The results of Christian fatalism

I've been wanting to talk about this topic for quite some time now, so here goes nothing.

In the Christian faith, we believe that Christ will come back someday and replace the existing heavens and earth with a new heaven and a new earth. Now, there's nothing wrong with that and I subscribe to that belief myself. However, a problem arises when we take that to mean that we might as well live however we wish because it's all going to pass away anyways. I've heard several fellow believers say things like, "I'm just not concerned about the environment because it's all going to pass away at the end of time." Along these same lines are the thoughts and motivation behind 20th and early 21st century evangelism. "These days may be awful, but put your hope in Christ and you'll go to heaven when you die." That sort of thing. That kind of evangelism converted 80% of Rwandans to Christ, and then they had the genocide which had Christians killing Christians within their own congregations because of a different tribal descent. I would argue they had been taught an incomplete gospel, which is still being spread today. As Christians, we are to work on bringing the kingdom of God to this earth, here and now, not off in some distant future. If we have nothing to offer people in the here and now then we have nothing to offer them at all. People are in the midst of suffering and the best we can do is, "Well, you don't want to go to hell when you die, do you? Then put your hope in Christ." We need to do better than offer fire insurance. What about the abundant life that Christ promised? Was he not speaking in present tense when he said that? All people will suffer, and Christians even more so since we are to expect persecutions on behalf of Christ. The difference is we are to live a life of abundance that Christ promised right in the midst of all the suffering. I've heard it said that a life lived to the fullest is a life lived for others. I love that. Those who want to lose their life will gain it, that type of thing.

My friend is a summer director for a Christian camp in the middle of Florida. He got a lot of emails/calls of concerned pastors and parents when he said the theme for last summer was going to be "Dirt", talking about creation care. Why would people be upset about that? They were upset about that because they saw Christianity through a myopic lens, one that only focused on the soul and what happens after you die. That type of belief system isn't enough for me. I need one that addresses life in the here and now. A belief system that has something to say to the ills of this world and not just about believers' individual lives. Our churches should effect change in the world around them, not just within their walls. Are our communities better places because of our church's presence in them? To quote someone else, I forget who now, "Would anyone object if the city came and closed down your church, besides your own members?" We need to wrestle with these issues.

Evangelism has to be about more than handing someone a tract and telling them they are going to hell without Jesus. We have to meet peoples' needs. The gospel is to be good news to the poor. How is it good news if we hand someone a tract and they are still homeless? Especially if we have a spare bedroom in our homes that isn't being used. We need to bring a gospel that effects the whole person and the people around them, not just their souls.

Anyways, I rant. Sorry for those of you who thought this was going to be a blog solely about my world adventure. It's also a blog about thoughts I have on certain things. I didn't mean to mislead anyone.