What a Stupid Bumper Sticker Can Tell Us About American Christianity

ArmenianJohn · May 3, 2019

What a Stupid Bumper Sticker Can Tell Us About American Christianity

I think this writer, a dean at a Southern Baptist Theological School, nails what is the problem in much of American Christianity (particularly the various "evangelical" varieties) because of the politics that has become so enmeshed within it.

This helps to affirm to me that my beliefs are not so alone. I sometimes wonder why so many people are so outraged about things that are less important while ignoring or rejecting those things that are far more important. (I mean all this from a Christian's perspective.)

Good read.

Shiloh Raven · May 3, 2019

SMH at the bumper sticker. Good grief. That's a good article. Thank you for sharing it.

Pavel Mosko · May 3, 2019

ArmenianJohn said:
What a Stupid Bumper Sticker Can Tell Us About American Christianity

I think this writer, a dean at a Southern Baptist Theological School, nails what is the problem in much of American Christianity (particularly the various "evangelical" varieties) because of the politics that has become so enmeshed within it.

This helps to affirm to me that my beliefs are not so alone. I sometimes wonder why so many people are so outraged about things that are less important while ignoring or rejecting those things that are far more important. (I mean all this from a Christian's perspective.)

Good read.

It's beyond stupid. Jesus had access to arms in the garden, he also could have called in angels with super powers, and He himself showed his might with the "I am" statement made in the garden. If Jesus had a gun, he would have dropped it on the ground, and if his disciples had guns he would have probably raised the Roman solder from the dead, or at least miraculously had to heal up a bullet hole or do a bullet extraction. As a second amendment supporter I find it sacrilegious. I wonder if it was intended as a joke...

ArmenianJohn · May 3, 2019

Pavel Mosko said:
Well I'm a second amendment supporter but I agree that is stupid. Jesus had access to two swords in the garden of Eden, the sword on the hip functionally speaking was

It's beyond stupid. Jesus had access to arms in the garden, he also could have called in angels with super powers, and He himself showed his might with the "I am" statement made in the garden. If Jesus had a gun, he would have dropped it on the ground, and if his disciples had guns he would have probably raised the Roman solder from the dead, or at least miraculously had to heal up a bullet whole or do a bullet extraction. As a second amendment supporter I find it sacrilegious. I wonder if it was intended as a joke...

I'm glad you see the blasphemous nature of the bumper sticker as well as the inaccuracy and stupidity of it.

However, the article goes beyond the surface stupidity of it and addresses the issue that makes such a bumper sticker possible. He goes into how in this day and age it has become acceptable and even encouraged for professed Christians to say and support things like the message on the bumper sticker because politics has become their religion and is more important to them than the Christianity that they profess.

akaDaScribe · May 3, 2019

ArmenianJohn said:
What a Stupid Bumper Sticker Can Tell Us About American Christianity

I think this writer, a dean at a Southern Baptist Theological School, nails what is the problem in much of American Christianity (particularly the various "evangelical" varieties) because of the politics that has become so enmeshed within it.

This helps to affirm to me that my beliefs are not so alone. I sometimes wonder why so many people are so outraged about things that are less important while ignoring or rejecting those things that are far more important. (I mean all this from a Christian's perspective.)

Good read.

Why would anyone assume that bumper sticker belongs to a Christian? It's mocking Jesus.

archer75 · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
Why would anyone assume that bumper sticker belongs to a Christian? It's mocking Jesus.

It's a reasonable guess. I think most would read it not as mocking Jesus, but as pro-gun.

ArmenianJohn · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
Why would anyone assume that bumper sticker belongs to a Christian? It's mocking Jesus.

Many who profess to be Christians today mock Jesus and His Teachings (His Word) and I don't think they even realize they're doing it most of the time because they believe the higher ideal is the political message (over Christ's). I'm sure many or most don't think in that way but that's what happens.

A prime example is the fact that many of them use the story of Christ telling the Disciples to get swords when it was near time for Him to be arrested. They use that example from the Bible as a pro-gun argument. They don't realize they are making a mockery of it because the full story involves the fact that only one (or 3?) eventually got swords and the ONE disciple who used it to defend Jesus was rebuked and told by Jesus that "those who live by the sword shall die by the sword".

This bumper sticker and the article about it are a great extrapolation of this phenomena and explain how and why it is not just possible but actually LIKELY that this bumper sticker belongs to someone who professes to be Christian.

akaDaScribe · May 3, 2019

archer75 said:
It's a reasonable guess. I think most would read it not as mocking Jesus, but as pro-gun.

Well, given that a Christian believes Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for our sake, to say that he was only crucified because he didn't have the hardware to do it, is a direct attack on our faith.

bekkilyn · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
Well, given that a Christian believes Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for our sake, to say that he was only crucified because he didn't have the hardware to do it, is a direct attack on our faith.

