<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.5730.11" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR>
<TR><!--Partner Logo Start-->
<TD rowSpan=2><A href="http://www.cnn.com/" target=_blank><IMG alt=CNN.com
src="http://images.clickability.com/partners/3000/mainLogo.gif"
border=0></A> </TD><!--Partner Logo End -->
<TD align=right><A href="javascript:void(printArticle());"><IMG
src="http://images.clickability.com/logos/cc0000/printthis-logo.gif"
border=0></A> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=right>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD class=font-cn align=right>Powered by</TD>
<TD> <A
href="javascript: window.open('http://www.clickability.com/327.html','','toolbar=no, width=475, height=600, resizable=1, scrollbars=0'); void('');"><IMG
src="http://images.clickability.com/partners/1/smallclicklogo.gif"
border=0></A></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><ILAYER
id=layerTop visibility="hide"></ILAYER>
<DIV id=hideTop>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD><A href="javascript:void(printArticle());"><IMG height=20
alt="Click Here to Print"
src="http://images.clickability.com/pti/btn-print-page.gif" width=115
border=0></A> </TD>
<TD align=right>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><IMG height=19
src="http://images.clickability.com/pti/spacer.gif" width=2></TD>
<TD class=font-cn noWrap align=right bgColor=#e6e6e6> <A
class=ptnavbar
href="javascript:void(open('http://cnn.usnews.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThis?partnerID=2004&urlID=20516406&origin=11','click','height=450,width=510,title=no,location=no,scrollbars=yes,menubars=no,toolbars=no,resizable=yes'));">SAVE
THIS</A> | <A class=ptnavbar
href="javascript:void(open('http://cnn.usnews.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=createPT&partnerID=2004&urlID=20516406','click','height=450,width=510,title=no,location=no,scrollbars=yes,menubars=no,toolbars=no,resizable=yes'));">EMAIL
THIS</A> | <A class=ptnavbar
href="javascript:self.close();">Close</A>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD bgColor=#cccccc><IMG height=2
src="http://images.clickability.com/pti/spacer.gif" width=2></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><!--Article Goes Here-->
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<DIV id=cnnSCHeadlineArea><A target=_blank name=ContentArea></A>
<H1>Bakker, Brown: What the hell happened to Christianity?</H1>
<H5></H5></DIV>
<DIV id=\cnnProgrammingNote\>
<P><B></B></P></DIV>
<DIV id=cnnSCFontButtons>
<DIV id=cnnSCByLine>By Jay Bakker and Marc Brown<BR>Special to
CNN<BR></DIV></DIV>
<P class=cnnEditorNote>Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The
Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution
Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on
Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.</P>
<P><B>NEW YORK</B> (CNN) -- What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong?
How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians
supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers
to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.</P>
<P>While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and
business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy
that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to
themselves, "Why would I want to be a part of that?" They are turned off
by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether. We can't even
count the number of times someone has given us a weird stare or completely
brushed us off when they discover we work for a church.</P>
<P>So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love
and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed
forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of
Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups
like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when
Rome's Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the
rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is
crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.</P>
<P>His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a
message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time
was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to
help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to
lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.</P>
<P>This brings us to the big issues of American Christianity: Abortion and
gay marriage. These two highly debatable topics will not be going away
anytime soon. Obviously, the discussion centers around whether they are
right or wrong, but is the screaming really necessary? After years of
witnessing the dark side of religion, Marc and I think not.</P>
<P>Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to
disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one
another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an
agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God
with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.</P>
<P>The Apostle Paul describes this idea of love beautifully in 1
Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or
boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not
irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice
about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives
up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every
circumstance."</P>
<P>But don't take our word for it; look at what Jesus and his followers
stood for in his time and what Christianity stands for today. Then come to
your own conclusion.</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><!--Article End--><!--Bibliography Goes Here-->
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD bgColor=#cccccc><IMG height=2
src="http://images.clickability.com/pti/spacer.gif" width=2></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><!--Bibliography End-->
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD class=font-cn> </TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=font-cn><SPAN class=fonttitle>Find this article at:</SPAN>
<BR>http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/13/bakker.brown.commentary/index.html
</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>