Some military wives were complaining about the demands of their husbands' careers.
However, when a non-military wife joined in, they switched sides. It was fine for them to criticize their lifestyle, but not an outsider.(1)
I feel this same way about Christianity. I agree with this quote about the Church, written by a fellow Christian:
“No institution has accomplished so much good in this world; none has fallen so short of its calling.”(2)
When atheists bring up the Crusades, I admit the Crusades were terrible. But I remind them that atheistic Communist governments performed atrocities yesterday, and they have to go back 1000 years to find anything similar associated with Christianity.(3)
When they claim Christianity is worthless, I’m quick to point out how many acts of benevolence the church has done throughout history.(4)
But among my fellow Christians, I’m honest about our failures. We still have a great unfinished task.
Dear Christians, we need to daily read our mission statement in Matthew 28:18-20 and ask ourselves if we're taking it seriously.
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(1) I was one of those military wives, and while we might have complained about our hardships, we were fiercely proud of our husbands' service.
(2) Daniel Taylor, The Myth of Certainty: Trusting God, Asking questions, Taking Risks (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 29.
(3) It's also important to remember that the Crusades were a response to Muslim terrorism. See Four Myths about the Crusades and Half-truths about the Crusades.
(4) See Good Things Christians Have Done in Society, Good Deeds Done by Christians Often Go Unseen.
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