Church of the Walking Dead

I have heard of a book titled "Toxic Religion" (I have not read it, nor will I). I have also heard on Christian radio some talk of how harmful "religion" can be. I have also spoken with folks who believe that religion is the bane of society; it has turned many against God, they say. I myself have been one of those "walking wounded" – a term used often in churches today, especially those churches who supposedly never wound anyone. I don't like to be wounded. I don't want to wound others. And I don't particularly like institutional religion.

But here are the facts: we will be wounded and we will wound others.

And we can blame religion, throwing out anything and everything of God in the process, while still maintaining that "in our hearts" we are still Christians and still love Jesus (Sadly, I'm fairly certain I have heard those words coming out of my own mouth in the not too distant past.)

Or we can stop being hypocrites (people who find fault with everyone else around them, but find very little or no fault in themselves) and take responsibility for the fact that we want Jesus and all that He offers us, but we don't want to suffer as He did.

The previous posting quoted Charles Spurgeon and John Bunyan, examples of Christians willing to suffer all sorts of hardship, rebuke, hurts (whether justified or unjustified), and in the case of John Bunyan, imprisonment several times during his lifetime, spending close to 25 years of his life in the Bedford jail in England; all because he refused to stop preaching and he would not obey the law which forced folks to attend Anglican church services on Sunday (John was a Reformed Baptist born of Puritan stock). His jailers did not necessarily wish to imprison him, but his continued statement of "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow" left them no choice. He identified greatly with Paul, the apostle, especially the part about being the "chief of sinners" and it was during these prison years that he wrote the allegorical novel: The Pilgrim's Progress. He wove shoelaces while in prison to help support his wife and four children, and he preached to fellow prisoners.

Wikipedia says this about John Bunyan's later years: "He was released [from Bedford jail] in January 1672, when Charles II issued the Declaration of Religious Indulgence. In that month he became pastor of St Paul's Church. On 9 May 1672, Bunyan was the recipient of one of the first licenses to preach under the new law. He built a new meeting-house and formed a nonconformist sect from his surviving parishioners and increased his congregation to as many as four thousand Christians in Bedfordshire. He established over thirty new congregations and was given the affectionate title of "Bishop Bunyan" by his parishioners .

Besides all of this, there is one more thing I want you to know about John Bunyan. He fiercely disagreed with and attacked Quaker beliefs. He entered into written debates for a couple of years with one of the Quakers' prominent leaders. He accused them of relying too much on their "inner light" and not enough on the literal Word of God. (Sound familiar?) He might even have "wounded" a few of those Quakers, who were seriously trying to serve God, but were apparently missing it scripturally in a few areas. It was the Quakers, nevertheless, who eventually were able to have him released from prison.

John Bunyan wasn't afraid of being "toxic". He wasn't afraid of who he "wounded" with the truth. He just spoke the truth and he did it with passion. There was nothing "lukewarm" about him. God tells us He prefers cold or hot, but never lukewarm. (Revelation 3:15-16)

As for me, whatever wounds were laid upon me during the years I have been a Christian, have only served to bring spiritual growth to me. I believe that's what the Lord intended for us to experience. I don't believe He thought we would live in community with one another and not suffer wounds from one another. But I think He also expected us to learn in the process how not to hurt others as much, and especially how to forgive as He first forgave us who were so undeserving.

But the most important lessons that John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, and so many others, including all the New Testament saints, teach us is to be passionate, bold, convicted of our beliefs even to the point of perhaps wounding others who prefer the truth of the Word of God to be less sharp and cutting. The church is to be so full of life and living and action, and in the process, mistakes will be made, people will be hurt, people will forgive and be forgiven….if we are the church of Jesus Christ that is.

Or we can be very innocuous, very politically correct, very reserved and keep our beliefs to ourselves, speaking only "positive" things; and become, as Spurgeon described, the church of the walking dead.

For the dead feel no pain. At least…..not here.