Recently, I made a comment in another thread about my perception that there is a vein of anger that exists within Christianity (like a vein in the body). I was (justly) taken to task for somewhat loose use of language. I intended the analogy to be "a vein is part of the body, but not all of it) But the analogy was flawed because a vein (it was pointed out) is a vital part of the body. And "within Christianity" is over-broad. It is not all aspects of Christianity. It is most notable in the American version of Christianity, and most specifically in the evangelical movement. But even that was not all that well received, possibly because we have a fairly significant evangelical contingent right here.
I see this anger in the postings of many of the people here - and in many of the positions taken. I was fascinated, as a consequence, to listen to a podcast this morning (part of the Here and Now series) in which they interviewed Bob Golden. Bob Golden is a leader in the Red Letter Christian movement. If you are not familiar with it, it is an evangelical movement, but they have jettisoned the term "evangelical" because, as best I can tell, they have come to see that term as being badly poisoned by what they call "toxic Christianity." The observations of this man dovetail almost exactly with my observations and what prompted my original comment.
If you are not familiar with Red Letter Christians, the name comes from the fact that, in many bibles, the words attributed to Jesus are printed in red letters. The movement seeks to call people back to the teachings attributed to Jesus, and is seriously concerned about the degree to which conventional Christain values are being jettisoned in the name of politics.
I'm curious to know what people think of this movement. But I also wanted to offer it as a partial affirmation of what I had early (more poorly) said: something is just not right in huge swaths of the evangelical community. The broad support for Trump, silence (or even defense and praise) for his worst actions and words, is just not in keeping with many of the traditional core tenets of Christianity. The positions for big business and big money and against the poor, they seem inconsistent with "blessed are the poor," and the parable of the widow's mite.
I found it heartening to know that a group like RLC exists, and is apparently getting traction. Maybe their message will be heard.
I see this anger in the postings of many of the people here - and in many of the positions taken. I was fascinated, as a consequence, to listen to a podcast this morning (part of the Here and Now series) in which they interviewed Bob Golden. Bob Golden is a leader in the Red Letter Christian movement. If you are not familiar with it, it is an evangelical movement, but they have jettisoned the term "evangelical" because, as best I can tell, they have come to see that term as being badly poisoned by what they call "toxic Christianity." The observations of this man dovetail almost exactly with my observations and what prompted my original comment.
If you are not familiar with Red Letter Christians, the name comes from the fact that, in many bibles, the words attributed to Jesus are printed in red letters. The movement seeks to call people back to the teachings attributed to Jesus, and is seriously concerned about the degree to which conventional Christain values are being jettisoned in the name of politics.
I'm curious to know what people think of this movement. But I also wanted to offer it as a partial affirmation of what I had early (more poorly) said: something is just not right in huge swaths of the evangelical community. The broad support for Trump, silence (or even defense and praise) for his worst actions and words, is just not in keeping with many of the traditional core tenets of Christianity. The positions for big business and big money and against the poor, they seem inconsistent with "blessed are the poor," and the parable of the widow's mite.
I found it heartening to know that a group like RLC exists, and is apparently getting traction. Maybe their message will be heard.
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