Quoting again...from Brother Andrew...who is quoting Billy Joel...and Jesus:
And here’s where I got to thinking, that perhaps we in the church have made a hell out of heaven. We took all of its attractiveness, warped it, and made the whole thing repugnant to the onlookers… and eventually, to many of ourselves as well. What did Billy Joel say? It’s a catchy line that we immediately want to condemn as from the lips of Satan himself, but I don’t think we can…
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun…
The problem in wanting to write this off so quickly is simple: it’s true. Sinners are more fun. The Christian counters that fun is not defined by sex, drugs, and alcohol… but that’s a horrible stereotype of those who have fun outside the church — do they never laugh when they aren’t drunk? (Dena says a hearty "AMEN!!!" to that observation!) I think the accusation could more accurately be made of some Christians I know. And it all came down to this… Jesus hung with those people, and was criticized for it; his disciples were asked, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” He was called to them as the sick who needed the physician… but clearly he was laughing, eating, drinking, and having fun with them. He said,
"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
It seems to me he was having much more fun with the sinners than with the Pharisees, the saints of the day. Maybe his mother never told him all that they could give him was a reputation. Even now, the image of a laughing Jesus is a bit much for some people… but it looks to me like Jesus spent his time laughing with the sinners rather than crying with the saints, content for the wisdom of his actions not to be seen until after the fact. Go thou and do likewise?
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11 comments:
sorry. i had just gotten home from work before and didn't have a lot of time. just a few minutes to collect myself and get into home mode.
now. i agree with brother andrew who agrees with billy joel that sinners are a lot more fun to hang out with that people full of the "joy of the lord." yet, somewhere beneath the surface, the bikers, the lesbians, the potheads, the metalheads, the people who aren't "good" according to most standards, have more joy to offer than other said group. and these are people i have been told to steer clear of. yet they welcome with wider arms than the supposed "christ's arms" of the "church."
it's enough to make you wonder who the real saints and real sinners are.
and whose side you're really on.
I think "supposed" is the key word there, Jon.
I know whose side I'm on. Girls just wanna have fun, you know! ;-)
Seriously...I'm in the middle of a very painful transition period in the organized "thing" that meets on Sunday mornings. I'm not all that crazy about the supposed "saints" right now.
Hey, did I get kicked off of your link list for a reason? :(
Umm...have I landed in the Twilight Zone? I'm confused, E.
I LOVE the new template, btw. :-)
Your list of crackpots! Where'd I go?
Oh, and thanks :) You inspired me to go with the gray.
"You have mail." Of the Yahoo-type. :-)
See what happens when I join the ranks of your crack-smoking friends? I lose my mind. Thanks for reeling me back in. ;)
You are now back at the top of the list of my crack-smoking friends. Are there any other ways in which I may accomodate you today, ma'am? ;-)
Since you're offering, I'd like a pony, ten dollars, and a turkey sandwich.
Christians with all of their judgemental ways made their own prison. I am happier now than at any time in my life.
But I learned how to treat people from bikers, lesbians, gays, druggies, drunks, barflys, and just about every other disreputable group you can think of. Maybe that is why I like people and accept them.
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