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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Making Christians into Children of Hell – 11 May 2006
By Mary T. Hoffman

According to this Bible verse (Matthew 23:15) Jesus said:

15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Even though Jesus made this statement 2,000 years ago, it applies to proselytizing today. I’ll give you an example: A formerly Hindu couple, who were not meat-eaters, converted to Christianity. The husband became the minister of a Christian church. They were now eating meat and seemed rather proud of the fact. It was obvious that they were eager to be accepted and to fit in to their new surroundings.

To me, the encouragement of non-meat eaters to become meat eaters through religious conversion goes against the high ideals that Jesus exemplified. How much better it would have been if this couple had been praised for their non-meat eating habits and then introduced to Christianity as a religion that would bring them closer to the perfection that Jesus spoke about. It would be explained that salvation was indeed free through grace, and that the Holy Spirit indwells believers. But to cheapen Christianity by backing down and ignoring Jesus’ admonition (Matthew 5:48) is inexcusable:

Matthew 5:48

48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

~ New American Standard Bible

How does eating the pieces and secretions of animals who are criminally abused (especially in this day and age of artificial insemination – rape, and factory farms) glorify our Creator and bring us closer to the perfection that Jesus spoke of? And in churches, no less!

Can you imagine what Jesus would say today to those who profess to be Christians, but who not only retain their hardness of heart, but also encourage new converts to join them in this travesty of Christianity?

Go on to: Courage to Speak the Truth – 12 May 2006
Return to: The Disconnect – 10 May 2006
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