Posts Tagged ‘Christianity’

Bible pic by Wonderlane

Sometimes it seems like people go out of their way to argue, even in the church. I recently saw a disagreement over Bible translations. It is so good that we have all these things to argue about. I mean, it’s not like we have to build our relationships with Christ, show others the power of faith, and take care of our worldly responsibilities as well, right?

Okay, that may have been a bit dramatic.

The truth is, there are some Bible translations that are better than others. Most people choose their personal bible because of the church they attend. I don’t mean to say that some thought, serious thought at that, should not be given to choosing your Bible.

I instead mean that all versions have strengths and weaknesses. Also, looking at our society today, some of the weaker translations may have a place.

Just check out the video to see what I am getting at.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thumbnail credit to Lili Vieira de Carvalho

There are many themes that will cross over from essay to essay here at Jesus Pirates, as you will soon find out. The reason is, certain points are very important, and do deserve repeating. I, although the captain of this pirate ship, am just a fellow believer. I am not a biblical scholar, or a preacher, and I am most definitely an imperfect sinner. So, by all means, join in the conversations and let your voice, as a believer, and a crew member of the Jesus Pirates, be heard.

Notice how I said conversations. I used that term as I want to point out the difference between conversations and arguing. Not amongst ourselves, but with the rest of the world, the secular, the atheists, and other faiths. I firmly believe we should not delve into arguments over matters of faith with those outside of our faith.

Why?

Because we do not have a leg to stand on, not one. That is why it is called faith, and we are believers. If we had solid fact to back up our beliefs, faith would then be fact. Also, if provable, the faith would then be useless and powerless.

When we argue, instead of conversing and sticking to our faith, we often bring our belief into disregard, and drive the curious away. Those that are curious, but do not yet believe are easily scared off when they see the venom that is often launched in the direction of believers.

Plus, arguing is a cowards way. Not about all things mind you. Political and social arguments can be not only good for discourse, but fun as well. We, as humans, inherently love a good challenge. Also, I am not talking about issues that affect the social discourse that are influenced by our faith, such as charity, abortion, and so on.

No, the thing I am saying we should never argue is the Faith itself. Let me give you an example.

The Atheist Brings Believers to Their Knees (figuratively)

Recently on Twitter, I witnessed one person make several Christians look very bad. This person is an atheist, and in general, not a bad guy at all. But he is firm in his non-belief. So firm in fact, he is actually a believer, just in not believing.

Well, some christian blog rubbed him the wrong way, so he arrogantly challenged Christians on Twitter to show him proof that Jesus existed. Any proof, such as a credible eye witness. Several Christians took the bait, and were completely trounced.

Why? We have nothing, nada, zip. We only have Faith, that is it. We can’t argue these points.

The Christians immediately started quoting bible texts. This was the downfall. Our greatest resource, the book we try to live by, is all a matter of Faith. Our whole belief is based on Faith, that is what is so beautiful about it. The Bible has zero meaning to someone outside of the Christian faith. As a matter of fact, if Christianity was verifiable, it would cease to be so powerful. It is our faith that makes it so.

But in the real world, the secular world that relies on proof, we have nothing in these types of arguments. Unfortunately, thousands of people witnessed this argument, some of whom may have been close to opening their hearts to Jesus, others who may have been having some doubts about the faith, these people may have run for cover and might have been scared off for good. The Christians that took the bait–and bait it was–were beaten badly in this game.

This particular atheist had an agenda, and he won. Arguments like this are seldom started by believers, but are almost always finished by the secular, with the Christians looking silly, and mighty backwoods in comparison.

So, How Do We Win?

Just how do we fight back in these situations?  That is a very good question, and the answer may not be what type-A Christians want to hear. We don’t. That is how we fight back, by not fighting. We instead show the power of our faith by not being drawn in. We show them, the non-believers, the power of the peace we have, the peace bestowed upon us by  the Lord.

1. Don’t take the bait in the first place. Just don’t, ever.

2. If drawn into a situation where someone not of the faith corners you into an argument of belief, say this:

I can’t prove the Bible is true or correct. As history books have written, I can’t even prove beyond doubt that Jesus really walked the earth. As for miracles, even as I believe, and maybe even witnessed one in my time, I can’t offer you one shred of evidence. You have me. But that is the power of my Faith, as I still believe in the word of God with all my heart and soul, and I have witnessed the power, peace, love, and community that comes with it. That is not to say that I don’t have free will, or that there are not disagreements within the faith over things like science and exact meanings of verse, but all of us in Faith share the belief that Jesus was our savior, and was sent by his father to die for our sins.  So you can have your win, enjoy it, for my belief is strong enough, and the joy that it brings is so great, I feel like a winner every day. So, can I buy you a soda or something?

There you have it, the offer of the soda, or other peace offering, optional, of course. That is what faith is about. We can’t argue belief, but we are not meant to either. We are meant to believe, and show our strength in that belief, and thus show others and lead them to belief as well.

Had some of the curious, or those with doubts in the faith, witnessed that kind of a show of strength in the word, we may today have some new brothers and sisters in faith with us today. Instead, we have some that were scared away, or worse yet, now joining the chorus against belief so they will not be labeled as out of touch as we are.

It matters not how loud, often, or hard you say something, it matters how strong you believe.

Our personal witness to the lord is something we can only share with other believers, or those ready to become believers. Don’t try to change the minds of those not ready, or openly hostile. Just show your strength, that shakes them to the bones!

Arghghg!

Eban

What begins soon? The voyage of a lifetime. A voyage of fun, adventure, but most important, FAITH!

It is time to take back the Faith from those that soil the image of Christianity. To show those that have fled the Faith for cool things like New Age and Paganism, that Christianity is cool and fun as well.

It is time to show the world unconditional love, and understand that people have free will. To condemn others is to scare them away forever. To welcome and accept, no matter what, shows the true nature of Faith.

It is time to stop preaching and start showing. It is time to stop recruiting and start including.

Can you stop an alcoholic from drinking if he is not ready? Neither can you bring someone to Faith who is not ready. And if you do, will they stay if the reasons were not right?

It is time to realize not everyone will be saved, but it is our job to make the decision to be saved a pleasant prospect rather than hellfire and brimstone.

It is time to accept that a lot of people recently, even leaders, in Faith have brought shame on the name of Christianity. It is our job to both forgive these folks, and to bring honor back to the concept of Christianity.

It is time to admit we are flawed, that only God is perfect, but we are still sort of OK. We need to move beyond the guilt, and move towards our salvation.

Christianity is mystical, it is fun, it is love. Let’s show that to the world. Let’s break the molds and stereotypes!

It Begins Soon!

Cheers,

Eban

Ship photo in thumbnail by earcos