Conditional Christianity August 30, 2010
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Core Values, Religion in the U.S., Theological Reflection.Tags: church, Theology
32 comments
There is no greater power on earth than the love of God, evidenced in the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Of course, this gift is only given to Christians.
I heard a United Methodist pastor preach this recently, and I called him a few days later to ask if this is what he truly meant to say… if this is truly what he believes. He let me know, emphatically, that this is his understanding of the Christian faith. God’s love is available to all, 
but it’s up to us to accept or reject it, and there is a very narrow, very specific set of behaviors that prove whether you are a Christian or not. It doesn’t matter what we say — anyone can say they believe in God or Jesus — it only matters that we align our behaviors with a carefully selected list of “dos” and “don’ts” from the Bible.
I asked for a definition of “unconditional” and was told it is “a universal and all-inclusive love that knows no boundaries or limitations.”
I was cool with this, but pushed to then say, “doesn’t all-inclusive include everyone?”
