Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Plastic Christianity

While reading a post over at Mike Ratliff's Possessing the Treasure blog which discussed "The Promise of the Holy Spirit" I was struck by the starkly fake, plasticized nature of the modern professing church.

I posted the following comment in response to Mike's excellent article:

Mike,

Your synopsis reminds me once again of the “pearl of great price”, the invisible church - Christ’s true body - that’s found within the larger generally apostate professing church. Sheep and goats, wheat and tares; all this only makes sense in light of revealed scripture and the scriptures only come alive to unregenerate man via the drawing and guidance of the Spirit.

I used to think that people just didn’t like to hear the truth, but I’ve come realize not only do they not want to hear the truth, they can’t want to hear the truth and apart from the working of the Spirit can’t understand the truth even when they do hear it with their natural ears.

Praise be unto the Lord that salvation is of God alone and not of the works of men with their silly sloppy agape and oh so clever, engaging, info-tainment, commercialized and slickly packaged “on-the-go” sermon bites.

How tragic and how terrible that so many hold so low a view of the Infinite Creator and Judge of the universe. How sadly poetic that so much of Christianity is represented by a plastic fish and a plastic cross.

Plastic Christianity is the rule rather than the exception today. Ken and Barbie Benchwarmer are hyper focused on the lighting, the comfort of the chairs (no pews thank you very much!), the color coordinated “Praise and Worship” band (no choir than you very much!) and the catchy and rhythmic beats of electronic Novocain. But not unlike the plants in the breezeway they’re fake to the roots.

I take no joy in pointing to these truths, but it is what it is.


Oh Lord help us to be the men and women you've called us to be! Create in us clean hearts oh Lord and renew in us a right spirit! Amen.