Sunday, January 27, 2013
Stuff Christians Say...
To preface my thoughts, please watch this video entitled: Stuff Christians Say...
How did you react? I hope you were able to laugh. It does a remarkable job of showing how culturally conditioned our contemporary version of Christianity really is. Those with even a little understanding of church history will realized it would not be funny to any generation but their own. Think of Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Billy Graham or even some of your parents finding this funny. My point? In our interactions together as Christians, humor is an essential way of communicating ecumenically. Whether we are on a campus, workplace, or in church, Christian's should recognize their theological differences as partly humorous. I have seen too many debates over free will/election end poorly. I need not argue that Christians need to act more seriously about the beliefs they hold-- for this is the default nature of man. I merely mean to suggest that in our debates with other Christians, a sense of history can go a long ways in alleviating a heated discussion or church tension. If we are able to poke fun at ourselves (as I believe was the purpose of the video) and realize the conversation we are talking part in was neither started by us, nor end with us puts a lot of perspective to the smallness of the place we occupy in church history. Not to be misunderstood, the beliefs we hold about God are the most important part of us, but I believe being able to laugh at your own place in time can be the best starting point for discussing the most serious of beliefs.
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Amazing post Julius. I have seen this video before and laughed all the way through it. So well done.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you're also familiar with: http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/
Great job!!
I had friends in college and still today who speak like this. I remember being upset with myself a few times for not speaking or sounding like this until I woke up.
ReplyDeleteClearly all sub-culture segments have their verbiage but I think it is safe to say we know people who speak as this stereotype.
One of my friends back home sent me this video after he saw it at church, he is new to the whole church thing but even he thought it was funny and sent it my way as a pastor.
Love it.
i saw this video over the summer (or was it autumn??) when it first started circulating. it is hilarious, but i also groaned through a good bit of watching it. if this is how we talk to each other as christians, no wonder those outside the church can't understand us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh. I have often thought people who are new to church must listen to us, especially when we pray, and think they are going to have to learn a new language. Nothing like humor to get us to think.
ReplyDeleteLoved it enough I might have to use in a sermon outline. Oh wait, will that guard their hearts?
I feel like your introduction was kind of misleading from the rest of your blog post. You open with the sub-culture language we use as Christians, then change tracks and the rest of the post is about humor. I would not agree that theological differences are merely "humorous." Some can be very serious, such as the differences between Mormonism and Christianity. Debates shouldn't end with bitterness and resentment, but neither should we take theology lightly.
ReplyDeleteBrad,
ReplyDeleteCould you cite what was misleading? I am curious to learn more on your take as I have reread the blog to read it in the manner in which you have. I would agree, we should not take theological differences lightly- with that said...it is good to find humor in our methods of coming to conclusions when we are 'straining gnats'
But one can find humor, for example: the Christian Church & Church of Christ split was due in part to a pastor bringing his wife in to play the organ because his congregation was horrible at singing! That's funny right there albeit we don't exclude the fact that their was division. We can laugh now, easier, as the two denominations are coming together again since the early 2000's.
I don't read Julius remarks anything other than observation and his views on the video and the culture around it. Yes, the video may have been more suited for how we sound to an unbelieving world, but here is where I again ask for your citations- I would surely like to read the blog as you have.
Perhaps Julius wishes to continue his thought here as well?