A Facebook encounter with a long lost Christian relative. Was I too harsh?

Fuzz

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Sat Oct-24-09 04:17 PM
Original message

A Facebook encounter with a long lost Christian relative. Was I too harsh?

It started when she posted a video of Glen Beck on her wall. I posted 'Heavy Sigh'. I've changed her name to 'Friend' and mine to Fuzz.

Friend No Fuzz, have no idea about the heavy sigh, do I want to know???

Fuzz
I'm just sad to see that you admire someone like Glen Beck is all.

Friend
It's not so much the man that impresses me Fuzz. I'm not into worshipping people. I just know that his message in this particular clip is one most people don't hear very often because people are so freaked out over the mention of Christ, God, prayer, etc. That's why I placed it on my wall. It could have been anyone but he just happened to be the one who spoke the truth.

Fuzz
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek.

<1596 Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. iii. 93>

Friend
I know Fuzz but the truth is the truth and the truth will set you free. Like I said I am not a Glen Beck worshipper just love to hear God's truth in the media, it's so very rare!!

Fuzz
It may be that today gold has become the exclusive ruler of life, but the time will come when man will again bow down before a higher god.

Friend
You're right about that, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord!! I am looking forward to that!!

Fuzz
That's from Mein Kamf, Vol 2 Chapter 2 written of course by Adolf Hitler

Friend
Ok old friend, I am certainly missing something here!! My grandfather fought in Hitler 's army but I am no follower of that dude!! Are you like completely gifted or what?? When do you have time to read that stuff???

Fuzz
So did both of mine.

The point is you are accepting a message from a lunatic only because it strikes you as 'true'. And never did I even insinuate that you worshiped Beck. I'm not trying to offend, really I'm not.

I once knew a different Friend and I wonder how the Friend I see through your writing now would look at the Friend I knew. Would she judge her so harshly or pity her, perhaps look down on her or dismiss her as unworthy.

This is when it went to email. I won't post her first email to me because it had some personal stuff, but I will post my response to a couple of questions she had.

"Do you feel this change of heart is not good for me??"

I would never say that. I see your daily devotionals and know where you are at in your life now. I've not commented up until now when I saw that you posted something from Glen Beck, a person who though he spouts off what may seem like 'Christian principles' are really not.

People often ask me why I get so upset when I see today's Christians, especially here in America acting the way they do and I've thought long and hard about it. I've come to conclusion that it's because they, and you, are 'my tribe' as it were. The lack of empathy, sincerity, and the overwhelming hypocrisy, the bearing false witness etc. It's all so un-Christian and not what I was raised to believe.

"Do I wish that you believed like me??"

No, not at all.

Personally, I am an atheist, and have been for 25 years or so. But my morality and personal ethics have nothing to do with religion or 'faith'. That's my thing. I don't push it or preach it, I do however stand by it and defend it when necessary.

I understand the struggle you described with your mom, everyone goes through that growing up, trying to carve out their own identity. Imagine being me and telling your father, a minister, that you no longer believe that there is a 'divine being'. I can imagine how he felt. He must have felt that I was rejecting him and his entire life, especially since I was adopted. But I wasn't, never did. As a matter of fact my parents have moved 4 miles away from my family recently and we are closer than ever.

I'm sure he wishes that I was a christian, but he sees the strength of my family and my two great children and how compassionate and empathetic they are. Hell, I would put those two up against any other two kids, but I don't ever say anything about it, (I just did to you though) ;)

"Do you feel like we can't be friends with the convictions that I have??"

Of course. I have friends from all walks of life, but I would not be able to converse with anyone who would not be able to talk about anything but one subject only.

What concerns me though is the filter that I've seen so many of the christians I know today look at the world through now, call it looking at the world through stained glass windows. The 'American Jesus' phenomena. Prosperity teaching, the selfishness, the bigotry, the small mindedness etc. It has allowed so many christians to be used politically by people who don't really care for christians at all, but just see them as a voting block or a nielson rating. Then they use a few phrases christians identify with and bam, christians are sucked in following un-christ like messages calling it christian. That was my point earlier with the Hitler quote. And like I said earlier, it bothers me because these are my people, even though I no longer consider myself 'christian'.

My father has had to admit after all these years that some of the most immoral, un-Christian like people have been those who have been the loudest proclaimers of Christ. He has also admitted that I am, after all these years of observing me and my family, more 'christian like' than many of the christians he has known. Now, I would have to say I'm just a moral and just person and my parents did a fine job of raising me. But I'd also add moral principles are not necessarily based in religious teaching.

I appreciate the fact that you are happy now. That's great! I just hope that the happiness hasn't come at the expense of critical thinking and an unhealthy sheltering of yourself.