Understanding Christianity Beyond Assumptions
“Whatever you think you know about Christianity, whatever your parents think they know about it, or your friends, they . . . you . . . are probably wrong. Tune in to discover why.”
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“Christianity is NOT . . . NOT a religion.”
Christianarchytoday.com
“There is no such thing as Christian music, Christian art, Christian food, Christian culture or Christian living. They do not exist. That being said, everything on earth is Christian music, all art is Christian art, and every culture is Christian. When we allow ourselves to see Christ as the victor over all things, all things become Christs –only then are all people free to love.”
Christianarchytoday.com
There is no such thing as a Christian church. Why? Because all churches are wrong, have failures, and therefore could never be truly Christian because Christ is never wrong. Christians are people. Period. Churches are churches and could NEVER represent our Lord. It’s His message, His Church and it is made of His people.
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Christianarchy Today
A Fresh Perspective on Christianity
“If you think you understand Christianity you are probably wrong.”
In order to understand something, it is really important to give it your undivided attention and focus. This takes time and discipline and an ability to see when other factors and forces are pushing in around you. Suppose for a minute that you need to survey a local bread factory so as to write a report on breadmaking in the area for the school newspaper. When you arrive you are told to just walk on into the factory and begin observing and when the boss breaks free he would join you. So you walk in the door and the first thing you see on a long rack is loaves of French bread . . . and some of it has mold on it. This is your first impression and it makes a very strong impression in your mind.
As you walk on through the factory, passing more rows of French bread your phone rings, just before you get to the Pumpernickel section. It's your sister and she is really sick throwing up and crying. You are concerned for her, and as you walk focus on her condition, not realizing that you have passed fresh loaves of pumpernickel, rye, Russian rye, Jewish rye, and sourdough too. You are able to settle her down and end the phone call right when you enter another section of French bread. There are aisles of the stuff. And you take note of it.
Just when you are about to enter the whole grain section a loud alarm goes off in the building – so loud you have to bend over a bit and walk with your ears covered. You even wince at the power of the alarm. During this time you were in a white bread section and right when the alarm is shut off just when you enter another French bread section. And right when you are about to enter aisles that have pita and lavash and Matzo (and all sorts of other breads) the owner of the company comes out. He is a loud and large man and he greets you with animated conversation (as you walk) about how the company started, and the windows above and the roof trusses – and you miss seeing all kinds of other breads that have been created here.
The owner gets called away just as you enter the last row of bread – and guess what’s there? That’s right – French bread – and all of it is moldy. So you walk out and of course your understanding of that bread factory is it makes moldy French bread. This is what you saw. This is what you experienced yourself! This therefore is what it was ALL about!
As a side note, the French bread molds the quickest in this factory and they place it on the racks by the door so trucks with two trailers can back up and walk in through the two sets of doors to haul it away to make bird food.
Differing Views on Christianity
The simple story is pretty evident. What happened here in the bread factory is why we have such differing views and interpretations on movies, restaurants, and to our interests, the Bible and Christianity. Genuine knowledge of the Bible requires more than a single walk-through – it takes a real exam – and not just intellectually, it must come by the Spirit – and these requirements are typically something most people are unwilling and unable to provide. And so as a result, the faith itself is misunderstood, misinterpreted, and then a unity of the faith is impossible.
There is a solution – one so radical – yet so simple and easy – that it will be rejected. But it is what we are all about at ChristianAnarchyToday. Find out more at HOTM.TV.
Misunderstandings in Faith
Johnny’s parents are good Christians. They taught Johnny to believe in Jesus, to pray, had him attend Christian schools, and even paid for his college education at a Christian University. Johnny was a teen leader, took a number of groups on foreign missions, and his parents today are really proud that he holds fast to the core essentials of the faith – you know
- One God
Salvation by grace,
the Trinity,
Jesus' second comingChrist’s return, fulfilled in 70 A.D., ending the old covenant—not the world.,
heaven, hell –
you know the score.
Johnny speaks Christianese, dresses in culturally approved Christian apparel. His dad wears aloha or Tommy Bahama shirts and cleanly pressed board shorts with quality sandals. Whatever it was, Johnny had it in terms of being Christian. He spoke it. He lived it. His friends were it too. But most of what Johnny and his parents think the faith is all about has been… wrong…
Bree came from a very strict religious upbringing. Dresses on Sundays, suits and ties for the men. There was no dating – only “dating to marry,” and she lived by a strict set of behaviors befitting a true Christian – no drinking, no smoking, no secular music. But most of what Bree has come to believe about the faith is also… wrong – yet she continues to live it today.
Bree’s cousin Mark was given a lot more liberty in the faith. I mean, a lot. Mark is tatted all over with crosses and bleeding saints, and scriptures scribed out in Old School fonts. He is heavily involved in radical worship and has a group of brothers who all skateboard for Jesus. His pastor is really big on talking about end times and Mark is all over how “bad the world is” and how all he wants is for Jesus to come back and save him from himself – and to bring his friends along with him into the rapturous skies. Mark too – wrong.
There’s Noah, who is a charismatic believer in the gifts of the Spirit, Pastor Riley who is all about discipling others into a mature walk, and there’s Emma who hates Christianity and everything that it preaches – but none – from Noah to Emma, really knowing what “the faith” is.
