kerravonsen | (Reply)

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I agree too.

Or put it in another context: many people of other non-Christian faiths have accomplished great things in the name of love (for example, Ghandi) and the world is a better place for it. Were their accomplishments in vain? God can turn all things to his glory. I wouldn't say that any good thing is "in vain"!

Evangelical tradition does have a lot of good to its credit, but there are a lot of things that simply do not work for me after the distance of years and more life experience has shown me that there's a certain sort of smugness and self-righteousness that glitters around the edges of many groups who follow that tradition.

In recent years, I've come to the conclusion that for some who follow that tradition religion is more like a fandom than a spiritual path. Bumper stickers, t-shirts, "special" sayings, the notion that everything has to be marked "Christian" from wall-art to home furnishings to music, movies, TV and fiction.

Thirty years or so ago, I wouldn't have been able to see this. I bought into it without thinking. But over the years I've seen too many who display all these things behave in a less than Christian fashion. I don't doubt that most of them are Christians, but I sometimes wonder if in displaying all the outward signs makes them complacent about doing the hard inner work needed to find a Christian attitude.