The following was originally posted in my journal on the U2 fansite, Interference. I wrote it after reading about another poster's (Meghan) negative experiences at her sister's church.
Christians are definitely called upon to "witness", to bear their witness. But this causes some problems.
1. We often bear witness to a doctrine, a creed, a belief system rather than a person. And Christianity, at the end of the day is about a Person, a specific Person who we are all supposed to know and be bound to. But unfortunately for most of us, we witness because we are "supposed to." I don't know Meghan or her sister, but that was the vibe I got. . .that her sister felt she "had" to take her sister to church. The whole thing felt forced.
2. Historically, and still today, too many of us prosletyze from a position, an attitude of superiority. Religion becomes a form of control. Humans naturally reach out for the spiritual, I believe. If you can claim a monopoly on "real" or "genuine" connection to the spiritual, then that automatically grants you a huge amount of power over those around you. Far too many people have found that kind of power too much to resist.
However, I have no patience with what I call the "Imagine" philosophy, which suggests that "religion is the cause of all wars." The cause of all wars is human greed, hatred, and selfishness. Religion has just been a convenient cloak to hide old fashioned land-grabs. And furthermore, a quick look at our most horrible atrocities reveals that most were not religiously motivated--Hitler and Stalin were both atheists, as was Pol Pot. The Rawandan and Bosnian violence of the 90's were primarily ethnic conflicts. World War I, the Civil War, the Mexican War, the American Revolution were all about money, power, and land. Granted a lot of people invoked God's name on their sides in their conflict but it's just crazy to suggest that these conflicts wouldn't have happened if the combatants had been irreligious. Of course I acknowledge the relgious fanatics and extremists that have contributed their share--the "troubles" in Ireland, Islamic fundamentalism, and Pat freakin' Robertson. But I can't buy into the idea that if we "imagine there's no heaven, no hell below us, above us only sky" all the people will "live as one." (I do like the song. But the it's shaky philosophy).
But I'm getting off topic.
Third problem with "witnessing": Today's society and culture is not very accepting of religons that maintain they are right and others are wrong. And unfortunately, Christianity is one such faith. It'd be so much easier if I were Buddhist! One of my good friends, a Hollywood actor, writer, and director is Buddhist and his particular brand of Buddhism strongly encourages proselytizing. But it's so much easier for him, because as a Buddhist, you can also be a Christian. You don't give up Christianity, you just add Buddhism. Christianity, unfortunately, does not work that way. And thus it is very "out of step" with popular culture today. Today "you can believe whatever you want as long as you don't believe I'm wrong. " To actually say, "my beliefs are right and yours are mistaken, or misguided, or only partially right, or just flat out wrong" is to pick a fight these days. This is "intolerance."
But to me, intolerance is not about believing I'm right. It's about what I do with that belief. It's about what I believe my "rightness" says about me and what it says about you. This is the root of intolerance. Do I think that my being "right" makes me any better than another person? Do I bash people over the head with my righness? ("Right makes Might." Because I have "The Truth" I am now free to do whatever I want to you in the name of "Truth" ) And most importantly, do I allow for the possiblity that I could be wrong--especially important in the area of religion where nothing can be proven?
Christianity is thorny because it does claim to have a monopoly on the complete version of Truth. We believe the ONLY way to eternity is through Jesus. The great offense of Christianity is that it claims to be the ONLY path.
For many Christians they conclude this means that if you don't become a Christian you will not have eternal life (to my personal horror, most believe that you will instead have an eternity of torture. This idea I think is the worst thing Christianity has ever foisted on humanity). I don't draw the same conclusion. I believe that all kinds of people from all kinds of religions (and those who are not religious at all) will "go to heaven." Put it this way, if a person is drowning, does he/she need to know the name of the lifeguard that is saving him/her? There's still only one lifeguard in the water but not everyone knows His actual identity. This is not a traditional Christian view, I admitt, but makes sense based on what I understand of the Bible.
