Judging the future of (conservative, progressive, moderate) folks

I've read, quite a bit lately, about bad experiences in church, about those new creatures called progressive Christians versus conservative Christians, how Bob Mann is the only person on the planet who can write, etc., etc, etc.

Today I read this from what I believe is a journalist out of a job either by her choice or others.

She wrote this: This is my faith story.  I decided to write it because every time I’ve read my bible lately, I’ve had a hard time concentrating because I keep trying to write this story, my story.  I’ve had hesitations sharing it with the world (by world, I mean whoever actually sits down and chooses to read this whole thing) because I don’t want to offend or hurt anyone from my past. But, ultimately I’ve decided to tell my story not because it’s unique, but because it’s not unique.  And, if it’s not unique, then maybe it can help people who have been through similar experiences.
I grew up going to a private Christian School from Kindergarten to 4th grade.  During this time period I also went to my best friend’s church on most Sundays.  What I learned there was hate.  How we should hate evil.  But, lots of things were evil: Halloween, Santa and don’t get anyone started on the Homosexuals. I think I heard the term “homosexual” dozens of times before I actually knew what it meant.  Funny how Jesus never mentioned those evilest of evils.
The other thing I learned was fear.  Fear of not being quite good enough.  I thought I had demons in my house spying on me; I had nightmares of burning in the fiery pit of hell.  Has anyone ever seen the play Heavens Gates, Hells Flames ?  If so, then you know how terrifying that would be to a little kid.  It showed different scenarios of people dying and then God judging whether they get into heaven or whether they will be tortured for all eternity in Hell.  As if scaring people into believing in Jesus, the most loving person of all time, is what he’d want.
The pinnacle of this part of my life was a trip to a church camp in North Carolina.  I remember sitting in a lecture and the instructor puling up a slide with a list of slang words.  It showed you how every slang word was a sin because the word was a derivative of God.  So, no “oh my goodness”.  Or even “gosh by golly” because the word “golly” was derived from the word “God”.  Sorry Grandpa B, apparently you’ve been sinning all of these years.  Switch to another scene, an instructor called out names to TV shows and had us all clap for the ones we liked to watch.  It was the 90’s so the auditorium erupted when Friends was called.  Then the instructor told us how many times the Lord’s name was used in vain, how many times pre-marital sex was mentioned, etc. in the show.  Even Christian Rock music was evil because the blasphemous beat of the songs could set young people in a sinful mindset.
I felt so disgusted with myself that I got “saved”.  I had already been saved, but I wasn’t sure if it counted because I was so bad.

That's her story. I have a bit of that story, as well, and I've done more than my share of talking about how uneducated and wrong those types of judgments are.

Till I got judged myself. .

I want to again point out that progressives (code name liberal) are not the only thinking persons on the planet. I want to again point out that there are moderates, as I like to call myself, who still believe quite liberally in great and grad portions of scripture. There are persons who struggle with the passages about homosexuality and abortion and tons of other stuff yet believe in the authority of the Bible. There are plenty of us who feel R-rated movies and TV-14 television shows aren't exactly the end of culture and the world in general but we would be better off without programs like Two and a half men.

But we aren't given the voice either the progressives or the very conservatives, at least partially because we do want to talk about all these things in a real way.

There has to be a point where we come together for conversation. But there will never be as long as we keep blasting each other from the left and from the right.

What I've learned is that this judging thing that progressives rail about goes both ways. Every one's judging everyone else.

 Using scripture without context is a dangerous thing, but I'll do it anyway. Romans 14:13 says, "let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put anything in your brother's way that would cause him to stumble and fall."

The Apostle Paul wrote that. He also wrote in a letter to churches in Corinth, "Is it my business to judge those outside the church? Aren’t you supposed to judge those inside the church? God will judge those outside.”

So, uh, so, uh, we're not supposed to judge unless we're judging those inside the church?"

Look, none of these issues are easy to deal with. The best I can hope to do is try my best not to judge others actions even while I realize that looking through the prism of grace I must forgive whatever others are doing. Even as they are looking at my stuff, also.

So, in my judgment, all this is about Jesus, not church. All this stuff about Christians giving Christians a bad name, like Bob Mann wrote recently, ignores all the good stuff moderates, and progressives, and conservatives have done in the name of Christ.

It's not about who wins the culture wars, friends. It's about Jesus. Nothing else.