Guest Post: Are You Ready to Date?

INTRO: This is probably the most common social question/issue that is discussed in our circles. Rather than trying to take a stab at it myself (being unmarried and not ready for dating at this time myself), I had someone who is in a very beautiful Christian marriage give me his take based off of his experiences. In this way, I think it’s wiser to learn from someone who has accomplished this part of his life. Out of humility, he chose to stay anonymous. Without further ado, let’s see what this very spiritual servant has to say about this topic!

The Fault of American Society and Dating

A lot of youth have asked me before, “how do you know if you are ready to start dating?” The truth is that it’s not an easy question. It takes a great amount of self-analysis, blessings from your father of confession, and whether or not the person you are interested in courting is also ready. The truth is, more youth are focused on someone that will satisfy their wants rather than focusing on glorifying God in his perfect timing. More youth are less focused on God and more focused on themselves. It explains why there are so many problems in marriages today.

We live in an American society that has trained us to think: “what do we want and how quickly can we get it?” “What traits must our future spouse have?” He/she must be successful, come from a good family, cook, clean, be social, etc. We almost have a checklist of traits that our future spouse must have. It’s a dangerous way to look for a future spouse because you are setting them up for failure in the future. The real questions that you need to ask are:

1. What can I offer to someone else?
2. Do I practice what I believe?
3. Do I have the ability to love my future spouse?

 

The divorce rate in America is roughly at 50%, and it’s simply scary it’s that high. No one that gets married expects to eventually get divorced. If they did, then why get married in the first place? But why is the divorce rate that high? The expectations of what the other spouse is providing to the relationship falls short. They become so dissatisfied that separating from this person will better fit their current needs and wants.  It is American society that has implemented a mindset that marriages need constant and immediate satisfaction. Anyone that has been in a marriage for a long time knows that this is impossible but it is also not a reason to divorce.

The true problem actually was planted when the couple was courting before marriage. They were focused on what their future spouse could do for them rather than their future spouse’s relationship with God. They were more focused on what their future spouse had to offer rather than what they could offer. A true Christian relationship between a man and woman is rooted in God by following biblical examples and the wisdom of the church.

My Wife and I

When I first started courting my beautiful wife, she gave me a set of 5 tape cassettes (google tape cassettes if you don’t know what they are) that contained talks about marriage. I figured what the heck and listened to them. I wasn’t expecting much from them but the real truth is I really liked her and she was wayyyyyy out my league. I was a little leaguer playing in the World Series.  I had to make this work and I couldn’t be more thankful that it did.

Well the guy that was giving the talks said a statistic that forever stuck in my head. 1 out of 1,156 couples that pray together daily get a divorce. He riddled off another statistic that 1 out of 10,000 couples that pray and read the Bible together daily get a divorce. I don’t have a reference for the second statistic but the message was clear:

• Pray together to God to bless and strengthen the marriage by making Him the center of the marriage
• Practice and believe in biblical principles of marriage

If you can do that than your marriage, from a statistical purpose, is divorce proof. Not only divorce proof but your marriage overall will be more satisfying.

Orthodoxy and Dating

As Orthodox Christians we also have the wisdom of the Church and the Church Fathers to help guide us successfully through our marriages. If we don’t practice prayer and reading our bible before marriage then what are the chances we will do it with our spouse after you get married? My guess is very low. Are you ready for marriage if you don’t do those two basic Christian actions? Nope, plain and simple.

Let’s look at the story of the union between Rebekah and Isaac in Genesis 24. The premise of the chapter is that Abraham, Isaac’s father, sent out his servant to find a wife for his son. Rebekah, who was beautiful, as it is stated in Genesis, did not wish to use her beauty as a way to attract attention. It was almost as if she did not know how beautiful she was.  If we read carefully in Genesis 24, she did not even wear jewelry before she met Abraham’s servant even though she came from a rich family. She also kept herself pure by not knowing any man before.

