Silly Christianity: Christian Idols

So if you didn't hear, Mel Gibson is persona non grata (again). Allegedly, he hit the woman he was with and threatened her. Hollywood is quickly abandoning him - and in this case, Christianity beat hollywood to the punch.

You see, Mel Gibson was the king of Christianity for a couple of months in 2004. People were pouring into theaters to see his unashamedly Christian "The Passion of the Christ." It became one of the more financially successful films of all time, at one point being the third highest grossing movie in history. Christians looked up to Mel for sticking it to the man (leftist hollywood), forgetting his tendency to show his rear end or kill people (and Gary Busey) violently in his other movies. It was the era where the Christian right could do anything - note the presidential election that followed shortly.

Then Mel got pulled over and made some racist comments. Then he made the unashamedly violent Apocalypto. And Christianity dropped him faster than a Detroit Lions receiver drops the football.

So he joins the ranks of other "Christian" celebrities to fall from grace: Britney Spears, Scott Stapp, Jennifer Knapp, Ted Haggard, Kate Gosselin, etc. Heck, you can probably put George W. Bush on that list too.

So who's next? Who have we as christians portrayed as saints so much that it's just a matter of time before we realize they're human? I'm not as in touch with "cultural christianity" as I used to be - so what say you? I'll rule out Obama because half of the country wouldn't be surprised anyway. Maybe Tony Dungy?

Silly Christianity - 3

Just like the rest of the world, we Christians have realized that we can run up a tab, and it's only when we look at our credit score that we realize that there isn't anything free under the sun.

And so, just like the rest of America, we're obsessed with how to fix that, so that we can ring up a bigger (and better) tab.

So we have self help gurus and books that help us learn how to not use credit cards. It was only inevitable that someone would figure out that if you stamp the name of Jesus on it, all the Christians will buy that self help guru/book rather than those heathen ones.

So now we have Dave Ramsey and the Financial Peace University. FPU costs around 100 dollars to attend...

So to get that straight... Spend 100 dollars to learn how to not spend money on dumb things.

Don't get me wrong. Ramsey's ideas have helped many people - but there is such a radical disconnect here, that it startles me when I see it.

If people were really in financial stress, do you think that Jesus would charge them to get out of it?

Silly Christianity - 2

Do you remember the first time you read Wild At Heart (if you're a woman, Captivating)?
One of the main things that the book (a good read, very helpful, even though I'm about to make fun of it) harps on is that the things that we desire, our deepest innermost longings, are a reflection of who God made us to be.
In Wild At Heart, that meant the reason men like to play wargames and be brutal is because God made us to be warriors. Women, if you read captivating, like to read Vogue or whatever it is that women read because God made them to be beautiful.
It's an interesting premise, and one that is getting more and more play in christian circles and books. I just read about it in a book for introverts (review forthcoming) - the idea that if we're not sure what to do, to listen deep down to what our desire is - that God planted that desire in our heart.
Does anyone have scriptures to back this whole premise up? Because it sounds silly to me. Here's the argument in different wording: "I should do what I want because that's what God wants me to."

Anyone else sensing a self serving christianity here? Maybe my desire to pickpocket is a God-planted desire. Or my desire to see the Red Wings destroy everyone else in the NHL is God-planted - because that desire is as real as any I've known.

It's a seriously silly question.

Silly Christianity - 1

Christians have several terms for people who aren't christians: lost, damned, pagans, unholy, etc. The term "Unreached People Groups" covers all of these categories. When I was in college, I learned an acronym that helpfully puts all the UPG into one easy to remember term:
THUMB
THUMB acronymizes (word?) into Tribes, Hindus, Undeclared (agnostic or atheistic, but THUMB is easier to remember than THAMB), Muslims, Buddhists. It also helps us as christians strategize in our secret planning meetings - cries of "I've got U under control, someone else take B!" are not unheard of.

I think that this list is incomplete, lacking traditionally one of the most unreached people groups in the world.
I would modify it to THUMBZ - Tribes, Hindus, Undeclared, Muslims, Buddhists, and Zombies.

Based on my exhaustive research, there are currently ZERO christian ministries primarily focussed on saving zombies, and the zombie population remains at a 0% conversion rate.

For shame, christendom, for shame.