The Parish on Lent
The Parish Speaks his Mind about Lent and Facebook
Greg's blog is one that constantly offends and yet causes introspection at the same time. He's a former Christian minister/professor who has given up on Christianity and become what I would probably call an agnostic Atheist. I highly recommend his blog, but caution you to take what he says with a grain of salt.
I still visit him occasionally because he's really good at criticizing Christians for their own hypocrisy, which is something that should be taken note of.
I myself gave up facebook for lent, which I admit was somewhat of a silly and impulsive choice. Not to mention my posting of the fact on my status so that people knew I was away totally went against Mathew Chapter 6 (it really did seem like a good idea at the time). I've however stuck with it so far and it has allowed for a little bit more reflection than I normally allow to seep into my day.
Greg is right in pointing out that large portions of Christian culture have degraded into little more than self-improvement. That's why there's churches doing entire sermon series on how to have better sex with your spouse. That's why Joel Osteen can sell millions of copies of "Your Best Life Now" and "Become a Better You". That's why evangelizing can quickly turn into an attempt to assuage doubts rather than an attempt to share the gospel.
It's hard for me to not focus on my own issues and my own journey. We need to be constantly reminded that our focus should also be turned to the spiritual growth and support of others. Ideally, focusing on helping others grow will cultivate growth within ourselves, plus it's just the right thing to do.
March 4th, 2009 - 23:20
Great post Landon! After reading Greg’s blog and some of the comments, I feel rather silly giving up chocolate for Lent. We are just too new at observing Lent at all to understand the deeper implications. I agree so much with your last paragraph and hope I can more and more be focused on others as well!