Hockey and Hymns

I am going to actually try to write a serious blog post today.

I know…

(On a completely unrelated topic, I still don’t understand why this always seems to be the first emoticon to be used…)

As well as being serious, I am going to attempt to stay on topic, and avoid randomness.  I know, I know; I already failed.  First the title, which was random, then the emoticon and the strange comment on it, but I’m really trying here!

I have a problem with Christians who will tell someone that being a Christian means that they cannot listen to anything that is not conservative to the highest degree, much less play or sing anything that isn’t found in the hymnal.  Now, listening to every Green Day song ever written could very well be a hindrance to one’s faith, but there are some people who would go so far as to say that listening to “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” is a sin.  That is personal preference, and not God’s command, so the real sin lies in proclaiming such a thing as Scripture.  After all, that is adding to the Bible, and making salvation based on works.

Listening to secular music, however, was not the point of this blog post.  The real point was people who insist that if you listen to CCM you aren’t truly saved, or if there is a drum set in the church the doctrine is off.  Why can’t you see the harm you’re doing to the reputation of Christianity, and the lost souls you’re turning away?

I’m not into hockey, but I know that there are two types of hockey; one is played on the ice, and one is not.  Now let’s let “figure skaters” stand for lost people, and “hockey” be Christianity.  Yes, hockey encompasses both field hockey and ice hockey.  Now, let’s say we’re recruiting figure skaters for hockey (i.e. soul-winning), but we strongly feel that field hockey is the only correct way to play the sport.  Of course, the figure skaters have seen ice hockey before, and that might even interest them, but as soon as we tell them that ice hockey is actually breaking the rules, and field hockey is the only correct way to play, we would lose their interest quickly.

Do you see where I’m going with this?  If you guessed that “field hockey” stands for traditional Christians and “ice hockey” stands for contemporary Christians, you’re right.  Come on, people!  It’s the same game!

Of course, traditional Christians argue that “as Christians we are called to be different and separate.”  Can you not tell the difference between figure skaters and hockey players?  We aren’t supposed to literally remove ourselves to monasteries, and I can pretty much assure you that Jesus looked like everyone else when he was on the earth.

God gave some people the talent to play the drums; it’s Satan that tells those people that praising God with their gifts in His church is a sin.

Yes, there has to be a change.  The figure skater will have to wear different equipment, learn different rules, and get used to handling new accessories, but they’re still on the ice, which is where they’re good, and nothing’s wrong with that.