I kissed a girl and I liked it, then I went to Hell.
I was surfing on Katy Perry’s website, I and I found this pic & link:
Right...
Again, I feel this goes back to the very thing I have been writing about in my blog. It is fine to disagree with Katy Perry’s lyrics, but as a church to post something like that on your bulletin board definitely comes off as judgemental. We are here to build up encourage and edify, not alienate.
Oddly enough, I had been wondering whatever happened to Katy Hudson just a few months ago, and what would you know, I stumble across a website talking about how Katy Hudson is actually Katy Perry. WHAT???? Once I read this I finally connected the dots…
I was at Warped Tour this Summer with one of my friends, now Katy Perry was there, but I was busy watching protest the hero with a friend while Katy Perry was playing. As much as I wanted to see Katy Perry, I’d rather stick with my friend and watch one of her favorite bands, and anyway, it was very enjoyable, and ended up being my first mosh pit.
Later on towards the end of the night, Katy Perry was signing autographs and I was tempted to get in line to have something signed. Mainly because I just wanted to talk to her. When I went over to her tent, I walked through the line, it was a pretty long one, and I decided not to get anything signed, but just catch a peek of her. When I stopped at the corner of her tent, she had sunglasses on, but she took them off and glanced over at me. She looked at me, not once, but twice, almost nerveous or fearful, and put the sunglasses back on . I thought the was really odd, but thought nothing of it except, I kept coming back to her tent and never once again did she take the sunglasses off. There was something I sensed about her, something very sweet. I felt like she could be a Christian, but yet I knew she wasn’t… I took her picture, but without being able to see her eyes it was pretty lame. She looked very sincere and I could tell that she had a good heart and would become something huge, and could potentially do great things for the Lord.
Flash forward a month later and I find out that she came from a Christian family and recorded a Christian album under her surname Hudson. Which made me realise that that look she gave me was more than coencidence. I do not like to read into things, but she definitely had an uneasy look when she looked at me, and not once again did she take her sunglasses off. Maybe I am overreaching, maybe I’m not. But I get the feeling that Katy Perry is just like anyone who has been disillusioned by judgemental Christians – fed up with mainstream Christianity and left it in the dust infavor of her own ideas.
Its easy to do, I have come across a lot of Christians who are ready to throw the words “heretic”, “blasphemy”, “demonic”, ect. around because they feel they are more Holy than some other people, therefor they feel free to tell you how much your theology is f-ed up and how you are decieving the masses. Honestly, if I hadn’t already established my faith in the Lord I would have left Christinity years ago. Because Christians are flawed, and when people forget that and focus on people’s flaws rather than Jesus, it is easy to walk away from the faith, especially if it was shakey to begin with.
This is why I believe it is imperative for us to not only live out the example Jesus sets for us to non-Christians in Luke 10:25-37:
”25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]“
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
This does not mean that we have to accept their sin and say that is alright, but we have to love them. If we do not show them unconditional love first, then why would they even want to consider Jesus? Especially if like like most Americans they believe all Christians are judgemental towards non-Christians and just go around condemning them to hell?
On top up that, as Christians we have a responsibility to let others know we are Christians by our love for eachother, not our judgemental attitudes…
First Jesus shows us how he loves us… John 13:1-17
“1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a]
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Then he goes on to explain that we need to love eachother the same way that he loves us (after revealing Judas as the traitor)… John 13:31-37:
”31When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. 32If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
36Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”
I will not go into detail here about love because I already did that in a previous post titled “Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t.”
Basically, I have no way of knowing for sure what happened to Katy Perry, but I have a pretty good hunch that she is afraid of judgement, and she knew I was a Christian and feared I would judge her… Even though I didn’t know she had been a Christian at the time, I could sense it, so I do not doubt she could sense the same thing from me.
So, I have been encouraged to pray for her. I pray that she will see that Christianity is not about judgement, but a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that it is the most beautiful and glorious thing in the world. That is all I can do, and that is the best thing to do, so we will see where Katy goes from here. I will be cheering her on all the way, even if I do not accept everything she does; I accept her.
God Bless ~Amy
