Today on my hour long commute home from work I decided to flip on the radio to see what was happening in the world of sports. In case you did not know, I tend to only listen to Cd's or ESPN radio in the car. However, ESPN was only talking about the Patriots and how they are evil because they taped the Jets defensive signals.
After a while I got tired of this and decided to flip through random channels to see what what kind of information I could use to rot my brain.
The first time I flipped the channel I came across a very angry conservative who was complaining that George Bush was too liberal (yes, you read that right). It seemed to him that everything that was happening around him was wrong and that he wanted everyone to know about it. I listened to this short obese man with perfectly parted grey hair and a three piece suit talk for about fifteen minutes before I changed the station. In case you are wondering I am describing him according the image that popped in my head as he spoke. During the course of this time I never heard him say what he actually believed.
When I flipped the station I landed on another talk radio program that was on the other side of the spectrum. The lady, who I pictured to have a scarf in her hair and wearing a tie-dye shirt with pink tinted sunglasses, was complaining that republicans were a bunch of liars and that they should all be forced to endure the torture that they have put different people through. I ended up listening to this lady for about twenty minutes before I gave up and went back to here people on ESPN comparing Michael Vick to Pete Rose. Through the time listening the liberal station I also never heard them say what they actually believe.
I began thinking about how the Church tends to respond to people who adhere to a different belief system than it's own. I think that far to often we resort to the same tactics as hot winded talk radio hosts. We tend to be more focused on making sure that we are bashing what others believe rather than stating what we believe.
I think that taking this approach to what some call "apologetics" as being a completely faithless act that shows the world that we are scared that other religions might point to a truth that the Bible does not point to.
If we as the Church were sure of the truth of the gospel we would not get caught up in attempting to tear down other belief systems. They would not threaten us. We would only be concerned with how accurately we are presenting the truth, not how effectively we are dismissing lies.
It is time for Christians to stop being concerned how we can point out the faults in the darkness and start being concerned with how we can enhance the light. The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not need us to take down it's competition. It is an insult to the Bible to think so. God's word is truth, it always has been, it always will be, so please don't be threatened by what other people believe, just hold fast to truth.
"Why ask the darkness why it is so dark, it is far more beneficial to ask the light why it is not as bright as it should be." - Rob Bell
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