Is Christianity supposed to offend?

[Ddavid from NC]

We are living the age of political correctness and relativism. But, Christianity is self-described as the uncompromised truth. Jesus prepared us for rejection and persecution. He in so many words says that you are defined by your enemies. Paul and Peter prepared their fellow believers that the world will mistreat you because of what you stand for and preach. If this is the way that it is, why are we re-directing our message to an approach that it is inoffensive, tolerant, and vague. We are not seeking truth but co-existence.

[OneLight]

Who are the "we" you are talking about? Sure isn't me. No matter what people think, the truth is what they need to hear. It is our choice to either speak it or tickle their ears. I choose to speak the truth.

[Ddavid from NC]

Who are the "we" you are talking about? Sure isn't me. No matter what people think, the truth is what they need to hear. It is our choice to either speak it or tickle their ears. I choose to speak the truth.

The "we" is a loose term referring to the church. Certainly it can't be all inclusive, but is a broad stroke

[Smalcald]

We are living the age of political correctness and relativism. But, Christianity is self-described as the uncompromised truth. Jesus prepared us for rejection and persecution. He in so many words says that you are defined by your enemies. Paul and Peter prepared their fellow believers that the world will mistreat you because of what you stand for and preach. If this is the way that it is, why are we re-directing our message to an approach that it is inoffensive, tolerant, and vague. We are not seeking truth but co-existence.

I think the point is we should just preach the true Gospel and let the chips fall where they may. On the other hand we should not be obnoxious; we are to be blameless and harmless in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Look at Christ, a person with burning love for all human beings, some people hated Him simply for that love, but nobody hated Him because he was a jerk about His message.

I have seen some Christians who seem to revel in controversy and an in your face kind of attitude simply because they like conflict for conflicts sake.

[OneLight]

With more of the PC and Emergent Church finding it's way into the churches, I agree that the church sleeps at it's watch. Jesus did have sharp words for those who claimed to be righteous, as we should also, but not for the sinner who was lost. There, He gave them a message in love. Salvation is the purest love message that there ever can be. We all know this verse ...

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

[Smalcald]

I am not even sure I know what the emergent church stuff is, but I know that is a different topic.

[Guest yod]

The Cross is a rock of offense...but the messenger should not be.

People who hate our Lord will hate us also. We should expect that and be prepared to give a gentle answer to their anger. We will never please men by telling them that they must turn from sin and receive a sacrifice they didn't pay for.

[EricH]

The gospel message itself may offend some, but we are not to be offensive because of our personalities, rudeness etc.

[Ddavid from NC]

The gospel message itself may offend some, but we are not to be offensive because of our personalities, rudeness etc.

Is the message sure to offend most? Are we to be careful not to change the message to avoid offense?

[Smalcald]

The gospel message itself may offend some, but we are not to be offensive because of our personalities, rudeness etc.

Is the message sure to offend most? Are we to be careful not to change the message to avoid offense?

I honestly don't think it offends most. I do think it will always offend some people though and we should not change the message at all in my opinion.

What is fascinating is that Churches or individuals who do tinker with the Gospel or scripture actually end up with less interest and less success. People when they are interested in Christ, in Christianity in the spiritual life; are not interested because it is a neat social movement, or a nicely packaged political movement, or a cultural meditation, they are interested because they want to save their souls, they want supernatural salvation, they want the power of the Holy Spirit, of God Himself.

Sure people may not like some of our moral teachings particularly around sexual purity, abortion, marriage, gay issues, feminist issues, etc, but people who would decide where they are going to worship based on political cultural issues don't really want a Church anyway, they want a political or social group. Look at the Episcopal Church in the US. They changed the basic teachings surrounding marriage and sexual purity to get along with the gay social agenda. Yet are gays now flocking to them? No, not at all, the people that agitated for them to change didn't really care about them at all, but wanted another notch on their political belt.

This is the reasons that mainline Protestant Churches who decided forty or fifty years ago to embrace the politics of the moment to try to get along with a purely political stance; are now slowly dying.