This week, I spent my "free" reading time with the book "Accidental Pharisees" by Larry Osbourne. This book addresses ways in which Christians will "over zealous faith" have the potential to create an environment of pride and exclusivity rather than acceptance and love. I started reading this book at the recommendation of a mentor of mine after some conversations we had regarding faith and what it really means to be a follower of Jesus.
I finished nearly the first 100 pages of the book this week and it has provided challenging and thought-provoking ideas for me. Osbourne references the Pharisees from the bible as a means of exemplifying how good intentions when trying to develop committed relationship with God can sometimes turn into oppressing others and an attitude of judgement.
One particular idea that resonated with me was Osbourne's discussion of various "groups" of Christians. He talks about "radical Christians", "organic Christians" and a few others. The main idea with this was to identify how certain groups create criteria by which they determine who is truly "Christian" and who is not. For example, radical Christians reference that the bible says that Christians will experience many trials and therefore feel that anyone who is not experiencing what they consider significant trials- then they must not truly be a Christian. Other groups suggest that if you have "too big" of a house or too nice of a car, then you are too focused on materialism and must not be a true Christian. The author suggests that this is "litmus test Christianity" and fails to see the whole picture (we often are judging people's actions or possessions without full knowledge of everything else that they do/believe), and ultimately is a faith of comparing ourselves to others and creating "requirements" that may not be rooted in biblical truth.
So far, this book has definitely presented ideas that goes against how I was raised, and it has been challenging to read with an open mind and consider his points and find a way to grapple with what I believe to be true. But, I think it is an important step to maturing and really understanding what I believe.
Reading Log:
Monday: 8:30-9:00am
Tuesday: 8:30-8:45am
Wednesday: 8:30-9:00am
Thursday: 8:30-8:45am
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