A Bloggin' For Da Noggin'

I believe some of the more critical elements to a successful blog are consistency, interest, and consistency. For one to develop a readership, one must be faithful to said readership. Keep updates coming. The updates should, ideally, be fresh and pertinent. Though there must be updates.

In the search to supply my blog with a more blog-oriented topic, I am introducing one, specific topic for the day. One that has been on my mind. The topic that fuels my need to vent and express the most...today.

So here it is...

I hope to lead a charge, or take part in a rally to the cause, to help people understand what 'evangelical' means, or more to the point, what 'evangelical Christianity is'. This could take a while, though it is centrally important to what the faithful, believing, Christian community is called to do...in my opinion.

I may need to start with what I am fairly sure Evangelical Christianity is not. Yes, let's do that.

Evangelical Christianity is not a political group. So often I hear what the 'evangelicals' think, like what the Republicans think (a dangerous synonym for many) or what the Libertarians think, or what Red Sox fans think, or what 'fill in the blank' thinks.

Evangelical Christianity is not the religious right. Not exclusively, no way. It is not a group or organization or family where every member is a James Dobson supporter! NO WAY!

Evangelical Christianity is not a watch group to flag and boycott movies that may be based on a book that presents a fictional story based on the life of Jesus.

And evangelical Christianity is not an organization that threatens to take away one's faith if one does not forward the proper email the correct amount of times while uttering the prescribed prayer that goes with it.

Many people--those who believe they are 'evangelicals' and those who feel outside that group--erroneously believe that if someone claims they are Christian ('professes' they re Christian we might say), that person is pro-war, pro-life (how 'pro-life' can 'pro-war' be?), anti-gay, tee-totaling, NRA member and yes, a Republican.

Well, I am not all those things. I may believe in many of those things to varying degrees, though not wholly or without qualification. I believe in life, fully! Though is believing that abortion is wrong and believing that all abortions--no matter what--should be illegal the same thing? Adultery is wrong. I believe it is wrong. Is it illegal? Should there be a law against it? Drinking is not wrong, nor is it unbiblical. Drinking too much is wrong, and dangerous. I believe it is wrong. Is it illegal? Should it be? Hating another human is wrong. Is it illegal? Using words to convey that hate is wrong? Are those words illegal? Should we vote and lobby for Supreme Court justices that will make and then keep it illegal? You get my drift?

I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat either. I believe in many things, and I think many things are bad, wrong, and yes, possibly evil. Though I am here to tell you that evil is a difficult concept, and many things I hear those publicly professed evangelicals call evil are not evil.

For example, I am sure somewhere at sometime Jerry Falwell has said that rock-n-roll is evil. No, sir, rock-n-roll is benign, like capitalism or guns. If bad people get a hold of it, well, it can certainly be an evil combination.

Conservative thought or a dislike of all things progressive does not have a monopoly on faith. Despite what you may hear in some church, yes, probably in the south, we are not all the same.

The danger in this for believers is that such misunderstanding--no matter who is repsonsible for it--is nothing if not counter-productive. More than counter-productive, it is damagin. It's more than shooting yourself in the foot, its like someone else shooting you in the foot! And whether you are NRA or not, that sux.

To be evangelical, to me, means to believe in the power of the gospel that is Jesus Christ. And, to be evangelical is to share that. It is not a license to judge. It is power to love.

My name is Matthew Smith, and I listen to AC/DC. Amen.