According to the Bible, God, in the person of the Holy Ghost, lives inside of every Christian. How the Holy Ghost pulls off being in millions and billions of places at the same time is unknown, but the Bible says that God is omnipresent, so it must be true, right? The Bible also teaches that the indwelling Spirit is the teacher, guide, and restrainer of every believer. Ponder that statement for a moment. Think of the Christians you know, and ask yourself, do they live in ways that are consistent with God living inside of them? Do their choices, decisions, and behaviors reflect that the God who promised never to leave or forsake them is an ever-present, active presence in their lives? Or, are your Christian friends and acquaintances pretty much like you and the other unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the “world?” That’s a rhetorical question.
People are people. On any given day, each of us has the potential to do good and bad things; each of us can bless others or cause great harm. Regardless of our religious beliefs, we are frail, feeble mortals. Getting Evangelicals to understand these facts, however, is a tall task. Everything they read in the Bible, hear from the pulpit, and read in Christian books tells them a completely different story; that they are special, unique people, who have been gloriously saved from “sin” by a virgin-born, resurrected-from-the-dead man named Jesus. It’s hard, then, for Evangelicals to see themselves as mere equals to non-Christians. Oh, they will tell you that they are just lowly, humble “sinners saved by grace,” but when you believe that the Creator of the universe is your BFF, lover, and closest confidant, it’s hard not to think you are superior to people you consider hell-bound sinners, followers of Satan, and enemies of Jesus.
Not only do Evangelicals have the Holy Ghost living inside of them, but according to the Bible, they also have the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, the Apostle Paul wrote:
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.
Paul tells the Church at Corinth, that the natural man (unbelievers) does not receive, know, or understand the things of the Spirit of God. In fact, they can’t understand them because they don’t have the Holy Ghost living inside of them. Paul goes on to ask, “who has known the mind of the Lord?” Answer? We (followers of Jesus) have. Why? We have the mind of Christ.
Nineteenth-century Presbyterian theologian Albert Barnes writes:
There is a difference between Christians and other people. One is enlightened by the Holy Spirit, the other is not; one sees a beauty in religion, to the other it is folly; the one has the mind of Christ, the other has the spirit of the world; the one discerns the excellency of the plan of salvation, to the other all is darkness and folly. How could beings differ more in their moral feelings and views than do Christians and the people of this world? (E-Sword Bible, iOS Version)
Methodist theologian Adam Clarke writes:
[God] has endowed [Christians] with the same dispositions [as Christ], being born again by his Spirit; therefore we are capable of knowing his mind and receiving the teachings of the Spirit. These teachings we do receive, and therefore are well qualified to convey them to others. (E-Sword Bible, iOS Version)
“Well qualified to convey [the things of God] to others.” Doesn’t this describe many Evangelicals; those who frequent this blog and social media; those who believe it is their duty to spread their peculiar version of the Christian gospel wherever they go; those who believe it is their responsibility to expose heresy and promote sound doctrine; those who believe Christianity = truth and the Bible and its teachings should not only be taught in churches, but also in public schools?
I follow and read almost two hundred Evangelical blogs and websites. Not all of them publish every day, but many of them do. And without fail, day after day, dozens of these sites publish posts detailing what the will of God is for believers and unbelievers alike. You see, when you believe that you have an intimate relationship with the one, true God and you literally talk to him daily, it’s not surprising that you begin to think you are God’s mouthpiece; that your words and God’s words are one and the same. Evangelical pastors believe that they are uniquely chosen, qualified, and empowered “men of God.” In some Evangelical circles, you have people who believe they are “prayer warriors” or have been given a special “anointing” from God. As a pastor, I pleaded with God to endue me with “power from on high.” I begged him to use me as he did the great men of God from days of old. I wanted a life that literally oozed God and his Word. Alas, I never achieved such greatness. That did not keep me, however, from telling people what God wanted them to do. How could I do otherwise? I had a God-given duty to lead, shepherd, teach, challenge, and rebuke congregants.
If Evangelicals are saved by and through Jesus, indwelt by the Holy Ghost, have the mind of Christ, daily converse with God in prayer, and have at their fingertips the very words of God — the Bible, why is there so much dissension and internecine warfare among God’s chosen ones? Based on my daily reading of Evangelical blogs, websites, and social media posts, I can safely conclude that the elect are a contentious lot, willing to go to war over the silliest and slightest of disagreements. If Evangelicals have the “mind of Christ,” Jesus sure is an argumentative, judgmental, violent asshole (which, shouldn’t shock us, knowing the kind of Father he had — read the Old Testament).
Perhaps, there is another way to look at Evangelicals; that all their talk about God living inside of them and having the mind of Christ is poppycock. Maybe, just maybe, despite all their God-talk, Evangelicals are just like the rest of us. I know, my Christian friend, it’s humbling to think that you are just like me and billions of other people; that you are not chosen, anointed, or special; that your supposed superiority is a myth.
Reality can be a bitch.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Yep, from my experience, pretty much the only way I would know a person is a Christian is if they told me, or perhaps if I observed them walking into their church on Sunday morn. I have often said to the occasional Christian that I find myself in dialogue with: after almost 50 years of observing Christians, half from inside Christianity, the other half from outside, I find nothing in their words, attitudes, and actions that causes me to think that they have anything that I should want or need.
I know some kind and sincere Christians. But those aren’t part of the current crop of Christian nationalists who are bent on forcing everyone to bow to their beliefs. And Christian nationalists are zealous and have power. Meanwhile, the Christians who more closely embody Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount? Let’s just say they try to do good where they are, but their voices seem to be strangely weak.
And Christian nationalists can’t assign any value to those outside of their belief system, UNLESS those outside of the system align themselves with them and fight for their beliefs…ie, Donald Trump. Pretty damn sad, isn’t it?
Yeah , it sure is sad ! The nuts in the churches are leading them down the Fascist road. Theonomy,I think that’s what their goal is here. I was reading about Jeff Durbin defending abusive parents that attend his church in Chandler,AZ.
I have a theory that kind, loving Christians were kind, loving people before they converted. Mean spirited, hate-filled Christians were that way before they believed. Becoming Christians didn’t change either group, it merely exaggerated what they were to begin with, in much the same way alcohol does.
It’s just a theory, however.
I know some Christians who are great people, and I know some nasty, judgmental, asshole Christian nationalists who enjoy cruelty to those not like them – those they deem unworthy.
If all Christians are connected to the mind of Christ, Christ certainly is a mentally ill schizophrenic tormented individual. Christians can’t seem to agree on a lot, and some are incredibly mean and cruel.
If God exists, he is an Alpha male type-A kind of a guy.