Build Each Other Up

As Christians, it is our responsibility to build each other up. There tends to be a major problem about this today. A lot of “Christians” work more on tearing each other down rather than building them up. This disrupts the community and can divide the church. As a Christian, it is our responsibility to reach out to our brethren when they have need and when they are hurting or even sinning. However, many of our brethren gossip about the problems of their brothers and sisters in the congregation instead of helping them. I am not saying all of us are like that, but some are. The church needs to be a community where we all feel safe, not threatened. As you said, “It is our duty to "love one another" as Jesus ordered us.”

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

~ 1 John 3:11-16

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

~ John 13:34-35

Chapter 13: Creating: The Truth of Beauty

There are two main views of art in the Christian world. People either feel that art is dangerous because it “distracts us from our primary love for God” (157). Or, they feel that art is here for us to enjoy, and it is separate from the church. Others views agree that art and imagination can be “used and abused,” but serve “a distinct spiritual purpose in individuals’ lives and in the church” (158). It is important for us to remember that art and beauty comes from God, and God is the very essence of beauty (Psalms 27:4). Furthermore, according to Ephesians 2:10 we are all “God’s handiwork or compositions” (159). Tippens also reminds us that Jesus was an artist (carpenter) that saw beauty in everything around him. Also Tippens tells us that art can lead others to faith, and most art comes from the artists’ search for something beyond the physical world.

I agree that the ability to create art through film, books, music, singing, acting, drawing, and painting are all gifts from God. Like Tippens, I feel that the temptation to misuse these abilities can be dangerous. In American society, it is common for artists to move away from their original intention, transcendentalism, and toward art for the sake of money. This is why I agree with Tippens that the church should not shun the artists in the congregation. They should welcome the artists with opened arms just as they welcome everyone else. With much of the media in the world it is hard to see the beauty in everything. However, artists have the ability to imagine what the rest of us cannot. This makes them an invaluable asset to their congregation. We must be careful, though, to positively spark the creativity and imagination of our artists of tomorrow. After all, “the Bible itself is a majestic work of art” (165).

Her Wound is Incurable

Fred Asare compared Samaria and Jerusalem with the United States and Africa. There are great inequalities between the distribution of wealth and poverty, abundance and need, and joy and sorrow. The rich in abundance are crushing the poor, just as the strong are crushing the weak.

In Africa, children go to church with out clothing. In Africa, children are orphaned due to AIDS and are left with no one to care for them. Many of these children die of starvation before the age of five. Many of these children are caring for their younger siblings, and many of these children are sold into slavery and prostitution. Americans tend to be never satisfied with what they have. God will not allow us to do nothing. He will pass judgment on those that sit idly by.

Many Races On the Same Road

Langston Hughes’ use of imagery is significant in his short story “On the Road.” The use of snow gave the story a feel of the Great Depression era in which it was set.  It gave a sense of the harshness of the time.  As nothing grows in the winter, I got the sense of hunger throughout the land.  Though this harshness is felt by many, Sargeant doesn’t notice the snow due to his need to fulfill his most basic needs, hunger, shelter, and freedom from harm.  During the Great Depression era, segregation was still prominent throughout the country.  This reminds me of many stories that my grandmother told me about the Great Depression.  She told me of the mundane meals that she and her family had to dine on when they were like Sargeant, fortunate enough to have something to consume. They too had only their physiological needs to satisfy in this cold, harsh land.

I also found the Reverend significant to the story. The one person that should be willing to help any man closes his door on Sargeant.  The Reverend is a symbol for the unfortunate repression of blacks, as well as any other non-white race. This kind of repression was also felt by my grandmother and her family.  One difference between them and Sargeant, however, is that they were fortunate to have a light enough skin tone that they could pass for white.  Because of the rampant racism that consumed the United States during this time, my great-grandmother had to make a conscious choice to have “white” put on all of her children’s birth certificates.  They were forced to leave their culture behind so that they could fit in. This culture has been long since forgotten and never taught to the generations before me.  In essence, like many Afro-Americans a piece of all of us has been lost due to the hatred one man may feel for another.  Had my grandmother walked up to the Reverend with her head held high and in a loud, proud voice had said, “I am Creek Indian;” she too would have been turned away by him.

While continuing his quest to fulfill his basic needs, Sargeant happens upon a church.  Its great high arched doors and strong features represent hope and warmth for the tired, cold black man.  Raised by religious parents, my grandmother often speaks of the need for the church during the Great Depression era.  It was the only place that would give them food when they were hungry. It was the only place that they could sleep when their home burned to the ground. It was the only place that they could go to get out of the cold when their feet were frozen. It is not until a probable solution to his most basic need is surely to be met that Sargeant even notices the snow.  However, this church with its two broad, strong doors is not for him.  The demonstration of abuse Sargeant endures at the hands of the church’s patrons is a reflection of their close mindedness.  Their doors too were closed to any person unlike them.  This kind of treatment of mankind is why my great-grandmother chose to leave her history and culture behind her.  This is not the treatment that she wanted her children to have to suffer.  This is not the kind of pain that she wanted them to feel.  This was her quest to fulfill her children’s need for survival.  In his quest to fulfill his need for survival, the battle between Sargeant and the patrons brought down the church.

