It’s such an incredible and intensely sad development that Evangelicals in America have separated their belief and their behavior so thoroughly.
They can, and often do, go on and on about what a Christian should believe and say virtually nothing about what a Christian should do.
Their beliefs may be traditional or orthodox as far as that goes but their refusal to follow it up with authentic behavior and actions as modeled by and taught by the man they worship as God perfectly shows how bankrupt their spirituality is.
By the way, I’m am not “traditional” or “orthodox” as seen through the lens of traditional Christianity, but that’s a subject for another day.
This disconnect between what they teach their adherents to believe and what Jesus clearly taught that they should do is very easy to spot.
I think it’s safe to say that that disconnect has been there for anyone to see for quite a while. But today it’s not a separation that can be easily bridged; it’s a great, imposing chasm and the gap grows wider by the day.
When one looks at how so many members of Evangelical Churches go about their everyday lives, the failure to treat all people with compassion and respect is right out there for anyone to see.
The tepid way that too many Evangelical Churches and their members go about exercising stewardship of the Earth and all of Earth’s inhabitants is also deeply regrettable. So much more can be and ought to be done.
There are many consequences to this failure to “walk the walk” and not just merely “talk the talk”. I think the most serious one is that folks who’ve been attending Evangelical Churches for years are leaving in droves.
This blog posting today is not covering any new ground on this subject. There is no shortage of books, articles and podcast episodes about it. And the exodus has been going on for quite a while.
This entry is part one of a two-part series and I meant it mostly just to set the stage.
But I do want to invite your attention to a recent interview that covers this subject of Evangelicals jumping ship pretty thoroughly. I think Mr McLaren’s insights into what is happening are spot-on. I recommend the piece if you’re trying to keep your eye on this situation.
It’s still true that you can’t put new wine in old vessels. One of the things driving the exodus is that you can’t scare people anymore into believing or walking a spiritual path by threatening them with burning in hell. That’s just not happening, and that’s a good thing.
That specific angle to this situation is also something I will cover in more detail soon.
Blessings to all. I will be checking in again soon.
Brother Ben
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