Offense of Christianity, Morpeus and Neo - Red Pill/Blue Pill, True Love

6/9/19          Joseph  (to see our conversation, click HERE)

Today I’m going to write about what I believe makes Christianity so offensive to many people.  And I must give warning, it could cause some who read it to abandon the faith, especially if their faith is only a shallow imitation of the real thing.  To some this foundational truth is the aroma of life, but to others it will be the stench of death.

I believe it is better to confront this truth sooner rather than later, especially before its too late.  It’s a foundational truth that makes or breaks Christianity for everyone, and its so important as part of the foundation that if one doesn’t grasp it, their faith will be no more solid than a house of cards.  So with this disclaimer, feel free to read no further and possibly continue on in ignorance.  As Morpheus asked Neo in The Matrix, do you want the red pill or the blue pill?

So here it is.  I’m going to state it very simply: God doesn’t love you or I because we are lovable.

This might not sound so bad at first glance but think about it – do you want others to love you BECAUSE of who you are and all the good they see in you, or DESPITE who you are and all the bad they see in you? 

Let’s be honest – we really don’t want “unconditional love”.  We want to be loved because we have earned it, because we deserve it, because the other has somehow discovered what a unique, wonderful person we are.

Of all the religions in the world, I believe biblical Christianity is uniquely offensive to outsiders because of the position it puts us in relation to God.  All of the works-based religions, including that of people who have a works-based view of Christianity, allow us to work for and somehow deserve some sort of reward in the next life.  Not so with biblical Christianity.  As Christians we know that the “work” of salvation is not something we can ever do FOR God, but rather it has been done for us BY God, as Jesus atoned for our sins on the cross.

I don’t just come up with topics like this out of the blue. I’m inspired by things discussed in outreach conversations.  This subject was something I talked about with a man named Joseph during a sidewalk conversation.  Joseph told me how he had left his evangelical roots in order to join the Catholic Church as an adult convert from Protestantism.  Because it was such an important adult decision, I found Joseph to be very well-read, articulate, and passionate about his new-found beliefs.  He and I had a lot in common and agreed about many things, but one foundational thing we could not agree on was the question of whether we as humans are basically good or basically evil in God’s eyes.

 Joseph believes we are basically good, and this view affects his theology including his view of Christ and the cross.  During our conversation he stated that God “owes it to us” to fix what is broken in us, since being basically good we deserve it.  His view of the cross would say, then, that it is a sign of our goodness, a sign that God finds us so lovable that He would do anything to demonstrate His love for us.

 As an example, he mentioned James 1, which reads “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

 Joseph’s understanding is that this “mirror” is Christ, and that when we look unto Him we see the greatest sign of God’s love.  When we forget Christ we drift away from God’s love and into sin.  But the passage tells us this “mirror” is “the perfect law” of God – such as the Ten Commandments – which sets the standard for moral perfection by which we can compare ourselves to.  When we look into God’s law, we see that we are basically wicked by comparison, condemned and in need of forgiveness.  If we look away from the law we forget what we saw, just like someone who looks away from a mirror and the fact that they have mud on their face.

 The “mirror” that is God’s moral law is meant to lead us to Jesus, the only place where salvation can be found.  Our relationship with God has been broken by our sin, which began with Adam and is renewed every time we violate our own God-given conscience.  We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved Him with our whole heart, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

  

We have broken our relationship with God, and only God can restore it.  And the good news is that there is amazing grace, an undeserved gift that can save even a wretch like you and me.  We were lost but God has found us, picked us up, is cleaning us up, and loves us unconditionally.  It is this unconditional love, this undeserved, unmerited love, which allows us to truly love God for the right reason – simply because He, not we, is the One who is truly lovable.

  

Thank you, Joseph, for allowing me to record such a thought provoking conversation!  It can be seen by clicking HERE