So where does this leave me on the subject of "witnessing?"I don't believe that it is my job as a Christian to "convert" people. I believe God does that. I can share my experience (as opposed to "what I believe" ) with others, but that's all. It's not my job to try to "get anyone into my church." I do believe it is my job to share what I've seen and heard, to "bear witness" to what Christ has meant to me, and to be available to those who want to embrace Him also.See, I think for every person like Meghan who is not looking to make a change, there those who are actively seeking for something more than whatever "package" they've currently got. If I withdraw, I'm missing an opportunity to help such people (and truthfully, what are my real reasons for "withdrawing" my "witness?" Selfishness, laziness, and that I'm not really that interested in reaching out to anyone else, especially if I have to chance rejection or ridicule).
More and more I'm convinced that all we can be is who we are. Too many Christians are trying to "appear Christian" and it's kinda pathetic. I think we just need to just be. Try to know Jesus for ourselves and pray that we can make a positive impact in the lives of others and represent Him well (and not become a "reality-show" token Christian or even worse a Pat Robertson). I like teaching in a Christian school, where I can talk about my faith, teach it, and try to model it.
I really admire the missionaries of an organization called Adventist Frontier Missions (or AFM). These people go to very remote parts of the world and also places that are quite modern and populated. What the locations have in common is that there isn't much mission work being done by our or any church there. They send out this free magazine to anyone who donates even once and I read it voraciously every month. I don't know why I like it so much--most of the missionaries are WAY more conservative than I could ever dream of being. But I guess I like it because they are remarkably sincere in their love, because they build relationships (they may spend years doing nothing but learning the language and culture and getting to be a part of the community), because they look for ways to make their faith meaningful and relevant to the cultures in which they live instead of trying to force feed them some Westernized brand of Christianity. If they're in Thailand, well, in their pictures Jesus is Thai and the Biblical stories reflect Thai cultural concepts.One guy who contributes to the magazine I knew quite well when I was in college. He's in a Muslim country where it is illegal to proselytize. He tells about how someone asked him, "Surely you don't think that all those people in the Muslim country are going to hell if you don't make them Christians." He replied, no he doesn't believe that all those people are automatically "lost" if they don't become Christians. But he says he sees a lot of people without hope, without love, without peace, without joy. And he feels he has those things and he wants to share that with others. He describes his work as sharing joy. I love that.
Of course I know that there are lot of people who think the very idea of any person going to another place to share their faith is objectionable. "Leave them alone!" they say "Why do you have to go over there and mess with their lives. They're fine the way they are." But, if, as a Christian you really believe that you have something so amazing, how can you not share it? And much of the time, these missionaries are doing more than "preaching." They are boots on the ground in places providing medical care and aid. The AFM missionaries are out there in Africa doing what Bono's always talking about, making sure people don't die of "stupid poverty." Granted, missionaries have done a lot of damage (I could tell you stories about what misguided missionaries have done to people out here in the Pacific over the years). One of my favorite novels is Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" which is an excellent cautionary tale about the excesses of missionary fervor. But that doesn't mean that being a missionary in itself is bad (at least I hope not, since I'm one myself).
Finally, I can't conceive of sermon that would put down Muslims and Jews. I mean I can. The highly politicized evangelical Christianity that I find in America drives me absolutely crazy. I hate it! It just burns me up to walk into a Christian bookstore in the States and see the American flag draping everything in sight and a full size cutout of George W. Bush. What is THAT?!? I'm thinking, how do you explain this to a Chinese Christian who is putting his life on the life for Jesus? What does the Republican party have to do with his life? Ugh. . .don't get me started.So, I agree with Meghan that such a sermon is reprehensible. But I don't know that I agree that it is wrong to pray for those "under Muslim rule." I can conceive of such a prayer. You'd have to be blind not realize that extreme Islam can be just as intolerant and oppressive as extreme Christianity. There are many people under fanatical Muslim rule--people who have no choice in what they can or can't believe. To pray for the oppressed under, say, the Taliban, is no more offensive than supporting Amnesty International.