When Abraham’s servant, after a long journey, approaches Rebekah, she is more than willing to serve him in any way possible. Even to the point of serving his camels water: “And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking’” Genesis 24:19.  Rebekah did not know the purpose of Abraham’s servant’s journey at this point. She did not even know who he was. She was only focused on serving him to the best of her abilities.

What we learn is that Rebekah is filled with boundless loving kindness to anyone she encounters.  She teaches us to look for times and places where we can be of service, to be proactive and useful, without calculating whether there are others around who could, or should, do the same. Don’t forget she was a woman and her acts of service to Abraham’s servant were better suited for man but these acts of service convinced the servant that he has found Isaac’s bride. She was a woman who was not focused on finding a husband or her beauty.  She was simply a content woman that sacrificed without regard.

Later on in the chapter in verse 63 “Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening…” We see here that Isaac, even though he is mourning the passing of his mother, Sarah, still has a strong relationship with God by taking the evening to meditate with God. Keep in mind, it was not even Isaac that was looking for his future wife but rather his father Abraham. Both Rebekah and Isaac were content with their current status of being single, but here we see that it was God’s intentions to bring them together. It was God’s blessing of their union by both of them having strong relationships with God evidenced by their behavior of service and meditation in Genesis 24.

“Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her.” – Genesis 24:67

Notice the last three words. He loved her. Isaac loved Rebekah. It took three years from the passing of Sarah, his beloved mother, for Isaac to be ready to love his new wife. Isaac’s love for Rebekah took three years to develop even though they did not know of each other until the day they met. Love takes time to develop and to offer as a sacrifice of commitment.

The union of Isaac and Rebekah makes it clear that by prayer and following the principles that God provides for our good that our future spouse will be found. Patience is needed. For Isaac it was 3 years. For you it might be longer. But in the meantime your sole focus is glorifying God. These practices when you are single will lead to successful and happy marriages that glorify God in His abundance. Are you ready to court? Ask yourself: what do you have to offer? Are you practicing what you believe as a Christian? Do you have the ability to love your future spouse?

“The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together. Men will take up arms and even sacrifice their lives for the sake of this love just as Christ sacrificed His life for the life of the church.” – St. John Chrysostom , Sermon on Marriage

 

 

 

 

Abort or Abide? The Biblical Case for Life

 

This post is the result 0f a question from a friend about some who are “pro-choice” who use the Bible in support of abortion. I’ll discuss that in the second section of this post. Firstly, I want to discuss the Church view on abortion, then I’ll discuss the biblical evidence that “pro-choicers” use in support of abortion.

The Church View on Abortion

The Church has always believed that abortion is a sin. If we look at one of the most ancient (1st/2nd c. A.D.) extra-biblical Christian texts, the Didache (which means teaching), we can see that it says:

“Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not corrupt boys; do not have illicit sex; do not steal; do not practice magic; do not practice witchcraft; you shall not murder a child, whether it be born or unborn. Do not covet the things of your neighbor.” (Didache 2:2)

This is clear and without a doubt in reference to abortion. Even later on, the Church always looked at abortion as a grave sin. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, St. Pisentios (Arabic: بيسنتاوس), the bishop of Coptos (Qift/ قفط) in the 7th century, said:

“Any woman who aborts what she carries in her womb of the incomplete foetus, the Lord shall throw her into the depth of the pit of Hades.” (St. Pimentos, First Letter, 13th c. manuscript) (Read more about this quote here)

Abortion is a grave sin, and one that is condemnable in almost every case. This is the general rule. The only exception is in the case of “therapeutic abortion” where the continuation of pregnancy is threatening to the life the mother. In this very special and rare case, this is the last option and should be discussed with a priest or bishop before making a decision. However, in all other cases, abortion is not allowed and is strictly forbidden. For other reasons such as an abnormal fetus, to conceal sin, etc., read this post.

