Christian Posers and Childish Hosers

Why is it that so much of the America's population claims Christianity as its religion, but so few people practice it or "get" it? What I find more than anything else is apathy. People just don't seem to care that much about their faith. When you talk about Christianity as a religion, or our "values" (like prayer in school, abortion, homosexuality, etc.), we get very passionate about Christian ideals. But when it comes to living the way Jesus lived and taught us, we just don't care that much.

It's interesting to me that those who do care, and do get it are looked at like weirdos, while the 'norm' is to not be engaged with your faith in any significant way. This is strange to me. We want to claim Christian values, even the Christian 'religious institution', but we don't want to actually live the way that we're supposed to, using Jesus as our example.

What I'm also surprised at are the number of people who act so much less mature than their age would indicate. People who are otherwise mature, responsible adults, can at times act like children. They become obstinate or difficult, defensive or hurt when they don't get their way, don't get the recognition they think they deserve, or when they feel that they have been slighted in some (usually imaginary) way. Why is this? What drives otherwise normal, mature people to act so childish? I see it again and again, and I'm often baffled that it happens from people who are otherwise mentally stable, intelligent, coherent people. It's like all of a sudden their minds and bodies are taken over by some 10 year old child alien who moans and whines about the most ridiculous situations, usually overanalyzing things and becoming crazily over-sensitive.

Of course, I am a relatively intelligent, responsible and mature adult too. Maybe I act like this sometimes and don't realize it. Perhaps. But usually people who are fairly self-aware are self-aware enough to realize when they are acting petty and immature. This is a strange situation, though, and one that is far more common and frequent than I ever expected. Grow up, people!

OK, rant over for today...

A Nation of Pharisees

The more time I spend in religious communities (I have been part of many, in a variety of capacities), and the more I observe our culture (the Church in America and America in general), the more I feel that we are a nation of pharisees.

It seems that many of the issues that we struggle with today are the very same issues that Jesus was constantly challenging the pharisees about. There seems to be an incessant legalism abundant in our Christianity today, which stands in direct opposition to Jesus' words and example. Yet we can't help but continue to force a restrictive religion on those around us. We can't help but point fingers and name names, all the while citing biblical chapter and verse to justify our rantings, yet never truly 'getting' what Jesus was all about.

We force people into our pre-contextualized ideology of Christianity and reject them (in a wide variety of ways, some subtle and some blatant) for not fitting in to our notions of what a Christian should be. Isn't this exactly what Jesus told the Pharisees to stop doing?

Now, I'm not talking about issues of morality or ethics or behavior or rights and wrongs. Rather, I'm talking about our focus as Christians, and how we relate to one another and to the world around us. Our Aristotelian minds must group everyone and everything into some category of our own creation, and largely based on our own experiences and expectations. Rather than reaching out with the love and the grace of God...a love that can heal the pain of a world in need...we judge and dismiss, criticize and ostracize.

We rarely live up to the two major imperatives of Scripture: to love God and one another, and to go into all the world and share the good news of Jesus. I wonder if we are too busy trying to find ways that people are not living up to God's standards to bother with the fact that no one ever does. Isn't this what the Pharisees did? They focused on the law so much that they forgot to pay attention to what God was trying to do.

The amazing thing about God's grace is that it is unconditional love in action...it loves us despite our sin and worthlessness. Jesus' work on the cross was to make us worthy because we are not able to do so on our own. The unconditional love of God says, "you are NOT worthy, but that's why I sent Jesus...he was Love made flesh." Isn't that what the world needs?

How do we interact with the world around us? Do we act as agents and emissaries of the love of God, or do we act more like judge and jury, as the Pharisees did? I know I act more like the latter, sometimes. I wonder if, in many ways, we aren't a nation of pharisees.

I think I'll write a book about this some day.

What is Pismo?

Given that I am a relatively opinionated person, depending on the topic, I figured it was about time to publish a blog of my thoughts/views/etc.

So why the title "Pismo"? Pismo is the Czech word for "Word" or "Holy Wit"...anyone who knows anything about me understands the significance of all of the above.

Here I'll be posting my thoughts and opinions on numerous subjects, from religion to music, from entertainment (movies/TV) to whatever else may be on my mind.

These are my opinions, and while that largely goes without saying, I'm the type who respects and values the opinions of everyone, even if I disagree with them. Feel free to let me know your own thoughts and/or your response(s) to mine.