Christian? or PAGAN?

What makes something "Christian?" Go to your local Family Christian Bookstore and make a list. Verses. That's got to top the list. If you throw a verse onto something, especially if it is somewhat inspirational, put it on the shelf, man. I've wondered how far you could take that though. Could you put a verse on anything and make it work? Probably not. Though it would be cool to see Duet. 32:35 plated onto a .45 Colt or carved into the leg of a table and then sold at Mardels.

How about symbols? Not satanic symbols of course, that would be a little too obvious, but stuff like crosses, light, (Thomas Kinkaid anyone) doves, medieval romanticism, soft animals are all fair game. (pun kinda intended) Now, on one side, it is great to view innocence as something valuable, but to worship it like it was some idyllic virtue, is silly and dishonest. We live in a fallen world, a world that is crying out for truth, for relief from pain, for real answers that don't fail in the face of death, in the face of torture, in the face of brutality and hatred. To ignore that cry is to ignore the heart of God.

So what's to say that something is Christian or not? How do we take Paul's command to not make anybody stumble with our freedoms? With our increasing ease of access to information, how can me make sure nobody stumbles? Or should I say take offense to as this word now seems to mean? We can't. We just can't. The only ways would be to offer a soft, mushy version of the gospel that tries it's best to not offend, or to simply not offer anything at all. Try defending that from scripture.

Where are the Christian artists who capture beauty in color and in music, who don't shy away from the world, but offer something better, something the world doesn't understand? Where are the Christian authors who write gripping stories and let imaginations soar? Where are the businessmen who impact their communities with Christ? They're out there. Find them. Become them. Let us become lovers of music, lovers of beauty, lovers of talent, lovers of truth, lovers of Jesus who don't consume and criticize, but produce and love, who wrestle with the hard questions and live out our convictions.