There is a serious issue in the Protestant Christian culture of today. We have an incomplete understanding of who God is on the most basic level. This is not our fault of course; it is a result of a serious condition, one that affects many Christians in many churches all over the world. This condition is called “Sheep Hugger Syndrome” or SHS.
What does SHS look like?
This condition refers to the belief that many Christians have that compels them to take the idea of divinity out of their view of who God is. Usually the end result is the view that Jesus is no more then a cuddly man who hugs sheep and plays with children. Jesus ends up being the creature that lived, died, and rose again all so that we can feel the warm fuzzies. He is only our friend, not our God.
The Three Stages of SHS
Stage One Symptoms:
You selectively choose the attributes of God that suit the relationship you wish to have with him. You read in the Bible that God is the divine king and creator of all things, a being whose wrath wipes out those who chose to sin against him, someone who loves his people, a friend to those who call on him. During the first stage of SHS a person selectively chooses to see God as someone who loves and befriends oneself. However the idea of a powerful, wrathful, supreme being or “god” is ignored.
Stage Two Symptoms:
At this point the understanding of God as the divine being is almost completely discarded. Jesus is only an invisible friend, someone who knows us well and accepts us. Someone we ask for help in times of need. Someone who we call to, but don’t really expect a response from. He is simply a close emotional character, much like the invisible friend that some of us had when we were young.
Stage Three Symptoms:
At this point the condition becomes contagious. As a result of the condition we witness on behalf of a god that isn’t divine, one who means no more to his people then an emotional connection that resembles friendship. This god is proclaimed as an ideal buddy, existing only in the imagination; not real or actual. Thus, the people who are witnessed to and won become worshipers of a false idol.
This stage varies in length and always results in death, unless the patient accepts the cure. If you are exhibiting some of these symptoms, it is strongly recommended that you get to the nearest book store or church and ask for the countertop cure to this syndrome. It is called the Bible. All you have to do is read it and understand that if you are only seeing God as a loving friend, a personal relationship that helps you get through life, then you have an incomplete understanding of who the Bible says God is.
Protestants may be right about the distant, impersonal and legalistic tendencies of the Catholic Church. However Protestant’s are guilty of doing something equally wrong. We have taken lightly the fact that God is our king, ruler, creator and source. Sometimes we don’t even give him the same respect that we give our friends here on earth.
What do you think?
Please comment or mail between.the.trees@hotmail.com .
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4 comments:
Interesting. Just finished reading a book called "Classic Christianity" by author Bob George.
Basically the book goes into detail about the classic misconceptions with Christianity and why as Christians it's easy to become frustrated with our walk with God. He uses quotation after quotation from the bible (actually im pretty sure that's the only source he quotes from) to back up his points. The central focus is on our identity in Christ and Christ's unconditional love and what that means for us as believers.
If anyone has spare time for reading, I highly recommend this book! it's a really cool, encouraging book that allowed me to remember that I am a child of Christ!
Dan
I think this is true for every Christian at some point or another. I have lots of thoughts whurring around in my head about this post, but I'm finding them rather difficult to write down. Anyway, thank you for writing that. Propers for always writing thought provoking, challenging blogs.
- Jenny
My opinion... I think this is just another stage in the constant flux of Christianity that has been occurring ever since it began. Christianity has never stayed the same since it began and if we could look hundreds of years into the future we'd be shocked at how different it is from(if it's still around).
I agree, Christianity has gone through many changes over the years. It seems that it has moved and adapted as the culture it finds itself in changes over time.
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