This Week's Recap as a Biblical Conservative in San Francisco
I'll keep this short and sweet; a Biblically conservative Christian in San Francisco is now officially the greatest anomaly I can conceive of. I had a number of interesting encounters this week. I was told that Jesus, Luke, and John were definitely homosexuals. I was also told in another conversation that John (the beloved disciple) was definitely a woman. In both cases arguments from silence were the primary pillars of the argument. I met a Hindu man who was convinced, emphatically, that he was in the hospital because the gods were punishing him, and that there is absolutely no possibility of forgiveness. I met a man who practices voodoo; he says that his gods are not nice, but they're "effective", and that his practice involves being possessed at times. I was also told that God IS love, all people already have him, and that logical constructs are judgmental.
What say you??
6 COMMENTS...:
Get out of town before lightening comes down from Heaven
I understand why you'd be inclined to say that, but it also saddens me that this is a common reaction. Christ has placed a call on our lives that does not allow us to live within the safe walls of conservative Christendom. There's much work to be done for God's kingdom.
Norm,
If you don't think all those Bible characters were gay, it's because you're a close-minded homophobe.
Andrew
All kidding aside (it was a heavenly joke), I do not pretend to know all the varied ethnicities in one city (for that matter any city) and believing it will never congeal into an exclusive religious belief that permeates the surreal feeling of only one God, and one God only.
San Francisco is no more different than Manhattan Island is with its diversity of humanities voracious appetite for being different not only in its ethos culturally, but also the flavor of religion or one’s own religion. Perhaps one can evangelize from a soap box in the inner cities until the cows come home and it very well would be worth all the weight of gold in Heaven if one sinner repented. But we have trodden down these roads for many generations now and the fields are ripe for harvesting, that is both for God’s love and also is wrath. Inner city life seldom provides hope for the desolate that roam the streets in search of something more than God
I have to say Kola that not only is your outlook one of sad resignation, but also questioniable both practically and theologically.
The picture of the preacher on his soapbox is a bit of a caricature, so there is not much to respond to there.
North American Christianity, overall, both urban and rural is in decline, BUT, the few examples of vibrantly growing Christianity are urban examples, so I have trouble accepting your assessment. I would recommend you look at Tim Keller's ministry, which is urban and growing.
Ultimately, the problem here is soteriological in nature. The reason American Christianity is in decline is that most of the church is too self-absorbed to meet culture on its own terms; the problem is not the diversity of American religious preference. We are called to faithfully proclaim, the spirit does the work in man's heart.
I don't think that the case of San Fran is unique. It may be glaring the loss of true faith there but it is also spreading - worldwide! Note, this is all acording to scripture (2Timothy3; 2Peter2). Many will follow this kind of theological hodge-podge. Yes, preach the gospel there, but if you are not received, then go to another place, for you will not cover be able to cover the USA till Christ returns.
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