Offended by the Obvious
Last week, Alabama Republican Governor Robert Bentley apologized for declaring in a speech that he only considers Christians to be his "brothers and sisters," and that those who know Jesus Christ are related to him in ways the general public is not.
The question I have is… are they?
It kind of cracks me up when people protest and condemn such remarks (which they did in this case), when, for the most part, this is what mainstream Christianity has historically believed. The children of God are a unique family and share Something that no other people on earth possess.
Scripture is pretty clear about this divide. For instance, the Apostle of Love (John) drew a line between two unique breeds of people, "the children of God" and "the children of the devil" (I Jn. 1:10). Jesus was no less definitive, saying that only those who "received him" were given the right "to become children of God" (John 1:12-13). It's pretty cut-and-dried.
Most other religions have similar divides between saints and sinners, the enlightened and the unenlightened, the initiates and the uninitiated, the insiders and the outsiders. Heck, even atheists believe some are "less evolved" (i.e., me) than others (i.e., other atheists). So those who take affront at such exclusionary language are either unaware of religion in general or Christianity in particular. Or just flat-out predisposed against a biblical worldview.
In other words, those who were offended with the governor's statements were probably not his brothers and sisters.
Listen, I'm not saying this to justify Bentley's statement. As a politician representing a large swath of faiths, persuasions, and ethnicities, such language can indeed appear inflammatory. The issue I'm addressing here is not whether making such declarations on a political stage is smart, but whether or not the offense is phony.
It's hypocritical for us to feign offense when a religion or religious person claims exclusivity. Why? Because that's what religions do. They believe certain unique things. And people who believe those things share a certain unique camaraderie. It's the same reason why world religions CANNOT coexist — their beliefs ultimately won't allow it.
Unless, of course, their beliefs aren't true.
Like it or not, someone, somewhere believes you are not "enlightened." Someone believes you are an "infidel," an "outcast," an "outsider," a "heathen," or a "heretic." Someone believes you are NOT part of their faith family. Republican Governor Robert Bentley proclaims that only Christians are his "brothers and sisters."
And if Scripture is to be believed, he's probably right.
However, more problematic than that someone could make such audacious claims is that, in stating the obvious, people get so darned offended.
