As I type these words, I am perched on a deck high on a hill
overlooking the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills of Quebec. I never get
tired of this truly magnificent and million-dollar view!
While enjoying the peace and tranquility of my early morning
devotional location, my eyes paused on Romans 2:24 which says, “The name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you” (ESV). Not exactly comforting words, wouldn’t you
agree? What are we to make of that?
For some reason, the first thing that came to my mind was of
how many of the common swear words in French-Canadian lingo have to do with the
church, and specifically, the Roman Catholic Church. I remember how as a
teenager attending high school here in eastern Ontario, I was exposed to them
all, and then some. Here are a couple examples, but in the interest of decency,
I will not share what the words have come to mean, but only their origin.
calisse = chalice (Eucharist cup)
ostie = the flat Eucharistic bread wafers
sacrement = sacrament
tabarnak = slang form of tabernacle
All of these had their genesis in the Roman Catholic Church,
but when one hears them today, they have evolved into derogatory and
unmentionable swear words. Why are Roman Catholic religious terms used as swear
words? A good question, to be sure.
In all fairness to French-Canadian Roman Catholics, the
problem goes beyond just their "faction" (see: "dissensions, factions;" Galatians 5:20; NIV) of the church; it has touched all
Christendom. Who hasn’t heard people use the Lord’s name in vain in any
language, regardless of denomination? Even professing Christians, I would
argue, do the same when they use certain words.
Words such as Shoot, Darn, etc., are used my many believers as
if to suggest that by slightly twisting the common swear words (as some would
call them) you no longer are really swearing. However, does not the spirit in
which it’s said remain? I don’t want to be legalistic about this, but again,
the question remains, why do they do it?
My Dad used to say that people who regularly swear simply
show a lack of proficiency in the English language. I’m sure that’s true in any
language. Jesus said, “Simply let your
‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil
one.” (Matthew 5:37)
Unfortunately we often go “beyond this,” don’t we? Anything “beyond this” is perhaps why “The
name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
Now hold onto your hat; we’re about to pull a Star Trek and “boldly go where no” Rethinking Faith and Church blog post has gone before.
A while ago I began reading the Quran in an effort to see
exactly where our Muslim neighbours were coming from, and especially in an
effort to try and see where those labeled as ‘extremists’ were getting their
thoughts from. I remember reading of how the English version of the Quran uses
the term “People of Faith” to include
Jews and Christians. This I found curiously interesting. The problem the Quran appears
to have with non-Muslim faiths (and even those within their own faith), is when
followers are lethargic and wishy-washy and don’t strictly walk according to
the faith they profess to have (as they perceive that all people of faith ought
to do). These types of believers the Quran calls, infidels.
“God’s curse be upon
the infidels!” (Quran, 2:88)
“Yet they are not all
alike. There are among the People of the Book some upright men who all night
long recite the revelations of God and worship Him; who believe in God and the
Last Day; who enjoin justice and forbid evil and vie with each other in good
works. These are righteous men: whatever good they do, its reward shall not be
denied them. God well knows the righteous.” (Quran 3:113)
“With those who said
they were Christians We made a covenant also, but they too have forgotten much
of what they were exhorted to do.” (Quran 5:12)
“Believers, those who
follow the Jewish Faith, Sabaeans and Christians – whoever does what is right –
shall have nothing to fear or to regret.” (Quran 5:65)
Are you still with me?
Now please understand, I am not suggesting that we ought to
all go and read the Quran; I did so simply out of curiosity. But I find it
interesting that, though we obviously disagree on many doctrines, the Quran
seems (unless I’ve misinterpreted that which I’ve read) to struggle with “People of the Book” (Christians and Jews
and Muslims alike) who do not faithfully follow that which, as they understand
it, their Scriptures teach them to do. Though it may perhaps sound legalistic,
I struggle with that as well. Furthermore, I suspect the unbelieving world also
struggles with it.
Having said that, if the unbelieving world does in fact
struggle with what they see as hypocrisy in the lives of “People of the Book” (Christians), then is it really any surprise
that, “The name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles” (the unbelievers) because of their perceived hypocrisy
in the faiths of Christians and other religious groups? Hmm, I wonder
sometimes.
- Do the perceptions of others matter? For more on this, you may want to check out this post.
- Do you and I give the unbelieving world and an excuse to blaspheme the name of God because of what they perceive as hypocrisy in our professions of faith?
- If so, what are we going to do about it? Bury our heads in the proverbial sand as we’ve historically done? Justify ourselves, and by default, dismiss their concerns? Or make sure our walk begins to line up with our talk? I don’t know about you, but I choose the latter.
At any rate, may no one ever blaspheme God because of what
they see in me. Peace.
No comments:
Post a comment