Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
Well, we're a lot smarter than He is.
We know a lot more about living for God than Jesus did.
He was a glutton and a winebibber and a friend of sinners.
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Unfortunately, as you have pointed out Sam, many are unable to connect how the reality of their beliefs line up with the life of Jesus Christ. For example, as you stated above, Jesus did, in fact, drink alcoholic wine. But some preachers today hold that if Christians so much as sip on some Reisling, they have effectively punched a first class ticket to Hell. It gets even scarier within some of the circles of Pentecost. Facial hair on men is a sign of pride or rebellion. Oops--Jesus wore a beard! Prohibition of jewelry, make-up and certain clothing. Oops--organizational rules and standards for fellowship/disfellowship, not proper Biblical exegesis. You must belong to a local assembly of believers. Oops--Jesus said where two or three are gathered...Of course, the list goes on...
I believe there are many honest Christians who aren't able to give critical thought to these subjects, and remain in the dark about the ideological struggle that exists. My prediction is this: Many more will continue to leave these oppressive environments that promote exclusivism and isolationism in their congregations. Those who defect may not fully understand why academically, but as my wife so adequately put it, "it's because they just don't treat people right."