Faux Repentance and Contrition

Word from the Center
Written By Peter Scaer

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Job knew he was a sinner but would not apologize for things he had not done wrong. Not long ago, the Westboro Baptists were the whipping boy and with them those awful meany fundamentalists. You know the type: the kind of people who would not wash the feet of the church's enemies, like I, of course do. Or at least like I would, theoretically. Fake repentance is the refuge of those who would never fight, of those who stand on the sideline and say that what you are doing may be well meaning, but you are not doing it the way I would, if I did such things, but I don't.

How do you spot phony sorrow over sins? When the sins are simply those accusations which the world throws at Christians. I was somewhat amused and gratified to see how the secular world has mocked the foot washing commercial, because they thought it was actually an indictment on their beliefs and way of living.

When I think of fake contrition and advice to be more loving, I think of the friends of Job, but also the weeping women of Jerusalem. Oh, that poor Jesus fellow. He had good things to say and did some wonderful miracles, but He should have stayed in His lane, should have not been so harsh with His words. That white-washed tomb insult broke, I'm sure, the Eighth Commandment. If only Jesus had gone through the proper channel. And don't get me started about John the Baptist.

And so, what is our reflex move when our fellow Christians are chastised by the world for being too this or too that? It's ever so tempting to play the love card, which is really the card of condescension, the card played by the hands of the person whose hands are clean because he hasn't done a darn thing himself. Remember the inquisition? Wasn't that terrible? And Columbus was a bad guy, and we're sorry. Christian missionaries? Well, they were not culturally sensitive.

What should be the first reaction when the world accuses a fellow Christians of being a meanie? First of all, it should be to stand alongside our fellow Christians. And if we think it could be done better, then we ought to go do it. Say you want a clean fight, but by all means, show us how it's done. Get into the fight. Otherwise, really, it's just being above it all, confessing the sins of other meanie Christians, while remaining above the fray, preening in our own unwillingness to get into the game.

The Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer is chairman and professor of Exegetical Theology and director of the M.A. program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

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Peter Scaer
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