How did we get here?

In the past 24 hours or so, I've had two really upsetting reminders of how far away from God the church has come. Last night I got a glimpse of a friend-of-a-friend's facebook page-- basically saw a post by someone who called themselves pastor in their name (e.g. Pastor So-and-So) and was interested about this person's work or relation to my friend, and instead found a truly disturbing focus that seems oh-so-far from Jesus' focus for us.

This evening I watched a 20/20 special on a conservative church denomination that advocates and teaches beating even infant children, and allegedly is rife with cover-ups of sexual abuse and incest, holding young girls accountable for their "sin" in these situations.

It's no wonder so many people who might otherwise be much more open to a relationship with God are instead hurt, disillusioned, jaded and guarded against the Christian church. And it's easy to say that they shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, and don't hold God's followers against him (after all, did they not read the bumper sticker about how we're "not perfect, just saved"?), but honestly-- what's a person to think? If God is good and God is love, shouldn't his followers, who get to spend time with him and have his direction through his word, respond in a way that reflects that?

So how did we get here? Did the people who sat around Jesus' feet to learn ever have any conception of the things that those blinded by long traditions of power, brokenness, misdirection, hatred and fear would be preaching in His name? Could they fathom the straight-up evil that would come to be touted as God's will?


I mean, can we just start over? Can we throw out the church doctrines, the traditions, the radio ministries and the commentary writers and the street preachers, the creeds and acronyms, the sayings and proverbs found nowhere in the Bible (but that no one bothers to try and look up), the bumper stickers and the paintings of chubby baby angels? Let's put all the people who call themselves Christians-- and I do mean myself included, and you and your family and friends, not just the people on the margins of Christian orthodoxy-- in a big room (or maybe individual tiny rooms, we don't actually tend to get along with each other all that well) and give each person a Bible, and not let anyone leave until they've read it, maybe several times-- and I mean like the whole thing, not just picking and choosing a passage here and there. And only let people believe what they read there. That's all.

(Sigh)... except I know that many of those people-- including those on the margins-- have read the whole Bible. It's just too many other things in their way-- many generations of hate or fear or self-preservation or power or a myriad of other influences that have caused whatever tradition they are operating within to evolve farther and farther away from the central  message of the Bible, which is, that God loves us beyond our ability to imagine, and purchased us back from our own chosen fate at a price we cannot comprehend. It's the most radical notion humanity has ever encountered, and we are trading that in for anger and control.

And the thing is, those people who believe that rape victims need to confess their sins, or teach that tiny babies need to be thoroughly spanked-- God loves those people just as much as he loves me, or my friends, or any of my family members, even my precious little nieces and nephew. Just as much. And in selfish ways that makes me a little jealous, like I deserve a little bit more, but I also know I don't deserve it at all, so it's all grace, and that's all a miracle.

So why are we not just all sitting around in awe over this revolutionary miracle, like the early disciples who just wanted to follow Jesus everywhere? How do we have so much time and energy for hate and power struggles in Jesus' name?

So, no really, seriously... how did we get here?