All along, Sargeant had Christ with him and the abusers were without Christ.  They were hypocrites.  Christ told Sargeant, “they have kept me on a cross for nearly two-thousand years,” as a protest for the actions of the church patrons (116).  True Christians they could not be and Christ was not with them.  Christ too was persecuted for being different.  He was persecuted for being a Jew.  He had died for all men’s sins, regardless of race.  However, his believers in this particular church did not look at man regardless of race.  Racism is what got Sargeant beat down.  It is what kept him cold, hungry, and tired.  It is what kept my grandmother’s family poor and living on the side of the railroad tracks in a tarpaper tent. It is what kept the church patrons’ doors closed.  Doors are symbols for barriers.  Racism is a barrier.  It is a door that a person chooses to keep closed or to open.  Although the patrons felt they were Christian, they kept Christ outside, and left him there while they communed behind their tightly shut doors, just as they kept the doors to their hearts closed to people of color.  My grandmother has no doors. Sargeant had no doors.  He only had the clothes on his back, his body, and his soul.  He now knew his place.  His place was with the poor, the homeless, the wretched, and the down trodden. They too had no doors.  They too had a quest to fulfill their basic needs. They too had that quest for survival.

I believe that Mr. Hughes did a good job relating the harshness of the era to the story.  There is a great deal of racial inequality in the story; however, there is also a great deal of spiritual equality in the story.  Because the story is about racism, I was prompted to take a Sociological Approach while writing this paper. Also, because Mr. Hughes’ story reflected the time in which it was set, I decided to incorporate a New Historicism Approach into the paper. Many stories written during the Great Depression are significant to the history of the United States. I have learned throughout my life that you can learn more about a specific historical era from the literature written during that era than from any history book. Finally, to all of us, the basic need for survival and the basic need of spirituality are prominent parts of our existence. These needs are essential components of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For this reason, I chose to add a Psychoanalytical Approach to my criticism. Furthermore, Langston Hughes used a great deal of symbolism in the story. From the use of doors to the snow, this use of imagery gave me a feeling of what the story was truly about.

Want to read "On the Road" by Langston Hughes? Buy the book here.

Scandalous Congregations

To begin with, I was shocked when I read, “…the polling data point to widespread, blatant disobedience of clear biblical moral demands on the part of people who allegedly are evangelical, born again Christians” (Sider, 17). However, the further I got in the chapter, my astonishment subsided due to the familiarity of the statements and statistics I read.

For instance, I am acquainted with just as many Christians who have been divorced as non-Christians. I feel that this is closely related to all of the other sub-points that Sider has throughout the chapter. The fact that more women of the evangelical denomination are abused than other areas of the population could contribute to higher divorce rates. Many women I know that are divorce have done so due to physical abuse.

Similarly, the percentages of evangelicals, both traditional and non-traditional, that think adultery is fine could contribute to the higher divorce rate. Also, almost as many Christian males engage in some sort of pornographic activity than their counter parts. Other divorced friends I know have complained that their exes have either cheated on them, or were more interested in internet porn than in them. I also feel that adultery, pornography, and other sexual indiscretions in parents may lead to sexual indiscretions of children. Because of this, I was not surprised to read “…evangelical youth are only about 10 percent less likely to engage in premarital sex then non-evangelicals” (Sider, 23).

After all, most people model what they deem to be appropriate behavior. Children look to their parents for appropriate behavior; likewise, evangelicals look to their leaders for appropriate behavior. Therefore, evangelical communities are often lead astray by their leaders. If their leaders model greed, then they model greed. If the leaders were to live more simply, perhaps they would live more simply. If their leaders are racist, they tend to be racist. Why so many non-Christians have such a negative view of Christianity makes much more sense to me after reading the chapter.

Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience

To begin with, I was shocked when I read, “…the polling data point to widespread, blatant disobedience of clear biblical moral demands on the part of people who allegedly are evangelical, born again Christians” (Sider, 17). However, the further I got in the chapter, my astonishment subsided due to the familiarity of the statements and statistics I read. For instance, I am acquainted with just as many Christians who have been divorced as non-Christians. I feel that this is closely related to all of the other sub-points that Sider has throughout the chapter. The fact that more women of the evangelical denomination are abused than other areas of the population could contribute to higher divorce rates. Many women I know that are divorce have done so due to physical abuse. Similarly, the percentages of evangelicals, both traditional and non-traditional, that think adultery is fine could contribute to the higher divorce rate. Also, almost as many Christian males engage in some sort of pornographic activity than their counter parts. Other divorced friends I know have complained that their exes have either cheated on them, or were more interested in internet porn than in them. I also feel that adultery, pornography, and other sexual indiscretions in parents may lead to sexual indiscretions of children. Because of this, I was not surprised to read “…evangelical youth are only about 10 percent less likely to engage in premarital sex then non-evangelicals” (Sider, 23). After all, most people model what they deem to be appropriate behavior. Children look to their parents for appropriate behavior; likewise, evangelicals look to their leaders for appropriate behavior. Therefore, evangelical communities are often lead astray by their leaders. If their leaders model greed, then they model greed. If the leaders were to live more simply, perhaps they would live more simply. If their leaders are racist, they tend to be racist. Why so many non-Christians have such a negative view of Christianity makes much more sense to me after reading the chapter.

I have seen many Christians turn away from those in poverty. My homeless experience humbled me as a Christian, but also opened my eyes to the church of which I was a member. There was a great deal of hypocrisy in this church. How can people claim to be Christian, but turn a blind eye to those in need? I can personally see why this would cause non-believers to despise Christians. The actions of this particular church caused me to loose faith in that church. Had it not been for one fellow, non-church going Christian, I may have lost faith in God. Their Christian act helped my family when we needed it most. With my eyes wide open, I looked at the world anew. I, myself, had been obsessed with material possessions just before we lost it all. I was at one time no different than the other members of my church. We hung out together and drank together just the night before we all attended service together. Many of my “friends” in the church were no different than Sider’s pagans. I know not all Christians are like that, and not all pastors lower the standards to accommodate the congregation. Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend across the United States. No longer are parishioners asked to leave for deviant behavior. The message, “God forgives,” is belted out on every church sign. However, many Christians forget that Jesus may have saved sinners, but he also said, “Go and sin no more.” Wow! That is a tough one. As Christians, we need to remember that our life after Christ is a time of transformation. We are not perfect and we all sin, but we should all model the life of Christ. We should abstain from sin, be compassionate to our brethren, and not repay evil for evil.

I completely agree with what Sider has to say about sin. There is both personal and social sin. You can live out your life and avoid all of the temptations that are put before you; but if you look at the social injustices and sit idly by without even trying to change them, then you are still sinful. Many people enjoy the freedoms and material possessions that they have without realizing what the actual costs. People look for the cheapest prices on clothing and do not think twice about where the clothing was made, who it was made by, or what the human cost of such clothing is. Almost everything that Americans enjoy today comes with great cost to humanity. I believe that social sin is when many benefit for the sacrifices of few. In inner city schools, teachers tend to be too “afraid” to teach, so those who are affected the most are the children that attend the schools. This is a social sin; it is bigotry, and I am not talking just about racism. In this country, many people equate poverty with sinfulness. That is not rightly true. This too is a social injustice. A very wealthy, dear friend of mine proclaims that she is a Christian, but she also has stated to me, “I do not see how you can stand being around all of those poor people. All poor people are criminals.” After getting to know her dad, I found that he feels the same way. This is socioeconomic injustice. If you look at the world around you and think, “I do not sin, so all is right with the world;” then you are absolutely jaded about the world around you.

I fear that some churches these days are moving further and further away from Sider’s six crucial points. I feel that each point is equally important than each. Several of them, it seemed Sider did not spend enough time, while I feel he went on and on with others.

Jesus is the center – In churches today, the happiness of the individual seems to be the core of everything that drives it. This point needed more clarification and supporting evidence.

The church is called to be Holy – Once an individual commits to the church, they should not revert to their former lifestyle. This is a point that seems to be looked over throughout today’s churches.

The church as a community – Because God is a community of three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the church must also be a community in order to be successful.

A countercultural community – Today many churches seem to have conformed to mainstream society. It is acceptable to commit sin after sin from petty lying on to gross misconduct in today’s churches.

Mutual accountability and availability – This point seems to be ignored in today’s churches. According to Sider, we are to be economically and spiritually accountable to our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we commit a sin, we must be held accountable for that sin. If we see a brother and sister in need, we must surrender our possessions to end their suffering.

In the power of the spirit – I wish Sider would have expanded more on this point. As scripture states, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10); therefore, it is important to remember that God’s grace is what we need in our time of weakness. Many Christians have forgotten that God is here for us and believe that we should work through our problems on our own.

Overall, I agree with the point that Sider made about starting in more personal, smaller groups, which are accountable to larger groups; it is important in bringing the church back to the way it was intended. Many churches today have gotten so large that the members have become disassociated with one another. They are not capable of knowing whether another member has a need or not.