Dumb Christians

I want to tell you a quick story, showing (what I believe) to be a bad perception of what it means to be a Christian.

The other day I was at work when I spotted a co-worker rolling a painting that had previously been in the exhibit back upstairs. Being the curious person I am, I asked why the painting had been removed. I figured it had been damaged in some way, but the answer the man gave me both saddened me and made me smile.

He told me that that painting had temporarily been taken down. The executive director had requested that one painting be taken down because a special guest was coming in. Well, since I’ve worked there we have had many special guests, including the mayor, and no painting was removed for them. So of course I asked who it was…

Well, come to find out it was Billy Joe Daugherty, Pastor of Victory. Victory and the museum are trying to make a deal to have an exhibit of ancient instruments and they are trying to pull on Victory for musicians to play them. The one painting that had to be taken down in anticipation of Billy Joe was a painting that contained male genitals. The executive director was afraid to offend Billy Joe.

Of course I find this funny, I mean out of all the possibly offensive paintings in that collection, I believe that that one is mild in comparison. That particular exhibit draws a lot on the Michelangelo’s Adam fresco in the Sistine Chapel. Many of the paintings feature Adam and some “version” of God. One shows God as a hand of judgment; another shows God as a being an empty hole in a wall in front of a tarnished land. So, needless to say, I believe that the one that shows a man’s genitals is the least offensive to a Christian.

I was saddened because the image of Christians is so poor that we will be shocked and offended by something completely natural. I believe God made the human body. Why shouldn’t we celebrate it? Are Christians really that fragile? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be an overwhelming, yes. At least in the Bible Belt, Christians feel so superior that they cannot appreciate differing views of the world. I find more and more that being open to new ideas is seen as a sin. I have been called a “universalist” because I believe that Christians should be open to listening to other views of the world. Am I into universalism? No, I firmly believe there is only one way to eternal life in heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. I believe that my place is to love and serve all people and it is God’s job to judge them. There is no place for me to banish other ideas when they can only affirm, strengthen or challenge my beliefs. Even if they challenge my beliefs, I’m not sure why that is a negative thing. It is only through being challenged that one can grow.

Romans 5:3-5 (New International Version)
3Not only so, but we[a] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering what the title of the painting is that had to be removed in order to not offend: Banishment