The Church is very adamant that life itself begins at conception. Once a zygote, or embryo is formed by the meeting of the sperm and egg, life has begun and to stop or hinder the process that follows by human intervention is abortion and a sin. Some people may say that it is very irresponsible to just have kids, especially when the parent(s) is/are financially incapable of taking care of the child. Just as with anything in life, there must be some sort of responsibility placed on the parents for their actions. A responsible adult will take into account proper methods of family planning in order to avoid the need for ever having an abortion. Unlike the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church is not strictly against contraceptives, so long as they are used pre-zygote. There are many methods for proper family planning, and if this is a concern that needs addressing, read this very informative post.

An unfortunate phenomenon that may cause some hinderance is the case of miscarriages or “spontaneous abortions” (abortions that occur without human intervention). Although this is a sad case, the Bible still considers them children. In this, we take comfort in knowing that God has knowledge of each one and is merciful in his dealings with them.

The Biblical Evidence Against Abortion

The Bible is very clear that God recognizes fetuses as living beings. This is clear in the cases of David, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist, as well as others that are mentioned in the previously linked articles. There are some that He spoke of even before their conception such as Isaac, Samuel, John the Baptist, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It’s asinine to think God would have been okay with aborting any one of these people before their birth.

So now, to get to the arguments. This article claims that without a doubt, the Bible proves that abortion is okay and gives five pieces of Scripture that prove it. In essence, the writer’s arguments are not only weak, but intellectually dishonest and on the verge of completely moronic. I’ll present the Scriptures as he presents them in pink, his arguments in red, and my rebuttal in black. 

1. “When men have a fight and hurt a pregnant woman, so that she suffers a miscarriage, but no further injury, the guilty one shall be fined as much as the woman’s husband demands of him, and he shall pay in the presence of the judges. But if injury ensues, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Exodus 21:22-25

This Biblical verse lays out the penalty for accidentally causing a woman to miscarry, and it’s just a fine. If the woman herself is injured during the incident, however, the good old “eye for an eye” rule comes into play.
So if the mother dies, the person who caused the death dies. If only the unborn child dies, however, the at-fault party has to fork over a few shekels. If an unborn fetus is a human life, why is it not treated as such in this verse?

This passage is the most widely-used passage by “Pro-choicers” and is their go-to verse. The key word in this passage is miscarriage. The translation of this word is both good and bad depending on the definition. I’ll explain. The Hebrew word that is translated into “miscarriage” here is a combination of the noun, yeled, and the verb, yasa. Literally translated, this means “the child comes forth.” In a comparison of this passage among many translations (I tried to choose the mostly widely-accepted and scholarly ones), we can see that most of them (including the Orthodox Jewish Bible) don’t use the word miscarriage at all, but rather, “gives birth prematurely” or “have come out”. These translations avoid the use of the word miscarriage, because it does not properly represent the meaning. So why is “miscarriage” used in the RSV and some other translations? According to Merriam-Webster, miscarriage means, “spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus before it is viable.” So, in a sense, the term could properly fit the intended meaning as long as the reader is under the implication that the fetus survives. This flies directly in the face of the author due to the fact that this verse actually has the opposite meaning. In neither case is it talking about an aborted fetus. The first case talks about the birth of a premature baby and the second talks about an unaffected fetus. No abortions here.

On the whole, “miscarriage” is not the proper translation, especially since the word yasa is used 1,061 times in the Hebrew Bible and is never translated as “miscarriage” in any other case. Why should the Exodus passage be any different? The word “miscarriage” in the sense that the author wants to use it in is more properly represented by the Hebrew term nepel, which is only used three times in Scripture. One of which is in the next verse. Because this verse is the most commonly used, I wanted to go into detail on it. Most of my information was taken from this article which goes into further detail for those who want it. In the following verses, I’ll be more brief.

2. “If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other” Ecclesiastes 6:3-5

This text says that it is better for a person to suffer an “untimely birth,” meaning to die from miscarriage, than to live an unhappy life. That’s right:  the Bible literally says it’s better to die in the womb than live an unhappy life. This flies directly into the face of all anti-choice believers.

