Quite often, commenters here ask the question why we even care about what the various Armchair Mafia sites write, or why we spend time debunking their attacks.  It’s a valid question.  It’s something I ask myself, and honestly, sometimes I think it’s probably better to just let a fool go off into his or her folly.  But then I see something they write, and it’s so much in error, I feel that it needs a response.

Take for example, this rant.  Now at the start of the post, we are told,

The Right Reverend Nick Baines, Bishop of Croyden, has said that Beatles songs are as likely to explain Christianity as the Bible which he calls, “banal.” Rock songs, he says, are more effective at explaining Christianity.

That’s a pretty serious charge.  I would be concerned if a minister actually called the BIble “banal”.  So I follow the link to the original article, and what do I find?  I see that the Right Reverend Baines actually said nothing of the sort.  What he actually said is the following:

“The Bible is an amazing collection of books that we’ve allowed to become banal. For many people it is a closed book and asking them to read it is a lost cause, which is a tragedy.”

That is a very different statement than calling the Bible “banal”.  The Right Reverend Baines is simply stating that the Church has not done a good job at communicating the truths of Scripture to modern generations, and it’s tragic.  The truth is that many people see the Bible as little more than an obsolete book, and to them it has become “devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed“.  So perhaps a secular songwriter, playwright, or poet will happen to ask questions that are really on people’s minds.  And perhaps we as Christians can take those questions and point to the narrative of Scripture that gives answers or comfort for those questions.

Actually, isn’t a primary job of a minister to listen to the questions people are asking?  Isn’t a true shepherd responsive to the calls of the sheep?  Perhaps the reason so many people have little use for the Church is that what was meant to be a vital and engaging relationship has turned into a one-way conversation.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus never looked down upon someone with a genuine question.  He took time to respond to those whom society shunned.  He didn’t let religion dictate what the right questions were.

So perhaps instead of insisting we have the answers for all the questions that nobody is asking, maybe we should take a moment to listen.  We might be surprised what we hear.