For the Evangelical community to have been silent was a game-changer in terms of how I perceive their authenticity as Christians. Their silence brought to the forefront Vivian's words that Christians tell God they're Christian whether God likes it or not. It would seem that present-day Christians have reshaped and redefined Christianity to fit their own ideologies and social constructs.
At the heart of the Christian doctrine is the mandate to love and to obey God. Obeying God comes to Christians through their obedience to the words of Jesus the Christ, who, as Christians profess, is "the word made flesh." Christian doctrine says that Jesus the Christ is God in the flesh, the incarnation of the spiritual reality called God.
But it would seem that Christians have pushed Jesus' words aside. Instead of practicing love and forgiveness, too many Christians practice exclusivity and judgment -- in spite of what Jesus says to do. Instead of being a strong force for justice and mercy, the Christian community seems to be in tatters as it attempts to redefine Christianity into something that is comfortable and more easy to do.
Those who at least attempt to practice authentic Christianity are looked at with suspicion. Pope Francis works to do what the Gospels say do, and is being accused by some of being a socialist. He is fighting against the Empire, on behalf of "the least of these," but some Christians are not appreciative of his work or message.
It is important to note that the changes that were brought about in the Civil Rights Movement came about because the leaders demanded that the participants practice the love preached by the Christ. Love and no-violence, they said, would penetrate the hardened hearts of racists, and the beginnings of social change would occur.
Not so today. In spite of Christianity, adherents are going their own way. If a person has never asked God for forgiveness, but says the Bible is his favorite book, something is wrong. Even more troubling is that a group which calls itself Evangelical, professing love and respect for the Christ, has been silent. Theirs cannot be called an authentic Christianity, but Evangelical or not, there is something missing from the faith which promised to change the world.