This one is one of the reasons I called the author intellectually dishonest. Although the words “untimely birth” can be translated as “miscarriage” as I mentioned above, this is not a good argument for abortion at all. The book of Ecclesiastes is traditionally attributed to Solomon who was known for his wisdom. He is not at all talking in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense as he does all throughout this book, Proverbs, and Song of Songs. Solomon was a very allegorical writer and often used hyperbole to get his point across as he does here. The meaning of this verse is that an unfulfilled life is not a life worth living. It would have been better not live at all. It’s a metaphor. However, even if the author did want to take it literally, how would you know that the unborn fetus would live an unfulfilled life? It’s impossible to know until the person lives his/her life. Therefore, to abort it before knowing whether or not the fetus’s life is a fulfilling one is premature and against the nature of the verse. Anybody can take Scripture and twist it. It’s reminiscent of what Satan did to the Lord on the mountain. However, taking the passage and book as a whole, you can clearly see that God is not telling us through Solomon to abort every fetus that we think will have an unfulfilled life. That’s a bit of a stretch don’t you think?

The last three verses are answered in this podcast. In order to save you the hassle. I’ll summarize the answers below. 

3. “The total number of Levites counted at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names.’” Numbers 3:39-40

In these verses, God tells Moses to conduct a census of all Levite males, but he only tells him to count those who are at least one month old. It’s almost as if those younger than a month don’t hold human value.
Is it possible that the Bible is implying that a soul doesn’t enter a child’s body until it’s one month old? The following verse seems to contradict this, but not in a way that benefits a “pro-life” advocate’s argument.

No, it’s not possible. I can’t believe that the author is seriously implying that a soul doesn’t enter the body until the baby is a month old. As if a month is when the soul magically appears. This is such a fallacious argument, that it’s not even worth rebutting. However, for the sake of clarity, I’ll explain what was said in the podcast. It was common for children at this time to die in the first month of birth from natural causes. The absence of hygienic practices, common medical knowledge, vaccines, etc. made it difficult for babies to survive. It’s unfortunate, but true. It is likely therefore, that every culture would have some sort of waiting or incubation period for the baby to determine whether it would survive or not. That’s all. They still hold as much value as any other being. For more information, listen to the podcast. 

4. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7

This verse talks about the creation of Adam. It specifically states that God formed Adam from dust, but he wasn’t yet a living soul. Not until God breathed life into this inhuman form did it become alive. If Adam, the first human to ever exist, had to take a breath before being considered a living soul, why is the same not true for unborn fetuses?

Once again, this argument is based on an improper understanding of Scripture. It is because Adam was the first human to exist that he had to be given a “breath of life.” No other being, including Eve was born this way or will ever be born this way again. Adam was never fetus because there was no womb for him to be in. It makes no sense to compare childbirth now to the first man because they were different processes. What happened with Adam was a one time thing and for him to perpetuate through sex to his offspring. Adam was formed from dust. Fetuses are not. It’s that simple. Like I said before, any piece of Scripture can be twisted. However, understanding the Scriptures as a whole is not also necessary, but is the most honest way of interpretation. 

5. “If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.” Numbers 5:27

This is a fun one. Earlier in Numbers, it’s stated that, if a man suspects his wife of sleeping with another man, he may bring her to a priest who will create some sort of magic potion with water and dirt. The woman is then made to drink said magic potion. If she has not cheated on her husband, nothing will happen.
If the woman has cheated and is carrying another man’s child, though, the mystical dirt water — we can call it magic mud — will cause her to immediately miscarry. This is a directive coming straight from God himself to Moses. So even if pro-lifers can dodge all these other verses, they can’t deny that this one essentially says, “Abortion is okay as long as it’s forced upon a woman, against her will, for cheating on her husband.”
Yeah… that’s way more acceptable than what pro-choice advocates are going for…

For some reason, the author thinks he has an open-and-shut case with this verse. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t the case. In the quoted verse, the translation is bad again. The Hebrew word here is not nepel, and should therefore not say “womb will miscarry”. Almost every other translation has some sort of variation of “thigh {sexual organs} will rot.” The vast majority of scholars, according to the podcast, interpret this as meaning that the woman will become barren. The very next verse, Numbers 5:28, says, “But if the woman is not defiled, but is clean, then she shall be innocent and may conceive children” (SAAS). This is a clear indication that the punishment from God is not miscarriage, but barrenness. If she is innocent, than she is allowed to give birth. Barrenness was seen as a curse in Jewish society, and so the punishment of barrenness meant that the woman was sinful. This makes sense in light of all of Scripture (as in the stories of Sarah in Genesis and Elizabeth in Luke) a lot better than the ludicrous interpretation that the author has. For more information on this Jewish practice see the Wikipedia page.