But see there is Jesus and there is Republican Jesus...

W2L · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
Well, given that a Christian believes Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for our sake, to say that he was only crucified because he didn't have the hardware to do it, is a direct attack on our faith.

And the assertion that the right is that ignorant is itself ignorance.

W2L · May 3, 2019

bekkilyn said:
But see there is Jesus and there is Republican Jesus...

Even democrats own guns.

bekkilyn · May 3, 2019

W2L said:
Even democrats own guns.

Sorry, there are no memes for that one.

W2L · May 3, 2019

bekkilyn said:
Sorry, there are no memes for that one.

Then memes are bias and false

Chesterton · May 3, 2019

archer75 said:
If you're here to have fun at the expense of others, you aren't here for the purposes of discussion, which is what the board is for. End.

No, if I wanted to have fun at his expense I would have agreed with his OP and encouraged him to post about it on every social media site far and wide. I was actually trying to do him and others a favor by encouraging them to stop saying what they were saying.

akaDaScribe · May 3, 2019

ArmenianJohn said:
Many who profess to be Christians today mock Jesus and His Teachings (His Word) and I don't think they even realize they're doing it most of the time because they believe the higher ideal is the political message (over Christ's). I'm sure many or most don't think in that way but that's what happens.

A prime example is the fact that many of them use the story of Christ telling the Disciples to get swords when it was near time for Him to be arrested. They use that example from the Bible as a pro-gun argument. They don't realize they are making a mockery of it because the full story involves the fact that only one (or 3?) eventually got swords and the ONE disciple who used it to defend Jesus was rebuked and told by Jesus that "those who live by the sword shall die by the sword".

This bumper sticker and the article about it are a great extrapolation of this phenomena and explain how and why it is not just possible but actually LIKELY that this bumper sticker belongs to someone who professes to be Christian.

OR
Someone who is not pro-gun thought it would be funny to mock pro gun Christians. It is highly unlikely that the person who had the bumper sticker was a Christian unless that "Christian" was using it as a satirical statement against guns. The problem is, of course, because there are non-Christians who don't know how ridiculous the comment is, they might actually think it's an actual position of a Christian.

archer75 · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
Well, given that a Christian believes Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for our sake, to say that he was only crucified because he didn't have the hardware to do it, is a direct attack on our faith.

Yeah, I see what you mean. But in American Christianity, I've met a lot of people who expressed ideas that to me did not make a ton of sense together. I might summarize them as "it's so great Jesus dies for us" and "Can you believe those people just murdered Jesus? It would have been so great if that hadn't happened."

I don't mean to malign anyone's faith here, I just...think I have known people who would identify as Christian and could use this sticker without irony.

variant · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
OR

Someone is "pretending" to be a dumb "pro gun" Christian.

If they were pretending to be that, that is what it would look like, so it doesn't matter.

We would again, be working the irony angle.

akaDaScribe · May 3, 2019

archer75 said:
Yeah, I see what you mean. But in American Christianity, I've met a lot of people who expressed ideas that to me did not make a ton of sense together. I might summarize them as "it's so great Jesus dies for us" and "Can you believe those people just murdered Jesus? It would have been so great if that hadn't happened."

I don't mean to malign anyone's faith here, I just...think I have known people who would identify as Christian and could use this sticker without irony.

Hmm.. Well, I'm not sure where you are in the country, but I've never met someone that clueless. I've met people who have asked me if dragons are real and what planet are we on... But I can't relate to the bumper sticker scenario.

It may be that the people who said it would have been great if Jesus hadn't died, really meant they wish he was still here. Still a theological problem, but it's coming from a much different place.

ArmenianJohn · May 3, 2019

akaDaScribe said:
Hmm.. Well, I'm not sure where you are in the country, but I've never met someone that clueless. I've met people who have asked me if dragons are real and what planet are we on... But I can't relate to the bumper sticker scenario.

It may be that the people who said it would have been great if Jesus hadn't died, really meant they wish he was still here. Still a theological problem, but it's coming from a much different place.

Here's a good example of someone that clueless - the person who made this meme:

There are definitely clueless people out there and they're saying things like this which make a mockery of Christ and His Word, His Teachings, and I think they are really that clueless, they're not trying to be funny or "ironic".

akaDaScribe · May 3, 2019

ArmenianJohn said:
Here's a good example of someone that clueless - the person who made this meme:

There are definitely clueless people out there and they're saying things like this which make a mockery of Christ and His Word, His Teachings, and I think they are really that clueless, they're not trying to be funny or "ironic".

I'm curious, how does that make a mockery of His word?

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