Christianity Today

I don’t talk about my faith. I shouldn’t be ashamed, but I am. I’m a progressive Christian, something that apparently goes against everything organized religion stands for and I openly condemn the current presidency. It is not a popular opinion among family and I’m very much the black sheep. The church can’t seem to reconcile my position on women’s bodies, love is love, human rights and acceptance without judgment.

I wasn’t always this way, I loved to judge and I embraced hypocrisy with every fiber of my being. If you drank, going to hell. If you had sex before marriage, going to hell. If you were gay, going to hell. If you had an abortion, going to hell. I’ve come along way, thanks to my brother. See, he is gay and I love him fiercely, he has taught me more about love, forgiveness, acceptance and God’s love than anyone in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) I grew up in ever had.

Just this past week, Christianity Today (CT) came out with a statement calling for the removal of President Trump. While I rejoice that they finally found their voice…it took too long. Were they and my brothers and sisters in Christ not watching this madman and his reign of terror as he openly condemned the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, women and lied, cheated and said and did things like:

• “Grab them by the pussy.”
•  Mocking of a disabled reporter.
• “I could shoot someone on fifth street.”
• “Go back to where you came from.”

It is TOO late.

Individuals like myself and much younger have and are staging a mass exodus from the church. Why are you surprised? “Evangelists” such as Franklin Graham endorse and support his racism, sexism, ableism, classism, xenophobia, homophobia – pick one or pick them all, and are SURPRISED when we can’t reconcile his or the church’s blindness to who we view as Jesus Christ?

WAKE THE FUCK UP.

I love Jesus and I love my fellow human beings and because of that I will not condone, accept or turn a blind eye to the crisis our country is experiencing at the hand of a raving lunatic and the church’s inability to stand up in the face of injustice. This is exactly what Jesus teaches us! He made the ultimate sacrifice to save us, yet we are too scared and cowardly to embody him and follow his example.

I read the following statement by an individual on Facebook, shared by a friend of mine, and it captures my heart and so many others perfectly:

We’re not confused anymore. We understand the priorities here. Protection of empire, institution, and power. CT’s timing in speaking up and out is not comforting—it is an incredibly, alarmingly low bar.

They will know us by our love.

The institutional church is certainly known for its love at this point. The bigger question for me is—love of what?

God and country?
Or God IN humanity?

THAT. That’s where we’re parting ways.

I may not openly talk about my love of Jesus, but I try so desperately to show my love through my actions. Maybe I’m not doing it right, either way I will always stand up and fight for those that the church has forsaken.

You are loved.

I love you.

Jesus loves you.

That is all that matters.