All in all, when one looks at the entirety of Scripture, it is impossible to think that God would condone something as heinous as abortion. Without support of the Church and the Early Fathers, interpreting the Scripture for self-gain is what usually occurs. The good Christian doesn’t change Scripture to fit them, but changes themselves to fit Scripture. Therefore, let not the Christian be confused by the noise of the other side, knowing that trusting in the Author of Life is the moral way to live.

Response to Buzzfeed’s “Questions Christians Have for Other Christians” Video

The video embedded below is a video by BuzzFeed that was posted last Saturday. The premise of the video is that some (what some people may call) “Progressive Christians” ask “Other Christians” some questions in a demeaning way with the intent of correcting them. I’ll let the video speak for itself:

What’s sad is that people who would even call themselves Christians would ask questions like these. Since I definitely do not agree with any of these so-called Christians, I guess I’m part of the group they call “Other Christians”. As such, since these people sincerely (I hope) want answers, I’ll do my best to give the Orthodox Christian world view. Overall, I can’t imagine that this video is supposed to be taken seriously. However, there are people that may look at this and find some sort of point to use against Christianity in it, and that’s why I’m posting this.

Before I start though, I want to say that although some of the questions do seem like sincere issues, others are just purely social questions that have nothing to do with Christianity. It seems that in this day and age, Christianity is supposed to fit in with society as opposed to guiding it. I’ll clarify when I answer the questions below which are highlighted in red.

1. Do you really think He’s [God] freaking out because His name is not on a cup, that you get to hold for ten minutes, while you drink a pumpkin spice latte?

I’m pretty sure that the answer is obvious, but in case it isn’t, and you’re really wondering, you can find your answer here.

2. Why does Christian music always sound like a mixture of like Nickelback, and Third Eye Blind?

Once again, I highly doubt that this is a serious question. I would argue that what this person is describing is not true Christian music. The ancient Christian hymns of old are beautiful acapella (sometimes with cymbals in the Coptic Church) compositions that are designed to move the spirit. Here is an example of one from my church in English (just in time for Christmas).

3. Did your devotions actually happen, if you didn’t post about it on Instagram?

This, I will concede, is an issue, if the intention is harmful. Some people like to share Christ in any way possible. Take a look at the example of Sts. Peter and Paul: 

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20 NKJV)

 As long as what is done isn’t to show off your spirituality, but to edify others, than there is no problem. My group of youth have a group text where we share Bible passages and quotes from the early fathers with each other in order to fill each other up. What’s wrong with that? Once again, it depends on the heart of the person posting it, which neither you or I can judge.

4. How come we all love Tim Tebow? I mean I do love him, I just don’t why.

Once again, I highly doubt this is a serious question. We love everyone. We’re Christians it’s what we do. Tim Tebow is a good role model because he’s not afraid to express his faith even when it’s unpopular. I’m not saying he’s a saint, but I’m saying that that’s why Christians support look up to him. What’s wrong with that?

5. Why can’t you just pray? Why does it have to be a prayer, and then like someone in the background being like blow, blow-beow?

I’m honestly not sure what this is referring to so forgive my ignorance on this one. But rest assured that you can just pray. Don’t worry about that. 

6. Yeah how come everyone’s still supporting Donald Trump?

To answer the question: I don’t know. I also have no idea what this has to do with Christianity. Either way, Christians shouldn’t put their hopes in politicians, because there is not one who can do what Christ can. 

