"Taking a bullet" for Christ?

[LovebirdsFlying]

I'm not sure what to make of this modern-day parable, that came in to my husband's e-mail, and he shared it with me.

One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000-member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered head to toe in black, and carrying submachine guns. One of the men proclaimed, "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ, remain right where you are." Immediately the choir fled, the deacons fled, and most of the congregation fled. Out of the 2,000, there remained only 20. The man who had spoken took off his hood. He then looked at the preacher and said, "OK, Pastor, I got rid of all the hypocrites. You may now begin your service. Have a nice day." And then the two men turned and walked out.​

The question that entered my mind after reading this was not, as the author probably intended, "Would I run, or would I stay?" It was, "What's wrong with this picture?" The story presumes that church is for perfect people, a place where "hypocrites" don't belong, a place only fit for those who have no need of repentance. I say that church is not meant to be a gathering of the perfect. The bigger the sinner, the MORE they belong in church, to hear the word of God and have a chance to repent of their sin. How effective would a church be, if sinners and hypocrites never came, but only those who were "good enough" to be there? What do you think?

 

[EyesOnZion]

I like this. One of my favorite sayings it that the church is supposed to be a hospital for sick people, not a museum of perfect people.

Dietrich Bonhoffer...someone who has called for pretty hefty costs to discipleship..also said that if we think the church needs to be filled with perfect people, then we don't love the church the way God Himself built it (or something like that...it's in "Life Together", which is packed away among my books somewhere at the moment.)

 

[Kevin_Wright]

I see where both of u are coming from. But what I got out of it was that I needed to be dedicated to the faith. I think the parable makes a good point. We need to have the same kind of faith early christians did. Cuz a times coming i believe, when the anti-christ will show. And christians WILL BE in situations like that.

 

[GrannieAnnie]

Fantastic idea...might have given a few people a heart attack though. I agree the church is for sinners...which we all are. But in a real situation like that, I'd love to think I'd be brave enough to stay and take a bullet. But every day we stand up for Christ in our daily lives we take a bullet for him, when we stick up for good morals and happily declare our devotion to Christ, we are taking a bullet for him.

 

[Svt4Him]

Why would I need to take a bullet for Christ? I'd leave, and I would never go back to a church that thought that that was a good way to feed the sheep. Christ doesn't need me to take a bullet for Him, He already took the cross for us.

 

[actionsub]

I'm not sure what to make of this modern-day parable, that came in to my husband's e-mail, and he shared it with me.

One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000-member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered head to toe in black, and carrying submachine guns. One of the men proclaimed, "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ, remain right where you are." Immediately the choir fled, the deacons fled, and most of the congregation fled. Out of the 2,000, there remained only 20. The man who had spoken took off his hood. He then looked at the preacher and said, "OK, Pastor, I got rid of all the hypocrites. You may now begin your service. Have a nice day." And then the two men turned and walked out.​

The question that entered my mind after reading this was not, as the author probably intended, "Would I run, or would I stay?" It was, "What's wrong with this picture?"

This story is also about as old as "Madelyn Murray O'Hair taking all religious programming off TV". I heard this as a youth in the 70s, but the venue was either Red China or the USSR, depending on who was telling it. The gunmen in this version were some variety of secret police troops, who revealed themselves as being Christians once all the "hypocrites" took off.

 

[EyesOnZion]

This story is also about as old as "Madelyn Murray O'Hair taking all religious programming off TV". I heard this as a youth in the 70s, but the venue was either Red China or the USSR, depending on who was telling it. The gunmen in this version were some variety of secret police troops, who revealed themselves as being Christians once all the "hypocrites" took off.

Yeah, that's the version I heard as a child/teen as well. What would you do if you lived in USSR?

Then again, pastors like to re-use material long after it's relevant.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

Great answers so far, everyone. Svt4Him, you were very well on target there. Amen.

I think I'm sensitive to this kind of thing because I have experienced the putting-down attitude from people who thought I wasn't "good enough" to become a Christian. I was told as a teenage expectant mother that, because I was pregnant out of wedlock, I "had no right" to be reading the Bible! It seems to me that if anyone SHOULD be reading the Bible, it's a sinner. Later as a divorced woman, I was denied a ride to church on the grounds of "abstain from all appearance of evil." I suppose this means they didn't want to be seen associating with a divorced woman. But again, if anyone NEEDS church, it's someone whose life isn't going right. Where did people get the idea that you have to be "good enough" to earn the privilege of going to church? Jesus Christ Himself said, "It is not the well who need a doctor, but the sick." Matthew 9:12, paraphrased.

 

[Steffenfield]

Being in church offers no extra protection for oneself than if you were, say, at McDonalds.

It's what you carry inside of you.

That was probably, if true, the dumbest lesson ever and thank God no one got killed over such a terrible experiment.

I think they tried this once in a school a few years back, all the teachers involved were fired, and I believe there were serious injuries as a result.

People are so stupid.

Yeah, that includes me too. *lol*