Friday, October 12, 2007

Christianity Misunderstood...AGAIN

I watched an interview this morning on the Today Show with Donnie Deutsch. They were recapping an interview that he had done with Ann Coulter, a conservative and controversial author and commentator. Deutsch was offended by Coulter saying that he needed to be "perfected". He took it as a desire to wipe Jews off the map, which is not what Coulter meant at all. It is deeply held in Christianity that we want everyone to become believers, it is God's desire as well (1 Timothy 2.4).

We don't convert with the sword, and the Crusades (when Christians did try to convert with the sword) is one of the darkest moments in Christian history. We do it by loving others, by giving to others, and by showing that life in Christ is better and then sharing how to have that life in Christ. The Bible calls believers in Christ clean and sanctified another way to say that is perfected. Christians don't believe that they are perfect, they believe that the one that they follow is - Jesus - and now in God's eyes they are justified (not to be unloving or hateful, and love does not mean a toleration to sin) by the one who they believe in. No real Christian will say that they are righteous apart from Christ.

Jews were given much in the Old Testament, but they rejected their Messiah - Jesus Christ and a new covenant was made with gentiles (one that was foretold in the Old Testament). Jews can still be saved, but only by the same way that Christians are saved by faith in Jesus Christ who died on a cross for the sins of mankind. Only by faith in Him can anyone (Jew or Gentile) be saved.

Coulter speaks off-the-cuff too frequently and did not make her statements clear that she desires to evangelize and not hate Jews. She should be more clear as an Evangelical Christian but she is not spouting hate speech.

Another time when Christianity is misunderstood...I don't think it's the last time either.