They Like Jesus But Not The Church - More Thoughts

The first time I read through the book, I was amazed at how similar Dan Kimball's thoughts are to my own. As in, we actually have the EXACT same point of view when it comes to the Christian faith. As in, he is literally in my head and picking my brain for ideas.

Basically, They Like Jesus But Not The Church should be credited to me, but whatevs. I'm not in it for the glory like Kimball is. I KID.

What I mean is that the following xx blog entries I post on this book will be strikingly similar to a lot of the blog entries I post that are NOT about this book. That is to say, a common theme of mine is how people like Jesus but not the church (much like I do,) and therefore the contents of this blog will reflect as such.

Ok, so.

Part 1 - Why Emerging Generations Are Changing (additional thoughts)

• "The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air." - Galadriel, LOTR
  We are a very spiritually minded yet spiritually liberal generation. What I mean by this is that people today yearn to find something to believe in - we yearn to be spiritual, yet not in the same way as our protestant grandparents were. Being spiritual is no longer equated with being religious; on the contrary, many nowadays view religious people as being spiritLESS. Confused? Let me explain.
  
  To be spiritual in ye olden days meant to be a person of faith. To be a person of faith meant to be a person of Christian faith. To be a person of Christian faith meant to be a Bible-reading, scripture-quoting, neighbour-loving, church-going Christian. Contrast that to today, when...
  
  To be spiritual means to be cognizant of oneself; to be at peace with oneself and with others, and to have a more or less 'enlightened' perspective on life, love, death, and taxes. It's almost New Age-ish the way spirituality has adapted to modern society... say hello to:
  
  - "The Way I See It" on Starbucks cups;
  - inspiring quotes that make no sense on Lululemon bags;
  - social responsibility as a trend;
  - all-encompassing belief systems;
  - agape, or unconditional love.
  
  The last one is precisely why Christians no longer fit the bill as spiritual beings. We preach agape but do not practice it. Where the modern-day spiritual being is accepting of all faiths, all belief systems, all lifestyles, and all people, Christians are viewed as stereotypical, judgmental, intolerant, and close-minded. Aka, NOT unconditionally loving. What we (and the world) should note, however, is that unconditional love is not the same as unconditional acceptance. I can love something but not accept it. What we should ALSO note is that to not accept does not automatically mean to reject. Instead, I believe that in this context, acceptance is more synonymous with agreement.
  
  Sadly, many Christians struggle to understand this and thus tend to withhold their love from things which they do not accept. This includes different beliefs, homosexuality, alternative lifestyles, 'bad' movies, body piercings, or whatever. I write many because there are many. I don't write most because there are also many Christians who realize that agape can still be practiced in a secular world, and practiced to the full.
  
  These are the spiritual Christians.