A small(ish) rant

I haven't blogged in a while because firstly it's been a very stressful and busy couple of months (huge sympathy for anyone about to embark upon or in the midst of exams) and secondly *shock, horror* I haven't really had anything to say, apart from maybe to comment on the strange summer wardrobes of English men.

But there has been something that has been coming up again and again this year and it's a bit of a bug bear for me, so I thought I might unload and hope you'd be patient for me.

You see there have been so many times this year that I've heard people being informed or told that they simply can't be Christians because of the beliefs they hold. The ideas, beliefs and doctrines they uphold are simply 'unchristian' or unreconcilable with Christianity.

I find this really upsetting. The thing is that I really believe that if someone truly defines themselves as a Christian the chance is they probably are. They might not do Christianity in the same way I do, or believe exactly the same things, but I don't believe that I've got it right enough to simply wave them aside or denounce them. It's such a destructive act,such an insulting and hurtful thing to do. I understand that perhaps people don't say these things with such an intention. Perhaps they mean to challenge or encourage, but I've experienced Christian 'constructive criticism' and it was an incredibly painful experience.

Something is going wrong when we're scared to be real, to be honest, to show who we really are for fear of it being criticised or torn apat. Something is wrong with the church when we spend our time arguing over points of doctrine and forgetting the love and compassion which oozes from the Bible. Something is wrong when we don't acknowledge people because they don't fit into our category of what is a Christian.

I was speaking to someone recently who said that they didn't know if they could call themselves a Christian any more because of what Christianity meant. We talked about it for a while and to be honest I get what they mean. I'm not sure if I want to be a Christian if it means in-fighting and exclusivity. I'm not sure if I want to be a Christian if it's you're either in or out, and if you don't doit like us you're out. I'm not sure I want to be a Christian when people are scarred and hurt from their experiences with Christians.

The thing is that I don't think it has to be lke this. Maybe I'm naive and I have too much of my hippy Mum in me, but I really do believe that while doctrine does matter we can still disagree but love each other. We can become animated, discuss ideas, engage with theories but not lower ourselves to personal attacks. I believe we can talk about these things and walk away with love and respect for each other even if we don't agree. And perhaps what I most hope for is that we can go away enriched and excited to go and hang out with a world full of vulnerable, lonely people.

Right where's my tie-dye and tambourine