The Church of Ann Coulture

{ March 6, 2007 @ 7:19 pm } · { American Culture, Books, Christianity, Church, Jesus Christ, Observations, Politics, Religion, Society }
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Much talk has been given in attack or in defense of Ann Coulture, and as always I am astounded that Christians are among the first to stand to her defense.  Recently I read a blog labeled “Christianity” entitled, “How to Piss Off a Liberal.”  Perhaps this is just me, but I think somewhere there is an inconsistancy.  

In these days following Coulture’s use of a gay slur,  I have heard a consistent defense of her statements from the Christian Community, “It’s not as if she actually killed a gay person” and “it’s only words” being among them.  Such Ridiculous statements accomplish nothing but minimizing the severity of Coulture’s statements, and aligning Christ with such ignorant, childish remarks. 

The alliance between Ann Coulture and the church is long standing.  This past summer I went on a mission trip and was sickened to see more than one copy of Coulture’s book “Godless” floating around the bus, even being read by church leadership.  Perhaps they were decieved by Ann’s own use of Romans 1:25-26 to open the book.  Clearly Coulture never used scripture to filter her hateful, sarcastic, and arrogant tone that followed. 

Couture is a confessing Christian and I do not have the authority to question her salvation.  I do, however, have the responsibility of questioning Christians that praise, admire, or support a person that descibes her role in society as “I’m a Christian first and a mean-spirited, bigoted conservative second, and don’t you forget.”  In one of her townhall.com articles Ann described the gospel in the following terms, “Jesus’ distinctive message is: ’People are sinful and need to be redeemed, and this is your lucky day because I’ m here to redeem you even if you don’t deserve it, and I have to get the crap kicked out of me to do it.’”  She continues however to say that liberals have it wrong in saying that the message of Jesus is “be nice to people.”  Perhaps if Ann would try actually following the example and teachings of Christ she would understand that “being nice to people” is a large part of the gospel as well. 

Ann Coulture once said, “Christianity fuels everything I write…”  If this is the case why does she insist on using dialogue that describes Muslims as “smell[ing] bad,” “camal jockeys, and “towelheads,” as opposed to genuinely being concerned for their eternal souls.  Why does she insist on jokingly using language offensive to the homosexual community as opposed to being deeply burdened for these people as follow sinners, loving them just a thousands of conservative Christians do?

My call to the church is this: do not support this woman’s words, actions, or literature. Join me in disassiociating her deffensive and hateful methodology from our message.  Truth is important, that is why we cannot allow it to be tainted or distorted by individuals such as Ann Coulture.  This is my plea to conservative Christians… from a fellow conservative Chrisitian.

 

IRA Accounts

{ February 12, 2007 @ 8:55 pm } · { American Culture, Books, Christianity, Church, Observations, Society }
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Recently I sat through a Sunday Morning Bible study on time and money management. As an introduction to his lesson the teacher held up a worn leather book.  Its brown cover was finger worn at the corners. Its gold-edged pages were dog-eared and torn. On its cover the faded title was nearly unlegible. As he held the book up, he explained its importance.  For over thirty years this same book had sat on his desk. He had read it year after year, living by its important principles. The name of the book was How to Gain Wealth.

No, I don’t go to a self-focused, health and wealth church. This lesson was taught within the walls of a theologically conservative, evangelical place of worship. As the lesson continued, several alarming topics were brought to my attention. The most frequented issue of the hour and a half, however, was the IRA account. As I sat there with around fifteen other young adults learning the key to financial security into senior adulthood, I couldn’t help but compare the whole concept to the rich fool in Luke 12 storing all of his grain and goods in barnes. 

I think about the American Church with its worn out copies of How to Gain Wealth and wonder, will there come a time when God will say to us, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” I wonder if there will come a time when we realize that all of the money in our IRA accounts can’t buy the kingdom of God.

He Who Gets Slapped

{ February 8, 2007 @ 4:25 pm } · { American Culture, Christianity, Church, Observations }
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The divinity of Christ points to the humanity of people. At the feet of the cross where the God Man gives His life as a ransom of many, life finds significance. Reflecting on the gospel should alter our perspective of others and align it with God’s. The American Church stands boldly for the sanctity of the unborn life, will she not stand for the sanctity of the liberal, poor, homosexual, addicted, oppressed, or unregenerate life? Or does she only care about the salvation of those that look like her.

God’s house has become a country club.

One restless night, unable to sleep, I found myself watching a silent film about a brilliant scientist that gets slapped and humiliated in front of his colleagues by a man he later finds to be sleeping with his wife. In the midst of humiliation and heartbreak, the man goes mad. He leaves the field of science to become a carnival clown named “He Who Gets Slapped.” Every night hundreds of people come out just to see him get slapped on the face, responding in endless laughter. As the laughter progresses the other clowns rip out a fake heart from his costume, step on it, and bury it in the soot.  Every night, once everyone leaves, the man goes back to the tent and searches for his heart, only for it to be ripped out and buried again the next night.

As I think back on the black and white scenes broken apart by blank screens of words, my mind begins to recall experiences. I remember a teenager I once met that wouldn’t go to church because of the way the Christians at her after school job treated her. I think about a little girl I’m close to that hurts herself because kids at school and church are so mean to her. I picture a homeless man I once watched sitting on a curb in Brooklyn for close to an hour, not once having enough dignity to look up and make eye contact with the other human beings passing him by. Thinking about these people I begin to understand the point of the movie, so simple and so profound.

And I weep for the world that stands in front of our pointing finger.