I see where Westboro Baptist Church has been in the news lately; it seems that its founder recently passed away and so they are facing a where do we go from here moment. I have to confess I only know of the WBC by reputation (and it isn't good!) so I don't know if this is a one-family church or a much-larger movement.
I bring up WBC because it is a good illustration of a problem that is being ignored by the rest of the evangelical world, and that is branding. Westboro has built its name and reputation on hate, and because they have Baptist in their name, they are dragging in the whole of Baptistdom by extension. I realize that Baptists are independent churches; they have national and regional conferences but each church can basically set its own tone. However, they do have the capability of uniting and speaking out. If I were a Baptist, and did not believe in the agenda of the Westboro Baptist Church, I'd be hopping mad that this church is using the Baptist name!
In contrast, the business world does not operate like that. If someone opens a McDonald's franchise and proceeds to use that franchise as a platform to express hate in the way the WBC does, I do not think the home office would sit idly by. I think they would act swiftly to reclaim McDonald's image and reputation. The WBC does not simply say "God does not approve of homosexuality; it is wrong because . . ." No, they proudly carry signs that says God HATES gays. There's a big difference between the two. But because WBC is allowed to go unchallenged, the difference becomes blurred.
Christians need to wake up and see what is being done and said in their name. Brushing it aside as it's not our congregation/it's not our denomination so we don't need to get involved would be like McDonald's home office looking the other way as one of its franchisees used Ronald McDonald as a spokesperson for violence and racism. Businesses, even large ones, generally are sensitive about their names and reputations. They do not want to be seen as being socially insensitive (even if they are). (There are exceptions, of course.)
I think part of the problem stems from a conversation I had with the leader of my Bible group who is trying to woo me back. He pointed out that many of the people in that group and in that church do not have the Bible knowledge and education that I do. They are just beginning to read the Bible. So they are not capable of understanding deeper theological arguments. Their faith is very simple and basic.
And because people are being brought to Jesus, brought into the church, without any background in these things, they are easily taken advantage of, because they don't have the skills needed to evaluate what a pastor or preacher claims. They can be easily seduced into hate. These are the kind of people who vote for a candidate that tells them that autism and other misfortunes are God's punishment on the U.S. for supporting gay rights. These are the kind of people that believe Ken Ham's Creation Museum teaches real science. The rest of us, who are better educated, look around and say "how can any rational person believe that in 2014?" It's not just a matter of rationality; it's a matter of education. For many people, learning stops right after high school. And of course, few pastors and church leaders have any kind of interest in teaching their flocks that there are other ways of looking at Scripture besides their own. Unless you dive into theology, history, apologetics, you are not likely to know that there is a vast gap between what is taught in seminaries about the Bible and what is taught from the pulpit, and that it is a rare and brave pastor who will come out and say so.
I do not mean to malign my former church in any way by saying these things. And I don't mean to single them out. But this is a very big problem, because as I see it, they have a vested interest in keeping people's faith simple and basic. They don't encourage their members to dive deeper. And so when a church or a group starts veering in dangerous directions--and it comes so subtle and gradual and is presented so logically that no one thinks to question, especially if questioning is discouraged or redirected--it's very hard to stop that momentum. I am sure that there may be people who joined the Westboro Baptist Church who initially did not believe that God hates certain people and that it is not ok to intrude on funerals--who indeed would have been appalled at the idea. But little by little that resistance was eroded.
Supposing, now, that a family from the WBC, who buys into the whole "God hates" agenda, moves to my area and decides to join my former church. I am afraid that as long as they say the right things about Jesus they will be welcomed unquestionably as fellow Christians and taken under the church's wings. And as long as they weren't too open about spreading their poison, I am also afraid that they would find fellow travelers whom they could subtly join with to infect the church because of the culture of "you have to accept and love" no matter what.
I bring up WBC because it is a good illustration of a problem that is being ignored by the rest of the evangelical world, and that is branding. Westboro has built its name and reputation on hate, and because they have Baptist in their name, they are dragging in the whole of Baptistdom by extension. I realize that Baptists are independent churches; they have national and regional conferences but each church can basically set its own tone. However, they do have the capability of uniting and speaking out. If I were a Baptist, and did not believe in the agenda of the Westboro Baptist Church, I'd be hopping mad that this church is using the Baptist name!
In contrast, the business world does not operate like that. If someone opens a McDonald's franchise and proceeds to use that franchise as a platform to express hate in the way the WBC does, I do not think the home office would sit idly by. I think they would act swiftly to reclaim McDonald's image and reputation. The WBC does not simply say "God does not approve of homosexuality; it is wrong because . . ." No, they proudly carry signs that says God HATES gays. There's a big difference between the two. But because WBC is allowed to go unchallenged, the difference becomes blurred.
Christians need to wake up and see what is being done and said in their name. Brushing it aside as it's not our congregation/it's not our denomination so we don't need to get involved would be like McDonald's home office looking the other way as one of its franchisees used Ronald McDonald as a spokesperson for violence and racism. Businesses, even large ones, generally are sensitive about their names and reputations. They do not want to be seen as being socially insensitive (even if they are). (There are exceptions, of course.)
I think part of the problem stems from a conversation I had with the leader of my Bible group who is trying to woo me back. He pointed out that many of the people in that group and in that church do not have the Bible knowledge and education that I do. They are just beginning to read the Bible. So they are not capable of understanding deeper theological arguments. Their faith is very simple and basic.
And because people are being brought to Jesus, brought into the church, without any background in these things, they are easily taken advantage of, because they don't have the skills needed to evaluate what a pastor or preacher claims. They can be easily seduced into hate. These are the kind of people who vote for a candidate that tells them that autism and other misfortunes are God's punishment on the U.S. for supporting gay rights. These are the kind of people that believe Ken Ham's Creation Museum teaches real science. The rest of us, who are better educated, look around and say "how can any rational person believe that in 2014?" It's not just a matter of rationality; it's a matter of education. For many people, learning stops right after high school. And of course, few pastors and church leaders have any kind of interest in teaching their flocks that there are other ways of looking at Scripture besides their own. Unless you dive into theology, history, apologetics, you are not likely to know that there is a vast gap between what is taught in seminaries about the Bible and what is taught from the pulpit, and that it is a rare and brave pastor who will come out and say so.
I do not mean to malign my former church in any way by saying these things. And I don't mean to single them out. But this is a very big problem, because as I see it, they have a vested interest in keeping people's faith simple and basic. They don't encourage their members to dive deeper. And so when a church or a group starts veering in dangerous directions--and it comes so subtle and gradual and is presented so logically that no one thinks to question, especially if questioning is discouraged or redirected--it's very hard to stop that momentum. I am sure that there may be people who joined the Westboro Baptist Church who initially did not believe that God hates certain people and that it is not ok to intrude on funerals--who indeed would have been appalled at the idea. But little by little that resistance was eroded.
Supposing, now, that a family from the WBC, who buys into the whole "God hates" agenda, moves to my area and decides to join my former church. I am afraid that as long as they say the right things about Jesus they will be welcomed unquestionably as fellow Christians and taken under the church's wings. And as long as they weren't too open about spreading their poison, I am also afraid that they would find fellow travelers whom they could subtly join with to infect the church because of the culture of "you have to accept and love" no matter what.
