In The Name Of God!
Preaching
Lions And Cows Dining Together
And 111 Other Sermon Ideas
Object:
Purpose Statement: Christians have done (and still do) some terrible things and claimed they were done with the approval of God or by God's instructions.
The message of the previous sermon is that we blame God for tragic events. This message puts a little twist on that theme and suggests we sometimes do terrible things and claim God's sponsorship. Christians have an unfortunate history of violence and wrongdoing in the name of God. The church has hunted down and killed witches, persecuted Jews, owned slaves and justified it, fought needless wars, executed innocent persons, and these are just the glaringly dramatic travesties. History records some ugly events perpetrated by the church and done in the name of God. It still happens today. Many Christians in our country believe God blesses all our wars. Some Christians deny their children medical services and let them die "because it is God's will." Some Christians still believe it is appropriate to discriminate against homosexuals. There are many subtler ways we behave badly as "Christians" and claim God's consent. I believe Gandhi was once asked what was the greatest obstacle to the Christian church in India and he answered, "Christians."
a. The crime. The crime is involving God in our culpability by claiming God approves, or actually desires, the wrong, foolish, or tragic beliefs or activities in which we engage. An unfortunate and disturbing example is found in 1 Samuel 15:7-33. Samuel slashes King Agag to pieces in front of the altar of God (as an act of worship?) apparently believing this was God's will.
b. The criminal. While most of us may be guilty some of the time, the most flagrant violators are the "fundamentalists" in each of the three "related" faiths, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This is probably true of most, or all, religions. In general, Judaism is an enlightened faith; but the fundamentalist Jews are terribly intolerant and violent. Their activity in the Mideast parallels the early European treatment of the Native Americans in this country. Moslems claim to be loving and peaceable; but viciousness and racism of their fundamentalist sect prejudices outsiders against the faith. While intolerance is found among all Christians, it thrives more among the fundamentalists. It is among the fundamentalists of each religion that we find the most violent, nationalistic, narrow-minded racists and bigots. With the Jews in Jesus' day, it was the Pharisees (Matthew 23) who were the strict keepers of the law. The more conservative we get, the more we attribute to God things that, committed by any one of us, would warrant a prison term. Pastors who tell us the death of the child killed in the car accident was God's will are blaspheming God.
c. The victim. All of us suffer through our misguided understanding of the nature of God. We worship and follow a shadow of God instead God's real presence. We are hurt by such ideas as believing God wants us to go to war instead of negotiating with love and understanding. This unfortunate theology can drive thoughtful people away from the church. Then, there are those who feel the church has discriminated against them.
d. The evidence. The Bible presents some difficult passages that lead to fundamentalist misunderstandings. The church, to justify war and other violence, uses the Old Testament, and God is credited with atrocities as in Joshua 10:11-13 when God rains down hailstones and kills the Amorites. Then God makes the sun stand still so the Israelites would have more time to slaughter their enemies. The New Testament, with but a few exceptions, encourages a much healthier understanding of the nature of God. 1 John 4:7-16 is a fine example of the great love of God espoused by the New Testament. James 1:12-18 and 5:7-11 attest that God does not do bad things. Matthew 7:9-11 tells how God gives better gifts to us than we, even at our best, could give to each other.
e. The punishment. We suffer by believing false ideas concerning God and God's will for us, which brings estrangement in our relationship with God, thereby denying the power of God to effect a society of justice and peace.
The message of the previous sermon is that we blame God for tragic events. This message puts a little twist on that theme and suggests we sometimes do terrible things and claim God's sponsorship. Christians have an unfortunate history of violence and wrongdoing in the name of God. The church has hunted down and killed witches, persecuted Jews, owned slaves and justified it, fought needless wars, executed innocent persons, and these are just the glaringly dramatic travesties. History records some ugly events perpetrated by the church and done in the name of God. It still happens today. Many Christians in our country believe God blesses all our wars. Some Christians deny their children medical services and let them die "because it is God's will." Some Christians still believe it is appropriate to discriminate against homosexuals. There are many subtler ways we behave badly as "Christians" and claim God's consent. I believe Gandhi was once asked what was the greatest obstacle to the Christian church in India and he answered, "Christians."
a. The crime. The crime is involving God in our culpability by claiming God approves, or actually desires, the wrong, foolish, or tragic beliefs or activities in which we engage. An unfortunate and disturbing example is found in 1 Samuel 15:7-33. Samuel slashes King Agag to pieces in front of the altar of God (as an act of worship?) apparently believing this was God's will.
b. The criminal. While most of us may be guilty some of the time, the most flagrant violators are the "fundamentalists" in each of the three "related" faiths, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This is probably true of most, or all, religions. In general, Judaism is an enlightened faith; but the fundamentalist Jews are terribly intolerant and violent. Their activity in the Mideast parallels the early European treatment of the Native Americans in this country. Moslems claim to be loving and peaceable; but viciousness and racism of their fundamentalist sect prejudices outsiders against the faith. While intolerance is found among all Christians, it thrives more among the fundamentalists. It is among the fundamentalists of each religion that we find the most violent, nationalistic, narrow-minded racists and bigots. With the Jews in Jesus' day, it was the Pharisees (Matthew 23) who were the strict keepers of the law. The more conservative we get, the more we attribute to God things that, committed by any one of us, would warrant a prison term. Pastors who tell us the death of the child killed in the car accident was God's will are blaspheming God.
c. The victim. All of us suffer through our misguided understanding of the nature of God. We worship and follow a shadow of God instead God's real presence. We are hurt by such ideas as believing God wants us to go to war instead of negotiating with love and understanding. This unfortunate theology can drive thoughtful people away from the church. Then, there are those who feel the church has discriminated against them.
d. The evidence. The Bible presents some difficult passages that lead to fundamentalist misunderstandings. The church, to justify war and other violence, uses the Old Testament, and God is credited with atrocities as in Joshua 10:11-13 when God rains down hailstones and kills the Amorites. Then God makes the sun stand still so the Israelites would have more time to slaughter their enemies. The New Testament, with but a few exceptions, encourages a much healthier understanding of the nature of God. 1 John 4:7-16 is a fine example of the great love of God espoused by the New Testament. James 1:12-18 and 5:7-11 attest that God does not do bad things. Matthew 7:9-11 tells how God gives better gifts to us than we, even at our best, could give to each other.
e. The punishment. We suffer by believing false ideas concerning God and God's will for us, which brings estrangement in our relationship with God, thereby denying the power of God to effect a society of justice and peace.