7. Why are we so afraid to talk about sex? Sex is good! Have you read Song of Solomon? 

No one ever said sex is bad. But in this sex-crazed society where anything goes, purity is looked down upon as “prude” and “old-fashioned.” Sex is good in the context of a legitimate Christian marriage. In Song of Solomon, the book is talking about the love between HUSBAND and WIFE (notice that they’re married and also a male and female). This is a symbol of God’s pure love for his faithful people and their reciprocal love. The most ancient Christians interpreted this book allegorically to represent Christ’s love for His Bride, the Church. For proper sexual conduct, read 1 Corinthians 5-8. 

8. How come we all love Chick-fil-a?

I don’t (gasp) and I’m a Christian! But once again, it’s a company that stands for its beliefs regardless of what society says. That’s admirable.

9. Why do you think Facebook is an appropriate place to discuss theology? 

I’m not really sure of the issue here, but I guess it’s for the same reason you think BuzzFeed is an appropriate medium for your questions (burn?). My personal Facebook is a representation of my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. It is about me. If I want to speak about theology, I will and can and have the right to, especially in a country that grants that freedom. Why is it an inappropriate place? 

10. Why, when Paul said that we all have our own individual gifts, that we feel the need to fit into this absolutely perfect mold? That’s impossible. 

I think that you’re referring to Ephesians 4:11-16.  If that’s the case, then I suggest you reread it. And of course it’s impossible to be perfect, but we must do our best to imitate Christ. Even though it may seem impossible, nothing is impossible with Christ. Yes, it’s hard, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. We should always grow and perfect ourselves to be pure images of Him. 

11. Why are we as Christians more known by the things we hate, than by our acts of love?

This is a pretty good question, and one that is not unexpected as Christians. We know that as Christians, the world will hate us just as they hated Christ. In fact, Christ himself was hated because he made known the world’s sin to them. All this is what Christ himself said in John 15:18-25. Of course this should not deter us, because Christ has overcome the world. My question to you is, why are we looking to please the world instead of Christ?

UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that I may have not answered this question entirely. For that I apologize, and will include an additional answer. 

Above, I mentioned that “Christ himself was hated because he made known the world’s sin to them.” I’ll expand on this answer to answer the question above. The truth of the matter is that Christians stand against sin. We are known by what we believe in. Therefore, in this day and age, when sin is not only commonplace, but the norm, anybody standing against it may be seen as a threat. It’s more comfortable for us to live how we want, rather than taking moral responsibility for what we believe. In other words, being a Christian means I have to live a moral life and to abstain from things that are now commonplace in the world such as: heavy drinking, cussing, fornication, homosexuality, drug use, etc. Increasingly this world is fighting for “gay rights” and “legalization of marijuana.” Additionally, fornication and cussing are so widespread, that it is strange if someone is not doing these things.

All these things that the majority of the world (U.S.) are fighting for or are participating in are WRONG. We, as Christians should not participate but rather expose these things as evil. Good Christians follow this wholeheartedly, so when they do stand up against evil things, people see that and react violently (as in slandering, and verbal attacks) in order to be able to justify their sin. The media sees this controversy and eats it up. An article that says, “Christians support helping the poor” is not as eye-catching as “Christians are against gay marriage.” Therefore, the media plays a huge role.

Ultimately, St. Anthony the Great sums up what I’m trying to say in the following quote: 

“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’” – St. Anthony the Great, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Ladies and gentlemen, we live in the time mentioned by St. Anthony, and we are known by what we hate because we are not like the people who love those things.

12. Why do you think Christianity and science are incompatible? If anything, science makes God look a lot cooler.

Ummm… I don’t think that at all. Christianity answers the why questions of life and science answers the how. This is a long discussion, but I absolutely think they are compatible. Since you like cool things, here is a cool video that shows how compatible they are.

13. Why are you so adamant about exercising your religious freedoms, but then get so offended when people of other faith exercise their religious freedoms?

We shouldn’t be. As St. Paul says, we don’t worry about judging those who are outside. However, we do get offended at people who disgrace our faith. Of course, we shouldn’t attack back like what Peter did, because we know that our Lord can defend himself.

