Here’s how Jimmy Kimmel summed up Christianity on his show the other night:
In a lot of religions, Christianity being one of them, the idea is that life is a test. That you go through your life and if you’re good you go to heaven or nirvana or whatever and if you’re bad you don’t, you go to hell or don’t go anywhere.
The context of the quote was a question he was asking Matthew Fox about his character “Jack Shephard” on Lost. I’ve embedded the video of the interview below. In fairness to Jimmy, he’s trying summarize all the major world religions in one sentence as a precursor to explaining his theory about what Lost was about.
However, I found it interesting that he singled out Christianity. I think his summary of Christianity is representative of how most people understand it. Life is a test. Good people go to heaven. Bad people don’t.
What is your response to Kimmel’s summary? How would you summarize Christianity differently?
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
I think it pretty much summarizes the common perception, which is fine….there are stereotypes of everything, Christianity is not the exception.
I dunno anything about Kimmel’s religious background or current affiliations, but from his comments, I’m gonna venture the guess that he rejected Christianity at some point in his teens or twenties.
And that he rejected it because he thought he understood it, but hadn’t really been given a chance to.
Christianity is an opportunity to be transformed from the mundane into something amazing and remarkable and unimaginable and indescribable. That sounds good to me.
Oh, my life as a high school Sunday School teacher is hard…
Life is not a test, it is a gift. Choose to live it forever, or don’t. The choice is yours.
I think that the “Christian Religion” itself has given people this perception. Through our teachings and the lack of love when presenting the message, we have probably overstated this view.
Christianity is more about the life lived here rather than the end result. We see heaven as the end, but I don’t know that we should put that kind of stock in a place.
Christianity is a journey. It is about finding that special relationship with God our Father through Jesus. If people could only see that Christianity lived out is what’s best for us, then we might be able to persuade men and women to follow.
I’m not surprised that’s Kimmel’s understanding, particularly as it’s a fair summary of how a lot of people in the church think about their religion. Their is a version of christianity that is america’s folk religion, and I think this describes it.
A major flaw with that understanding is that it totally leaves out the intervention of God. It places the focus directly on us, and our own abilities, rather than on what God has done in the world, and what he continues to do through his body on earth.
Was reading through an old post(2005) on evangelism. Jimmy is about the age of many raised in the era of the CoC where works oriented salvation was and (still too often is) taught. Sanctification was of much made dogma, much like that of the Roman church. No real joy(or salvation) in living to a standard which changed to fight whatever was considered to be threatening, be it Pentacostalism, once-saved always saved, etc. Thank God for the blood(I still haven’t figured out how old the earth is). Be praying for Jimmy. Overcoming neo-Pharaseeism is hard but too often we forget Paul’s exhortation that he watered, Apollos planted, but God gives the increase. If He draws and we refuse the past is not a legitimate reason.
I think of being a “Christian” as being a “follower of Christ”, a “believer in Christ”. In the Bible, the followers of Christ are often referred to as “Saints”, which comes form the Latin “Seguidor”, which means “follower”. My Christian walk is continually “building a relationship with him” and in doing so, becoming more like him, more “Christlike”.
I summarize Christianity at this time in my life from how I understand the scriptures: An individual that is part of a larger body that believes that Christ died for us because we are not cabable of being good enough and that thankfully that has been taken off of us. Therefore, during my following I try to live as God would like because he is my creator and knows best for my body, mind and world! And that he will carry me through when I don’t (for whatever reason) measure up till the time of full restoration! Could be wrong in areas and this is just a a summary, but I’m sure God will reveal more to me in time 🙂