Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:10 (NAS)A couple of weeks ago I was listening to Michael Medved. He's a radio talk show host. Anyway, he started talking about a documentary that, at the time, was going to be released soon called Jesus Camp. A film that is about some kids that go to a church camp in Missouri. It apparently has a negative bent to it.
No, Medved is not a Christian. He is Jewish, and understands that Christians and Jews are spiritually linked. He is a defender of our faith, as well as his.
Two Sundays ago, 10/01/06, in Children's Church during praise and worship. Our Children's pastor got up and talked to us about this movie coming out that CNN had done a report on called Jesus Camp, and of course those reporting were more then willing magnify the negative.
The other day, I was on a website watching movie previews, and watched the Jesus Camp preview. It hints at the fact that the documentarians see Evangelicals as indoctrinating kids and comparing us to Islamofacists.
After watching the preview, I started looking for reviews. I ended up at rottentomatos.com. It was so disheartening.
- "One knows exactly where the first Christian suicide bombers will come from."
- "On one level, the documentary "Jesus Camp" is all about evangelical Christians keeping up with the terrorists. One overweight Pentecostal teacher, concerned that her "fat and lazy" students weren't playing with grenades and bomb belts by the time they were 5, seems to wish they could grow up to become suicide bombers."
- "As the adults in the movie apparently favor anarchy, intolerance of religions other than their own, and war as a means of achieving their goals."
Those are some of the quotes I read in different reviews. For some reason it seems that today when those who aren't Christians hear "God's Army" they're thinking military. When I was a kid no one ever freaked out when hearing that term. I guess people understood that we Christians fight a spiritual war not a physical one.
I felt terrible that so many people see us Evangelicals as nut jobs that hold to intolerance and hate as being fundamentals of Christianity.
Just because we see certain things as sin, does not mean we hate those that do it. Put simply, we would have to hate ourselves. I know the sins I deal with daily. One thing I grew up hearing, and still hear parents tell their kids today, is "Love the sinner, hate the sin".
My interpretation is treat people the same. No matter what they do. Show love to all men and women.
I don't know, maybe I'm rambling.
Now what does all that have to do with the Bible verse at the top of this post?
After reading all those reviews talking about how dangerous people like me are. I remembered an incident from about a year ago. I was working for a company that did water, fire, storm, and mold remediation and reconstruction. One of our day to day duties was steam cleaning carpet. I was cleaning a small church with one of the other techs. I was talking to the pastor about how often Christians are seen as terrible people for merely believing that the Bible is the Truth, and then trying to live as if they believe it.
All of a sudden I had a brilliant thought. Actually I know it was divine inspiration. The verse at the top came to mind. I realized that this is exactly what Jesus said would happen.
So, take heart if you are being persecuted for ours is the Kingdom of Heaven.
God bless,
Mr. Keith
