On a religious note, I'm reading a lot of righteous indignation regarding the Victoria Osteen video. I try very hard to ignore theological controversies because I'm too busy trying to follow the red parts of the Bible, which is really difficult because people will annoy me and I will find myself wanting to dope slap them, and Jesus definitely tells us not to dope slap people, no matter how annoying they are.
Anyway, you have no idea the lengths to which I go to avoid the ugly, divisive underbelly of contentious Christianity, even within my own denomination, so I will confess right here and now that I had never heard of "prosperity theology" before learning of this particular controversy. I have no idea if the accusations of heresy being hurled at the Osteens are valid or not, and I am glad that we've come a long way from the days of the Inquisition so they need not fear for their lives at the hands of the righteously indignant.
I believe that, mostly, we're all just trying to find our way through this life as best we can, and we seriously need to love one another because that's what Jesus said for us to do. Love one another and don't dope slap people.
It's in the Sermon on the Mount, I'm sure.
I love Jesus, and because of that, I don't plan on wasting His time by praying for winning numbers for the lottery. Generally, I ask Him what He wants me to do and not what He can do for me. And when I go to church, it's most definitely to worship God because I'm actually perfectly happy sitting at home on Sunday morning in my jammies sipping coffee and pinning stuff on Pinterest.
So I'm going to share my perspective on this issue with a quotation from C.S. Lewis (so you know I'm not alone in my opinion).
We're Christians. Let's choose to focus on Christ, on the red parts of the Bible, on loving-kindness and compassion.
Peace, love, and harmony coming at you from Madison.
Peace, love and harmony right back at you from North Wilkesboro.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteI'm with C.S.Lewis, and not because I'm English! There are things we have to face up to in scripture that may make us unpopular and will certainly make us enemies even within the church. We are warned about false teachers and about not doing something when we know we ought, (James 4:17). The bottom line is this: Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). The video clip is taken out of context, so it's hard to know what she is trying to say. The bit I heard? Well, she is totally wrong
ReplyDeleteAnne, it's amazing to me how reactive people are to sound bites these days. There's usually a lot more given context, and the outrage over this sound bite caught me by surprise. I know I'm ignorant of the full theology expressed by the Osteens and therefore refuse to jump on any bandwagon to persecute them based on so little evidence. I also don't have the time or desire to study up on them or read his books in depth, either. Still, what she says in the clip sure doesn't fit with my Methodist upbringing!
DeleteI just hope people calm down enough to be civil and kind even if they criticize.
I really appreciate your blogs. You are able to put into words (obviously you were an English major and I wasn't!) thoughts that I have in my head. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and perspectives. Enjoy Wisconsin. It is truly a beautiful area of this country.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lynn. We always enjoy Wisconsin and had a great trip this time!
Delete