14. Why do you feel like I have to constantly be preaching in order to be a good Christian?

I’ll just leave this here. It’s not for me to decide, it’s for you. I’m not sure as to why you’re so worried about my opinion.

15. Is showing my friends love and grace, not allowed to just speak for itself sometimes?

Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn’t. There is no one way to do something for every situation. Of course it can speak for itself, but sometimes you have to take other measures. We must pray for wisdom and discernment to know when to do which. 

16. How come there’s a church on every block, but for some reason, we can’t figure out a way to work together?

I don’t know what this is referring to, but the answer has to do something with the fact that humans are not perfect and we make mistakes. Everyone expects the church to be magically perfect and gets upset when people in there are not. That’s like walking into a hospital which is supposed to be a place of healing and seeing sick people and getting angry.

17. Why is there so much racism, sexism, and homophobia in the church? Galatians 3:28 says it’s neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus. So done’t that pretty much tell you that not of that stuff matters?

There isn’t. At least not in my church. Our church doctrine and the Bible (like the verse you quoted) tell us to not hate anyone. We stand against sin, not people. 

18. Why, when the main message of the Bible is to love one another, that we choose to do the opposite?

It is because we are weak sinners who fall short of the Glory of God. I thought that was obvious. We fail to live up to our standards, but through Christ, we may overcome our sins.

19. How come when we talk about men having several wives in the Old Testament, we say cultural context? But then when we talk about marriage today, it’s strictly one man, and one woman?

Cultural context is not the right answer. God didn’t allow this. Man did. When Christ came, he set the law straight. Read this passage, especially verse 8. 

2o. Why does having a diverse group of friends make me less Christian?

It doesn’t, but St. Paul does warn against it. 

21. Why does the church consider LGBT Christians as less than? I don’t remember there being a demographic of people that Jesus saw as less than. 

They’re not considered “less than” whatever that means, but it is important for them to acknowledge their sin and repent of it. The story of the Adulterous Woman is a good example of how to deal with them. Look at verse 11. Christ tells her that she is NOT condemned but ALSO tells her to SIN NO MORE, not to stay how she is. 

22. You know all that grace and forgiveness and love we’ve all received? How come we can’t find a way to extend that to other people?

These unfounded generalities are honestly getting tiring and wearisome, but we do. I don’t even want to go into how many Christian converts, charities, food drives, missions, etc. there are in the world. Just rest assured that we do. 

23. Why do you feel like love the sinner and hate the sin is an okay thing to say? You realize that’s condescending, and still separating them as an other, right?

Wrong. It is an okay thing to say. Christ himself talks about how he hates sin. I don’t think you can (or would dare to) say that Christ hates the people. He hates the sinful doctrine. Put it this way: let’s say your biological sibling is a helpless meth addict. Wouldn’t you hate the fact that he/she is doing drugs? Does that mean you hate your sibling? People who cannot separate an action from the person seem to be the condescending ones. If your mistakes define who you are as a person, than I feel bad for you.

24. Why do you think you can judge my relationship with God, off of a handful of statements?

I don’t. However, Jesus does warn us about individuals to beware of, and that we should judge by their fruits (actions, words, etc.). But that doesn’t mean we judge your relationship with God.

25. You get mad at me for not being able to back-up what I have to say, but you end up taking scripture out of context so many times.

This is a very subjective battle. Suffice it to say that Scripture is not up to private interpretation. So how should we interpret? Based on what was handed down to us by the Holy Apostles. My Church is apostolic, and therefore, is founded in and by the authority of the apostles.

26. What makes you decide what makes me a good Christian? Last I checked everyone’s relationship with God is personal. 

Not entirely. While we do have a personal relationship with God, we must live as a communal body. We have no salvation outside of the Church. Read this for clarification.

So, there you go BuzzFeed. I answered your questions. I hope that others that have had similar thoughts can see that this type of Christianity portrayed by BuzzFeed is highly individualistic and completely off from the true Christianity that Christ established.