When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51
Several years ago, I watched the program Weeds, that was aired on Showtime. It was in the third season when, in one weekly installment, religion became a prominent topic. The depiction of religion was that of snake handlers, as the following scenes showed: A grade school class is taught the evils of abortion by being shown a shocking photograph; A Jewish boy is sought out for conversion; A teenage girl was snubbed because she confessed to being a homosexual; Creationists were dethroned by evolutionists calling creationists position unsustainable by facts; A young co-ed remains true to abstinence, sexually liberated, she also abstained from cigarettes, though she is portrayed as a hypocrite as she justifies smoking marijuana as it is wholesome. This program ended with a silly and demeaning showing of a prayer circle with the participants’ speaking in tongues and gyrating. It was such a strong indictment against religion, that I wondered if this is how the writers really perceived Christianity.
It is true that Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Bob Jones, Creflo Dollar, Franklin Graham, and other media savvy pastors who stand before a camera rather than a cross, have done a disservice to Christianity with their eccentric remarks. A stir was created when Falwell said, “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.” Robertson told viewers that “awful looking” woman can cause marriages to lose spark.
Tabloids had a feeding frenzy when Phil Robertson, the foremost personality on the reality show Duck Dynasty, televised on A&E, with his view on homosexuality. His comment, shared with CQ magazine, is insensitive, degrading, and uncompromisingly condemning: “It seems like, to me, a virgin – as a man – would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical. Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine. Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers – they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
According to a reality show, the patriarch of the Louisan clan, all homosexuals are going to hell. Unfortunately, this is also the same discriminatory position of many Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Roman Catholics.
Phil Robertson did say, “My mission today is to go forth and tell people why I follow Christ and what the Bible teaches…” Infused with the same conviction and sincerity as a bayou reality star, many Christians journey forth on that mission. Unfortunately, it is a mission of the Pharisees – legalistic, judgmental, intolerant.
To this portfolio the televangelist who is most predominant promotor of the Prosperity Gospel, Joel Osteen. His wife, Victoria Osteen, said in a sermon, “when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God…we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy….” Theologians were quick to rebuke Victoria Osteen, for Christians are not called to be happy, but to serve.
Parochial convictions have always been a part of the church; though, this isn’t the force that propelled Christianity for two millenniums. These outrageous beliefs may tickle the writers of Weeds, but they will never be the hallmark of martyrs.
Justin was born into a pagan family and later converted to Christianity. He then became a great apologist, a defender of church doctrine. He was arrested in Rome under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Prior to his execution for refusing to worship Roman idols, he said, “If we are punished for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to be saved.” For this act of faith Justin was given the surname Martyr. Justin Martyr.
Polycarp studied under John, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Polycarp was burned at the stake for refusing to burn incense to the Roman Emperor. Upon his death he said, “Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
Courage, not charisma, sustains the church. When Robert Schuler retired the Crystal Cathedral shattered. When it was discovered that Ted Haggard lived a double life, as he was outspoken against homosexuality though he had a male lover, life New Life Church splintered. When Mark Driscoll was caught plagiarizing his book on the ideal marriage, Mars Hill Church went out-of-print.
Contrast this to Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was hanged in 1945 for his defiance of Hitler as he remained unmoved, as he steadfastly adhered to Christian ethics. His words confess the authentic message of Christianity: “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”
We are in the season of Lent. The liturgical season on the Christian calendar, that thorough sacrifice, we prepare ourselves for Easter. The most telling passage for us is to “set our face to go to Jerusalem.” You will not find my Christianity seated in a renovated sports complex in Houston, but in Jerusalem walking the Via Dolorosa.