I sometimes need to write out of frustration. This time it’s
more out of disgust.
I find it ridiculous how many people in our nation call
themselves Christians, but who do or say hateful things to those who don’t
believe exactly as they do.
First example: Recently I read a post on Matt Walsh’s blog
that had to do with attacks on Christianity in general. In the post, Matt mentioned that
he is Catholic, which apparently was news to many people, including me. What
followed was a long thread of insults toward Catholicism. People digressed from
the actual subject of the post and totally lost track while throwing insults at
Matt over his particular brand of Christianity. “Where in the Bible does it
mention a pope?,” one comment asked. They got worse from there. The
self-righteousness of many pseudo-Christians was exposed.
Now a couple more personal examples:
#1: My niece who lives in Texas recently applied for Health
Insurance with a supposedly Christian online insurance company, Medi-Share out
of Florida. She paid them a $50 to apply for coverage. According to her story,
they took her application fee, then told her that because she was a Mormon (The
Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints), she wasn’t a Christian and was
therefore ineligible for coverage through them. She also said they refused to return
her application fee.
#2: My nephew who also lives in Texas was recently arrested
for a minor offense (he was foolish… no excuses… but it was a minor thing) and
was put in jail. He is also a Latter-Day Saint. When put in jail, they took
away his personal copy of the Book of Mormon. They didn’t just lock it up in
property. According to what I heard through his bishop, the guards actually
destroyed his copy of the book. There were Muslims in the same jail who were
allowed to keep their copies of the Koran with them in their cell. But not the Mormon
boy. Nope, his book of scripture was destroyed.
We are all entitled to our personal beliefs. If you don’t
think Matt Walsh is a Christian just because he is Catholic, I respect your
right to think that, but I will say I believe you are completely ignorant of
what a true Christian actually is.
I am going to take the liberty to quote a Book of Mormon
verse and insert Matt’s name into it in order to demonstrate my opinion of him:
“Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been,
and were, and ever would be, like unto [Matt Walsh], behold, the very powers of
hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over
the hearts of the children of men.” (Alma 48:17, name substituted for illustration)
It doesn’t matter if he’s Catholic or any other brand of Christianity. He leads people to think
righteously, he raises his family with a knowledge of and reverence for Jesus
Christ, and he is a light unto the world. He is one from whom we can see “good
fruit.” (Matthew 7:20)
Likewise, those who don’t believe Latter-Day Saints are
Christians are entitled to their beliefs, although I believe they are baseless
and ignorant in the same way.
The Bible does not define a Christian by the specific tenets
one embraces. It defines a Christian by the way people live their lives. Yet we
have many Pharisees who have taken it upon themselves to assign non-Biblical
labels to anyone who doesn’t believe exactly as they do. Many have concocted
doctrines based on their best guesses of what certain scripture passages MIGHT
mean, and then purport to have a factual knowledge of such doctrines even
though there are often more verses to dispute their beliefs than to support
them. Nevertheless, they treat anyone who doesn’t embrace their best guesses as
a non-Christian, a cult, or whatever juvenile barbs they wish to use.
This post really isn’t about those who keep their opinions
to themselves. It is about the self-righteous Pharisees who
must vocalize or publicize their hypocrisy.
Dear Pharisees, those who persecute Mormons, Catholics or
anyone else who doesn’t believe exactly as you do, please stop calling
yourselves Christians. You are not Christians. You are Pharisees and
hypocrites, much like those that Christ confounded in the Bible. You profess to
follow Christ, but then you do and say hateful, bigoted things to people who
have genuine faith, many of whom might be doing a much better job personally of
following Jesus Christ and His example than you are. You make up your own "rules" and then try to apply them to others in a ridiculous, matter-of-fact way. Calling yourselves
Christians is an insult to Christ. You are mocking Him by pretending to be
aligned with or following him. As long as you do these hateful things, you are
following Satan. You are dividing through hatred rather than uniting through peace and kindness. That should be clear to everyone except to you. Until you gain
some spiritual maturity and actually start behaving in a way that Christ could
be pleased with, don’t mock Christianity or those of us who don’t do hateful
things to others out of such self-righteousness.
I fully expect to get a barrage of hateful responses to this
from the Pharisees who insist that their hateful behavior is in the name of
Jesus. Some will call me a hypocrite or self-righteous for posting this. So be it. I don't do things to negatively impact your life. Many of you cannot say the same.
Please reread Matthew 7 in its entirety. If you really want to know
about true Christianity, read the books of Philippians and James with an open
mind.
In the end, Mormons (and probably others) don’t really care
if you think we’re Christians or not. We know we are, and your opinion is
irrelevant. God didn't put any of you in charge of determining that for us. Your only reason for saying things like that is driven by hatred. You are entitled to your opinions. But
when you actually spew your bigotry in word or act and affect the lives of people who genuinely follow Christ, you not only show your true colors as a
non-Christian and a hypocrite, but you disgrace those of us who truly are Christians by
pretending to be with us. You disgrace and mock your Savior. You fuel Satan’s
efforts to divide us. Please get a grip and decide who really is your master,
not just in name, but in the way you treat others.
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