It's all about choices, baby!

Not long ago, there was a religious movement who's rallying cry was "worship at the church of your choice." It was an attempt to get everyone to put aside doctrinal differences and agree at least on one fundamental thing: go to church. It went mainstream too, to the point where those who don't go to church at all and don't plan on going any time soon still found themselves quoting it, like it was some kind of feel-good mantra. I remember seeing movie stars hired to pitch the quote on commercials. etc. I still hear it quoted now and then, usually by someone mocking me because I DO choose to go to church, and their voice will drip with sarcasm. A far cry from the movement's original intentions.

Speaking of choices, I occasionally wonder if the apostles were alive today would they be happy with the way we worship God? I mean, just imagine if Peter "awoke" to find himself in the 21st Century. What kind of Christians would he seek out? He's a very "old fashioned" thinker, not "modem and progressive" like many think they are today. The Catholics believe he was the first pope, so I would think they would expect him to meet with and accept them. Many denominations today feel, at the end of the day, that "I'm ok and you're ok" when it comes to most matters, so I reckon they would expect him to find them satisfactory. But what kind of things have crept into churches today? Kitchens, rec centers, and instrumental music just to name a few things. How palatable would an apostle find them, a very strict no-compromise follower of the word of God?

In a short story I once read, a SF story of course, it turned out that whenever an atomic explosion occurred a person could be sent 60 years into the future for one hour. They explained why it was 60 years, and why it was one hour, but never mind that right now. In the story, as it happened, President Truman was trying to decide if we should drop the atomic bombs on Japan or not to end World War II. A volunteer, John Smith, was found and a test nuclear explosion was made out in the desert of New Mexico. John, our brave volunteer, appeared in 2005. He was in a very deserted place - the modern and thriving facility he was stationed at in 1945 was looking long abandoned and in serious decay. Knowing he has only an hour, and on foot, he heads off down the road and soon comes to a farmhouse. It's obviously inhabited, but no one is home at the moment. Looking around for some indication of what the future has to offer, he discovers the garage door open and goes in to find a Mitsubishi Montero and a Volkswagen Beetle. "Oh NO!" John tells himself, "Mitsubishi made Zero fighters for the Japanese. And the Beetle, that's a car designed by Adolph Hitler himself!" About that time, he's boomeranged back to 1945 where he promptly proclaims "Drop the bombs! Otherwise the Axis must have won!" and the rest, as they say, is history.

It's a silly story, but it makes you think a bit. If you could transport someone from 1945 to the present day, they might certainly be shocked. Not so much about the cars, but about the people. What happened to all the flag waving patriotic citizens? Is this society what those in 1945 fought and died to preserve? They'd likely be mightily disappointed.

I don't know what the apostle Peter, finding himself in 2005, would feel like. I suspect he would be delighted to find there were still those serving God from the heart, but very disappointed at all of those who perverted the word to their own destruction. He wouldn't be surprised, though, since he knew such things were going to come about and warned about them. If you're reading this today - would Peter find your church to his liking? And if he wouldn't, why do you think God would?

Randy