Understanding Christianity
Our bold claim – no matter who you are – is that if you THINK you understand Christianity, you are probably wrong. Whether you are a high school freshman who went to Catholic mass once on Easter or a Graduate student getting their M.Div, we feel pretty certain that whatever you think Christianity is you probably… have it wrong.
Who are we? Nothing, nobodies. Are we the creators of the right view? No. Are we the only ones who understand it or try and hold to it? No. And in time you will come to see how we reached the place where most views are probably wrong in one way or another. But here on our first show why don’t we just dip our toes in the pool and give you a sample of our thinking.
Christian Music
Let’s start with something most people understand – the area in the faith called Christian Music. Under the present regime, people readily speak of it as a real and viable thing, this Christian music. But think about it – Christian music. Does this mean Christians create and perform the music or that the music is about Christ? Does it mean that Christ…
The Concept of "Christian Music"
To me if it is Christian and its music it has to have the capacity to actually and fully represent all things truthful in the faith. And this is just scratching the surface of what is called, Christian music. But can other music not considered Christian lead to the worship of God? And what if Christian music turns some people from worshipping Him? I mean if I worship God in and through listening to Tool but not to Third Day, why are bands like Third Day called Christian music but Tool is exempt?
When all this talk is extrapolated out and discussed I would suggest – firmly two things. First, I would suggest that there is no such thing as Christian music. And with that being said I would paradoxically add that, “All music is Christian music.”
The Christianity of Music
Huh? Why? How? Listen – its because “the Christianity of the music” is determined by the hearer and NEVER the presenters or their packaged intentions. Johnny Cash understood this principle and took songs written by Trent Reznor of Nine In Nails, like Hurt, did not change the tune or words, sang them, and gave new meaning, even Christian meaning, to what some would never see as Christian. He did it with Soundgarden and others because Cash knew that God makes all things Christian and men cannot make anything Christian.
Again, there is no such thing as Christian music unless we are talking about . . . all music. The sooner we can begin to see these distinctions in EVERY area of life here on earth the more quickly we will push in to understanding what Christianity actually is and what it is not. Likewise, there is no such thing as Christian cinema or Christian films, there’s no Christian culture, no Christian destinations or events, no Christian clothing, no Christian countries, no Christian governments.
Enough of this bullshit. Its not true. Its men taking Christ and packaging Him up to meet their objectives. But again, that being said, I can easily make the claim that all cinema, all films, all cultures, all destinations, all governments, all clothing, all lifestyles, all people are Christian . . . and in so doing accomplish a couple of things: We are free to love. We are free to trust in Him and His ways. We are able to allow . . . and receive . . . and serve all people . . . as His.
Challenging Religious Labels
Unfortunately, and as a means to divide and conquer, and to perpetuate themselves as “unique amidst the fallen evil world,” religious leaders have taken it upon themselves to corral and designate things as “Christian” or “not” – to the detriment to love and the refusal to see Jesus as having had the victory over all things in heaven and earth – all of them. The present way of seeing the faith is to see the world as “less than,” or “as evil,” or as “all going to hell,” or as “lost in spite of Jesus victory” and to react and respond accordingly. But in all actuality, Christ is in and over everything, therefore, everything is His, and in Him there is therefore no condemnation. We peacefully and lovingly just wait for His Spirit to confirm this fact to all.
When we think about it, there is really no such thing as a Christian church. People are the church, not buildings, and no brick and mortar reflects Him perfectly so why refer to them as Christian? How could one church labeled Christian teach salvation by grace, and one church that teaches salvation by works, and both be Christian?
How could one church teach that baptism is essential to salvation and one church that it doesn’t BOTH be Christian Churches? Is it the presence of teaching Jesus that makes them Christian? If that is the case then Islam is Christian as much as Southern Baptists because both teach His name. So do Mormons! Jehovah’s Witnesses? David Koresh even taught Jesus. Was their group a Christian church?
See the problem?
Expanding the Definition of Christian Churches
Now switch it around. What if we said that ALL churches are Christian? “Whoa, whoa whoa! The evangelical shriek! “That’s a damned lie from the pit of hell?” Go back with me. Has Jesus had the victory? When He said it is finished was it . . . or not? Is God in charge . . . or not?
The Essence of the Christian Church
He is, wouldn’t we then say that He is also over all religions? See, there is either A SINGLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ON EARTH or there is none – and all churches are in effect, in His control and care – all of them – and His desire is to bring all people to His Son. So which is it? This thinking – of which we have only scrapped the tip of the iceberg – is key to people coming to understand what Christianity is and what it is not.
We could go on – but the principles remain the same. What about Christian hospitals? That overcharge and cover themselves when malpractice occurs? Christian, really, just because it is named after a Christian denom? How about Christian wars, or so called “Christian Countries.” What a damn joke.
The Paradox of Christian Identity
No Christian hospitals or universities No Christian websites, businesses, dating services, clubs, no Christian churches, music, or countries and yet simultaneously understand that paradoxically everything under the sun . .
Universality of Christian Elements
All art All music All activities All cultures All hospitals and universities All religions All churches And all countries . . .
Are in fact Christian. This will horrify some. In their ignorance they will lash out. They will reject it out of hand. It will anger others. They will see the claim as arrogant and intrusive and rude. But those who understand their faith and the one who authored it will get it – and be freed to live as Christ did – with love, compassion, and longsuffering.
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