Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

Just finished watching a documentary called Lord Save Us From Your Followers by Dan Merchant. It is from the perspective of a Protestant, but it was actually quite good. A lot of it takes place in Portland and I recognized the face of someone I knew. I encourage believers and non-believers alike to watch it...I had a couple problems with it, but overall I think it could be helpful for believers to see what's really going on in the world. Here's what I liked and didn't like:
-I really appreciated the confessional booth. I cried. I wish more "Christians" would have the guts and humility to apologize for the destruction and havoc they have caused.
-I was upset that he talked about the pope's jubilee apology in which he confessed the crimes of the catholic church, but he didn't condemn the acts. He made it sound like since he apologized, it made it all okay. What the church has done and continues to do is NOT okay. Actions need to be taken to reverse what's been done. Yes, the church apologized to victims of the sex scandals - but now, they are continuing to cover up incidents.
-It angered me that he chose to show World Vision and Night Strike as the forces of good in the world. There are many many many organizations with no religious affiliation that provide aid to impoverished countries and to the local homeless. Dan asked one homeless man why he thought the volunteers of Night Strike were doing what they did, and he replied because they had Christ in them. This irks me because I have volunteered for United Way and Willamette Humane Society and I am an athiest. I volunteer because people are in need - there's not an underlying motivation behind it, as I believe there is with Christianity. From my perspective, Christians reach out to the third world countries and the homeless because they are more willing to accept them, than higher educated people. It's easy to go to make believers out of the hopeless because they are desperate - they want something to believe in and that things will get better. You can't do that in a rich neighborhood. Dan also showed in Mississippi how churches were helping to rebuild the area, but Habitat for Humanity was not featured. They do much more for the community and continue to be a presence in that area.
-I can agree that Christmas trees and Easter bunnies should be allowed in government offices, or really wherever they want to put them, as long as it's not in my house. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is my favorite holiday, but not because I believe that the savior of the world was born. I see it as a time to celebrate loved ones and compassion. Isn't that what Jesus preached anyway?
-Liberals are smarter than conservatives. This movie proves it through the "Family Feud" style game. I read. I read a lot. I know what the right will say and what the left will say and how I land on issues. I can have a conversation with a Christian and not want to kill them. I have experienced life more and know why women choose to have abortions. My mom thinks that only sluts and alcoholics go to bars. My mom cannot see life from this side. It's unfathomable to her. I think only when we have educated ourselves and seen both sides, can we truly judge.
So it's a good move for the nonbeliever in that it solidifies some of my thinking on God. I also found myself surprised with what some of the guests were saying - we agreed that consumerism is the number one problem for Christianity or really for the nation. However, I feel this is a great introduction to "the other world" for Christians. This documentary may open up eyes and show believers that we have reason to not like them; that maybe they haven't done all they can to show Jesus' love. We're all to blame for the divide in our country