Right now, budget issues are just a bit tighter than normal, so I haven’t rushed out to buy this book yet, but it’s on my radar now.  This book was suggested to me by a friend, and so I went to look it up and that’s how I came across the website and the first chapter.  Incredibly, David Platt is only 32 years old (or so the website says) and a pastor of a mega-church “not too far” away from here (about 1 1/2 hours) just this side of Birmingham.

As I read the first chapter I was wonderfully challenged!  I began to think though, is it possible that this man really believes what he is writing?  Does he live this out?  I ask these questions because his conclusions about what Jesus said and did are so dead on, yet they seemed to have always been sitting there right in front of me as though I had a blind spot about 10ft wide in my direct line of vision and didn’t know it.

Truthfully, I must admit I have been one to bend the truth of Christ’s life to fit my more comfortable lifestyle.  Yet, I yearn to change, to be challenged, but find that either I am too scared to make the leap, or feel too alone to trust God entirely.  How frustratingly simple my answer is, yet here I still sit, waiting for someone else to lead the way.

I’d like to meet and talk with David Platt.  Told him so in an optimistically worded email he will probably never read, but hey, when I’m not being a pragmatic realist, I’m just your average pie-in-the-sky optimist resulting in a bit of schizophrenic mind games I like to play with myself (me too!).

Anyway, said all that to put it out there to see if anyone else has even heard of, read, or otherwise would have some insight or review into the book.  Buy now anyway?  Wait until later?  Did YOU get anything out of it?

Seriously, I’d like to know (me too!).

As you know, I am not a big fan of fundamentalism. To me, it’s theological school yard bullying. However, sometimes my hatred of fundamentalism makes me do stupid things, like hurt people.

First, let me start with my definition of fundamentalism. To me, a fundamentalist is some one who thinks that their interpretation of the Bible is the infallible word of God. Folks who believe that they’re always right and if you don’t fit into their cookie-cutter image then you’re a bad person. Those judgmental, holier-than-thou, authoritative, pious, “I’m right, you’re wrong, get used to it” folks. In the words of Barney Frank, trying to have a conversation with them is like arguing with a dining room table. I’d much rather have a conversation, and rethink a lot of the things Christian culture usually takes for granted.

(Of course when I say “a lot of the things Christian culture usually takes for granted,” I am NOT referring to the three biggies that are, to me, the fundamentals and Christianity: the Divinity of Jesus, His atoning death on the Cross, and His resurrection.)

Maybe it’s just my rebellious punk rock nature, but I always like to question things. If I don’t ask questions, how will I know that what I believe is legit? How can I separate what’s really biblical and what’s just a man-made doctrine? With fundamentalism, however, there is no room for questions. Either you accept everything they believe and fit into their little mold, or you’re not a true Christian.

I’m the first to admit that I am not perfect. I know I’m messed up. I know I haven’t gotten it all figured out. I’m still learning, and I’ll always be learning until the day I die. Yeah, I make mistakes along the way, but I keep learning. Don’t make me feel like a piece of crap just because I haven’t gotten it all together.

Having said all that, though, sometimes I falsely accuse people of being fundamentalist nut jobs. Sometimes I get so angry that I say things that are mean, hurtful, and unfair. I’m so defensive that I refuse to let down my guard and really listen to what the other side has to say. Even though I’m always saying both sides should talk to each other, I secretly don’t believe it.

I’ve been hurt by Christians in the past, but that doesn’t make it right for me to attack people. It’s like the bullied becomes the bully, and then the cycle continues. I need to learn how to stop the cycle, listen to the other side, and make peace with others.

A few days ago I got to talking with some one, and this person said that Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is “getting ready for the Antichrist.” She then went on about the Rapture and the seven year Tribulation and all that jazz. Now I personally don’t think the President should have won the award, or at least not yet. But the more this person talked, the more I wish I had a pamphlet with me about amillenialism. I also should note that when I told her I went to a Lutheran Church, she asked me what Lutheranism was.

Then there’s the dreaded e-word: evolution. Now since I went to a crappy public high school, we didn’t really go over evolution. But from what little bit I’ve gathered here and there, I think there’s some truth to it. Even Augustine and Calvin said that Genesis chapter 1 probably was not a literal account of the creation of the world. But if you suggest that to a fundamentalist, his or her head will explode with rage. To question the literalness (is that a word?) of the Genesis 1 is to question the literalness of the entire Bible.

But yesterday morning I got to thinking about Romans 14, where Paul writes about how one man’s faith allows him to eat anything, while another person’s faith allows him only vegetables. “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (verse 4). So by being snarky, am I judging God’s servants? Am I being too slow to listen and too quick to speak?

What do you think? Can snarky comments lead to judging others?