Weiye Loh's Library tagged Parsimony → View Popular, Search in Google

Jul

2011

on the contemporary church: criticism, culture & crisis | the blink times

Are denominations at risk of extinction? Judging from the current trend, it seems quite obvious that apart from the monolithic traditions and a few eccentric separatists, the differences between various Christian groups aren’t really there anymore. All of them—in the name of an Evangelical banner, no less—believe in the inerrant nature of the Bible, the importance of proselytising and the need for personal salvation. There’s nothing wrong with these tenets, but several social transformations seem to suggest that the Church is making a desperate attempt to stay relevant and politically engaged.

www.joelgn.com/blog

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Religion Christianity Proselytizing Parsimony Grand Narrative Narratives

Walk out into the streets and you will find doomsday prophets, LGBT antagonists, anti-evolutionists and pseudo-liberals with a white-washed hippie version of Christ. Incidentally, all their voices are supported with visual appeal and sophisticated marketing strategies.
Complexities only lie with the form, while the message must be ‘simple’ enough to generate the critical mass of believers. These people seem to enjoy politicising their faith, even when they have not made much sense out of it. The modern Church has become a massive advertisment, but how much of the ‘real’ gospel is being advocated is anyone’s guess.
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- The bigger question is not really what the book says, but how we interpret, and more importantly relate it to our own experiences. To refrain from self-reflection and go on a hate-war against those who ‘appear’ to be living a life of sin would only make the faithful look foolish.
- A Christian may warn the atheist of total chaos and say, ‘If God does not exist, then everything is permitted.’ But how often have Christians used God’s name to further their own agendas of conquest, colonisation and capitalist coercion? It is thus hard for me to disagree whenever someone claims that God has become the justification for our selfish actions and lawlessness.