Passion for alienation
February 11, 2007
One thing that puzzles me is why the church tries so hard to alienate itself from the people outside the church.
When I was part of the church it was very much an us vs. them kind of thing. The church, the people and the building, was on one side. Everyone else was on the other side. We called them “the world”, and used “wordly” for things that belonged out there.
The church has its own special language, churchianese. It’s kind of weird, but you get used to it after a while. However, it’s quite effective in separating us from them. You can quite easily tell if someone is in the know, and they can quite easily not understand a word you’re saying.
The church is also quite good to come up with rules that clearly separates the two groups. Alcohol is a no-no. Tobacco is a no-no. Dancing is a no-no. Non-christian music is a no-no. See, we neither drink, smoke nor cuss and we listen to DC Talk. We’re different! Wanna join?
It’s mainly not about what you do. It’s much more about what other people think you’re doing. It’s like people wear “What Would People Think” bracelets all of the time. Yesterday I heard one explanation about why Paul in some bible passage tell the men to not have long hair. Supposedly at that time male prostitutes had long hair. So for people not to think the men in the church were prostitutes, they should cut their hair. Now, that interpretation seems rather fishy, but it pretty much sums up what I’m trying to say.
Another expression of this passion for alienation is that whenever the church is visible to the public it’s to let everyone know of the church’s disapproval of the morality in general. What people do in their beds, especially of the same-sexed kind, is the current favorite.
When I was part of the church I guess the alienation helped in a way for me to stay in the church. Now, when I’ve been out for a while, I’m repelled by it, and have hard times regarding the church as relevant. I no longer consider myself any better than the ones around me. I can identify myself more with a “heathen” than a church-goer.
I’m a them.
