You know . . . I’m kind of amazed at some people.  Okay, lots of people.

Recently we had a couple of evangelists on campus.  Now, I respect what they are doing, and am glad to see someone spreading the Word.  However, when I got a chance to sit and listen to them, I began to notice something.  Or rather, I began to notice a lack of something.  These people spoke out on sin and action.  They spent 30 minutes going on about how many things are a sin.  They pointed fingers and called people on the carpet.

Were they right?  Yeah, probably.

But what was missing from everything they were doing?

Love.

I sat and listened while they told every student that crossed their paths that the student was a sinner and going to hell.  They even tried it on me.  I looked him right in the face and said “No, I’m not.  I’m redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.”

Instead of rejoicing at finding a brother in Christ, these guys proceeded to try to convince me that I was still going to hell.

I beg your pardon?

This is when I got kinda peeved and decided to talk to them.  For some 15 minutes we chatted and I fell back on the only support I had: scripture.  These evangelists went on and on about things like “A lying tongue is full of hate” and other such definitions of sin.  Okay, that’s fine but why am I going to hell if I believe?  Their explanation: if you believed, you would be doing something about the sin in the world, and you are just standing there.

Of all the self-righteous things I’ve ever heard.

“This is how they shall know you are my disciples, that you love one another.”

Interesting that this doesn’t apply to those who are attempting to attend class and live a life.  God does not call us to proselytize, but to love.  We are to serve and love others.  Are we to speak truth?  Yes.  But seriously, since when are we to be militant about it?  Didn’t Christ himself describe Christian action?

“I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was hungry and you gave me food, I was naked and you clothed me . . . whatever you do to the least of these, you have done unto me.”

I seem to remember Christ getting pretty irate when pious gasbags attempted to preach at him.  In fact didn’t he call the religious leaders of the time “vipers”?

“I tell you, the axe is already laid at the root of the tree.”

Somehow, this sort of action doesn’t seem to communicate Christ to me.  It screams “religion,” but doesn’t even whisper “faith.”

The reason I talk about these guys is because it struck me that people like this are why Christians aren’t treated well when we attempt to speak our faith.  We are hit with statements like “don’t force your beliefs on me.”

It’s okay for an atheist to stand up and rail on the non-existence of God and quote Nietzche left and right.  But when someone stands up for God and quotes Jesus Christ, it turns into a screaming fit of people who claim we are forcing a belief system on them.

Whatever happened to freedom of speech on BOTH sides?

Also, does anybody else find it interesting that people will come up with the WILDEST concepts to insure that God can’t enter the equation?  For evidence of this, look at some of the theories of cosmology like rapid expansion and infinite past.  They’re mathematically and logically unsound and infinitely improbable, and yet people cling to them because they don’t like the ramifications of the alternative.  Notice that those who rail against creation aren’t afraid of the ramifications of Darwinism being wrong, they are afraid of what goes along with creation, which is an authority above our own.

Okay, enough rambling.