Are Christians Too Heavenly Minded to Be of Any Earthly Good?
“Come heed me, my brothers, come heed, one and all
Don't brag about standing or you’ll surely fall
You’re shining your light and shine it you should
But you’re so heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good.”
Johnny Cash – from his song No Earthly Good
Did the man in black have it right? Can Christians be too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good?
In the last episode of our Deconstructing Faith series, we take a look at a criticism that is sometimes levelled at Christians. Often, it is thought that Christians can be too concerned about getting people to heaven and not concerned enough about caring for the people around them.
Join Scott and Shawn as they discuss:
- Is this criticism of Christianity fair?
- If it isn’t fair, then what is the true focus of Christianity? Is it getting people to heaven or helping those around us on earth?
Sources
- Bruno Duriez, François Mabille, Kathy Rousselet, Les ONG confessionnelles: Religions et action internationale, Editions L’Harmattan, France, 2007, p. 31
- Andrew Olsen, Evangelicals and International Aid: Insights from a landscape survey of U.S. churches, https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2019/04/USMissionsSurvey_FINALReport.pdf
- John-Michael Davis, Comparing the Prevalence and Orignizational Distinctiveness of Faith-Based and Secular Development NGOs in Canada, Voluntas, DOI:10.1007/s11266-018-00072-6
- Senate of Canada Report, Catalyst for Change: A Roadmap to a Stronger Charitable Sector, June 2019. https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/421/CSSB/Reports/CSSB_Report_Final_e.pdf