-Faith and the New Face of Christianity

by Dr. D ~ January 30th, 2009

(-Picture via Wikipedia)

by Holly McCarthy, Guest Writer

As the world continues to grow and evolve, we see the church working hard at changing at the same pace and attempting to remain relevant in a society that continues to trend toward a more secular viewpoint in many areas of life. Many things that would have been completely unacceptable and out of the ordinary a couple of decades ago are now commonplace.

As we struggle to come to terms with all of the changes that have transpired, one can only wonder: What does it mean to be a Christian in this day and age?

Tolerance

More than anything else, Jesus would have wanted us to be tolerant of those around us and to listen to what they have to say. Let us not forget the types of people he associated with; Jesus was considered an outcast and a rebel during his time. His revolutionary spirit helped transformed the world and brought forth a new covenant with God. Tolerance must be practiced by Christians and hypocrisy and judgment must be avoided.

Compassion

Take a look around the communities that we live in here in the United States. In many large cities, people are going hungry and living without shelter. Every day is a struggle for these individuals. While it may be easy to look the other way and blame these people for their predicaments, Christ would have us show compassion and do our best to help these people in any way possible. Perhaps giving money directly to these people isn’t the best solution, but volunteering and donating to help the plight of these forgotten souls is a good start.

Love for our Fellows

In the end, it really is all about unconditional love for our fellows. Family, friends, community, and those who need a helping hand—showing love in a variety of ways can help ignite a spark that will keep the fires of God’s love burning strong in this uncertain world we live in. Work hard each day at spreading Christ’s love through actions and works and watch as people come together in new and unprecedented ways.

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of Bible schools. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com *Top

1 Response to -Faith and the New Face of Christianity

The Rambling Taoist
February 1st, 2009 at 11:52 am
I’m continually amazed that people think “tolerance” is a positive attribute. In order to tolerate someone else, you must self-righteously think you are better than they are. It is only by being above another that you have the choice of allowing them to be or not to be who they are. Conversely, if you’re below someone else you don’t have this freedom — the slave never gets to choose whether or not he/she will tolerate the master.

I would much rather that someone respect me than tolerate me.