Blasphemy Challenge

Hi guys, as you are aware, I have been playing around a lot on myspace of late (in an attempt to get my head around it for UNOH promotional purposes - see shobie's myspace page... I did that! - but I did not come here to blow my own trumpet). While playing around on myspace I came across a group known as the Confession Campaign which is a direct response to another group known as the Blasphemy Challenge. The Blasphemy Challenge is a bunch of sceptics or rationalists convincing people to make videos and post them on myspace or youtube, renouncing the holy spirit in their lives. I am not quite sure of the rational behind it, to me it seems quite juvenile, but in the U.S. it has got a lot of attention and the church is up in arms about it.

The Church of course has responded, and the Confession Campaign is one such response, here is what they see their mission as...

We have one weapon, prayer that is aligned with the WORD OF GOD. This is how we'll fight off this challenge and whatever else Satan schemes with. Our goal needs to be to expose these fads, educate people about these fads, and to help the lost from falling for these frauds. This is our mission statement: 1. Confess Jesus with your mouth. 2. Confess Jesus with your lifestyle. 3. BE BOLD!!! Do you want a challenge? Then follow these 3 things. Make a video, we'll put it on this site, leave a comment, send pictures, confess Jesus at school, work, or the street, do whatever you feel challenges you... but BE BOLD

Now I strongly agree with the sentiment above - this is how I am trying to live out my life... the problem is that the only real outcome seems to be that people are making videos stating that they believe in the Holy Spirit and follow Christ. What it ends out as is a Tit-for-tat battle, and really, what good is that?

Yet again, I think that we have missed the point (I don't think that the confession campaign has missed it - I think those subscribing to it have). Yet again the church has circled its wagons, trying to defend itself against attack. I hate to tell you this guys, but a video stating that you believe in OR renounce the Holy Spirit is going to do nothing in the bigger scheme of things.

A friend of mine, Ash Barker once said something along the lines of "The world does not need more words, the world needs more words become flesh" which to me follows on from St Francis' famous quote of "everywhere you go preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words". The blasphemy Challenge in my opinion only exists because the church has lost it's way, has become a laughing stock & is viewed as hypocritical. If we actually stopped trying to defend ourselves and stepped out & lived the Gospel (and the Gospel is good news TO THE POOR! - the hurting, the lonely, the marginalised etc), then maybe the world would once again see that the church is a force of change for the good.

If they are going to persecute us - and the bible says they will, let them persecute us because we are doing the right thing and not because we are sitting back, getting fat, protecting ourselves and hurling judgement and condemnation onto the world.

The church in the west is once again being forced into the margins, we are no longer main stream! - we are getting back to where we were in the first 300 years of the church's history, a powerful time for Christians, a time of persecution, but also a time of witness (through action) and effectiveness. Lets pray that the church wakes up, sees the position it is in and starts to head out into the world to make a difference and does not become defensive and circle its wagons until it is finally taken over.