The obvious answer is “Yes.” As others have pointed out, “The gospel is quite clear that there is no distinction between the saved prostitute and the person who grew up in church.” (see Galations 3:28) And yet, if someone does have a problem with accepting them…I think it’s important to understand why. Let’s talk about it.
Very often, what I’ve observed from some Christians is essentially this sentiment of, “God accepts them, so shut up. It’s not your place to have an opinion on it one way or the other. You’re no better than they are, so don’t get cocky. Everybody’s a sinner! Everybody sins! We’re all the same! You’re nothing special.”
Here, at Stage in the Sky, we aim to explore those feelings and dig deep as to why anyone would harbor animosity towards the reformed Christians in the first place. Maybe then, we can get over it, let go, and come to accept them?
Sometimes when more scholarly Christians toss around words like “Redemption” or “Sanctification” it can be a bit difficult to comprehend or understand what that looks like or what it is. What’s so appealing about it? Why should I care?
Seriously…when I was a kid, my parents used to talk about the “kingdom of heaven.” Then, I looked around the church and thought to myself, “No, Thank You!” That’s because I couldn’t understand what the Kingdom of Heaven was. Back then, they made it seem like “heaven” was this place where there was nothing but a bunch of stiff, pious, monks and nuns who don’t really do anything interesting.
It’s like being back in Advanced Algebra. When I asked when I would ever need to use things like the Quadratic Formula in real life? The teacher didn’t have an answer. And since I saw no benefit, I wasn’t motivated to learn. I didn’t care about getting better beyond that which was required to pass the class because…what’s the point?
I think it’s the same with concepts like “Redemption” or “Sanctification”. Now, to be completely honest. I was prompted to write about Redemption and encouraged by another website called, SigmaFrame. You should check it out, because Jack’s an awesome intellectual and the comments sections are always full of thinkers I’ve come to have a tremendous amount of respect for.
But after much reflection and ample prayer…I asked myself, who do I want to reach? Who’s my audience? Other knowledgeable Christians who are already striving to do what’s good in God’s eyes? I don’t think so.
Instead, my aim has always been on those who call themselves Christians but don’t know what Christ taught. I also target the agnostics who are on the fence, and the Christians who are indifferent towards the Truth because of terrible experiences they may have had with Christianity. If my aim is to help the layman to “embrace” the truth, I believe we have to talk to them at their level. So here goes…
I wasn’t going to make a post about this video I recorded, but after reading one of the responses, I felt I had to dive deeper.
In the Caption, I say “I want to make it clear that I don’t speak for All Black People in this video…at the same time, I hate it when people who have the spotlight…THEY speak for all black people as if we all agree, as if we all feel the same. We don’t.”
As expected, there were a lot of people who saw the title of the video and just jumped to conclusions and posted comments without having actually watched the video. Which is alright. That seems to be the way of things. Not to mention, I think it brings a smirk to the faces of those who did watch the video and know I addressed a point the commenter was trying to make.
The whole point of me doing my videos, or writing my essays with a particular angle is to bring to light an opinion I haven’t seen presented on a greater scale. For instance, I didn’t post anything about the Will Smith slap for months because already I’ve seen it being covered. However, when it comes to the dreaded “N-word” and the controversy surrounding BYU and the Duke Volleyball player…I felt it was time to say something.
Recently, the comedian Aries Spears made some jokes about Lizzo’s weight and appearance. Lizzo and her fans fought back where one of their arguments were, “But he’s fat too!”
As one who used to weigh 378lbs, I believe I have every right to speak on the subject. And I hope you can tell from my tone in the video that I really am coming from a place of love. This isn’t to mock or slight anyone.
Points Discussed:
Can Men Talk about Women’s Bodies? – @1:14
Should You Hate Yourself If You’re Fat – @3:11
My Inspiration to Lose Weight – @5:40
I Tried to Help a Friend Lose Weight – @7:15
Will You Still be Body “Positive” in your 50s? – @10:11
How I Got Up to 378 pounds – @12:01
I Was So Fat I Got Stuck in the Closet – @17:28
How I Felt When I Reached My Weight-loss Goal – @22:29
Expounding on this notion of, “But he’s fat too”…I don’t think I’ve ever respected this argument. I’m talking about the notion of, “You have no right to talk about a subject if you’re failing in the subject too.”