Whopping Holiness in Others For Christ

Whopping Holiness in Others For Christ May 4, 2023

If you have a belief system that most people are going to a place of eternal punishment separated from divine love forever, wouldn’t you  do anything and everything to lead people, not just with words typed and spoken, but by your very actions, away from such a fate? What is the best and most prudent way to treat others so that they might see the goodness, truth and beauty of divine reality personified?

Two Options

A. By love and respecting other people made in the image and likeness of God by giving them the honey spoonful of kindness and being respectful to them.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Luke 19:5-7 NIV

B. By Whopping Holiness In Others People (WHIP) for Christ out of love for the other person by using verbal vinegar that insults them  and slams their already damaged psyches which is  one of the most effective methods for conversion.

Jesus Cleansing the Temple Internet Meme
Jesus Cleansing the Temple Internet Meme

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, you rotten thief come down immediately. When the disciples James and John heard this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy him?” Jesus responded, “Not unless shorty here realizes that he is scum.” Jesus took out a whip and swung it at Zacchaeus so he fell out of the tree. He fell out of the tree shaken and afraid and ready to repent.  All the people saw this and began to cheer, “He has properly admonished a sinner.” Luke 19:5-7 MOV (Modern Online Version)

Punching Others Into Truth

Too much of what I witness on loving Christian social media, tends to be individuals who have taken for their God-given vocation, the role of a cyber ‘heresy hunter’. Admonishing the heretic is one of the spiritual works of mercy afterall. Berating and bashing unbelievers by W.H.I.P ing them like Indiana Jones will produce the fruit of the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Convenient.  It will lead others to see the error of their ways and convert them to what has convicted you into believing and acting the way you do.

Everyone wants to imitate Jesus in the one time He showed some temper with the whip in the temple. Dude, you are not Jesus. It’s a much safer bet to imitate Him in the other 99% of the Gospels, like when He preached the good news, when He fed His sheep, when he gave over His body, and when He fixed His eyes firmly on the Father and then told us to do the same.
Simcha Fisher, The only thing I will write about the Amazon Synod (October 21, 2019)

Why be civil and find common ground with those who think and believe different then you when you can use polemics, rhetoric, provocative and sassy sarcastic dark humour that mocks others beliefs. Christians are supposed to be the light of the world but instead many are the dark of the world by being a nasty person in the name of Christ.

Matthew 23 deals with Jesus being nasty to the leaders of the pharisees.  If Jesus can do it, I can do it as well, right?  This is one chapter.  We have to take it into account but it’s one chapter.  The four gospels contain a total of 89 chapters and in one of them, Jesus is exceptionally harsh.  In the other ones, He is mild, calm, articulate, firm, and even mildly angry.  Still, 1 out of 89 is 1.1% of the time.  Taking the words of 1.1% percent of the gospels and applying them to 80% of your behavior is not following Christ, it’s an excuse to act how you want, when you want.

St. Thomas More argued against Luther, Tyndale, and other Protestants quite viciously. It’s almost painful to read at times. St. Francis de Sales was the exact opposite. He was gentle, mild mannered, but firm and spoke the truth when he needed it.
-Allan Ruhl Nasty Internet Stuff (October 9, 2019) www.allanruhl.com

Being kind to others made in the imagine and likeness of God doesn’t mean compromising the Truth or that you should never correct anyone about anything. It does mean that Truth must never outweigh the Love and Compassion we practice in order to touch hearts, minds and souls. Some people say crazy untrue, ugly wrong-headed stupid garbage. But sometimes people word things differently, emphasise different aspects of something, have a different angle on a belief that when you look at you find out you  share the same thoughts about it, just from a different vantage point. People sometimes miss connections, have blanks, and misunderstand information. Instead of helping others to really see errors we swing a hammer on their head and heart.

 The Jimmy Akin Approach

If you’re looking for a good example of how to approach others in error look no further then Catholic apologist and podcaster, Jimmy Akin. He has more information about what the Catholic faith (and various other topics) actually and authoritatively teaches stored in his computer brain. He is also possesses a degree of humble faithfulness to mother church, mixed with  a kind, friendly, and loving attitude towards others that make him someone  you would want to hang out with.


Source SQPN.COM

In his podcast ‘Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World’ he devoted an entire episode to the question, ‘Is the Earth Flat?’ Well duh. But instead of ripping apart the viewpoints of flat earthers, which he could have easily done, he presented their arguments seriously and constructively critiqued them without out ever insulting or belittling them as people for whom Christ died. That’s the kind of guy that he is.  That is the kind of Christian we should all be.

Final Thought

You will catch more flies with a spoonful of honey, than with a whole barrel of vinegar.
-St. Francis de Sales

Why St. Francis de Sales argued against harsh preaching (aleteia.org)

 

 

 


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