I would like to write a book called ‘Church Without Labels’ and I would really like to know what you think about the idea.
According to me we as Christians are more than average occupied with right and wrong, sin and guild and the consequences there off. ‘Normal’ people have their conscious and the Penal and Criminal Code, Christians add to that the Bible and the church who teach you what is sin. Because sin is that bad we try to avoid it as much as possible, not only for ourselves but also for others. The result is that I see non-believers walking frankly and YOLO around and Christians who should be redeemed from sin and guild I sometimes see moving tensed like tightrope walkers on the straight and narrow along the abyss of hell.
Wouldn’t it be very liberating if you don’t have to put a label onto everything with a value judgement? We will sin anyway, it is an illusion to think we could become perfect. There is mercy, our sins are forgiven, we are taught. Paul writes a lot about not judging and says: “I do not even judge myself”. He also is the one that states he has the desire to do what is good, but cannot carry it out. By the way, he also says we shouldn’t sin extra so God can give us more mercy, that is not how it works. You have the right to do anything—but not everything is constructive. You should handle yourself with wisdom and should want the best for the people in your surroundings. After all, you don’t live for yourself. This is also how Jesus summarizes what God expects from us: Love God with everything you are/have and your neighbour as yourself.
Would it be possible to eliminate a lot of labels so we can stand more relaxed and unwind in the world, without getting completely detached from God? What kind of labels do we as Christians put on people and situations around us and was does the Bible say about them? How important are they anyway?
I would want to divide the labels into three categories (for the time being); the sins, the customs or habits and the hierarchies. Per category I would make an inventory with concrete examples, the traditional belonging bible verses and how you also can look at the matter. The outline would be comparable to the blog series about prophets in November 2016.
Thumbs up if you like the idea : ). At a minimum of 10 likes I really will be writing. The chapters will be put as articles on my website. I will blog about the writing process, the questions that arise and the problems I encounter. I would really like to get feedback. Facebook and Twitter are not very suitable for this, so please subscribe to my newsletter and comment on the blogs at the website. It will be very helpful to me.
In the picture: ‘Reading between the lines’, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, at Borgloon
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