I know, it's a corny name for a blog, especially one about religion . . . but I think you'll see the significance as you read through this and the next few posts.

Let me explain:

In the Old Testament, one of the ten commandments God gave Moses was that the people of Israel were to keep the Sabbath--the seventh day of the week (traditionally Saturday)--as both a reminder of the first week in which God created the Earth (see Genesis 1) and a reminder that after many years of slavery and abuse by their former Egyptian masters, the Israelites were finally to have a place where they could rest from the labors of slavery. It was one of the most sacred commands in Israeli (and later Judaean) culture--not only because it was 4th in the list of God's ten commandments (see Exodus 20) but also because, of all the commandments, it was the most tangible and easiest to memorize and practice.

The people of Israel and Judaea were taught from childhood to respect this day of the week and to treasure it in their hearts as sacred. Exodus 20:9-10 makes the rules of Sabbath observance very clear: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates." The religious leaders, during Moses' time and through the centuries, even through the time of Israel's eventual Exile into Babylon and later, had the responsibility of enforcing this edict and making sure that no man, woman, child, servant, or animal worked during this one day of the week, and that everyone respected it as a holy day. In the first century A.D., the religious leaders of Judaea held this duty (among many others) to be one of the principle elements of a righteous Judaean's life.

It was as understood back then that a Godly man did no work on the Sabbath . . . as it is today that a Godly man goes to church every Sunday.

And yet Jesus, the man who claimed to be the Messiah, the man who claimed to be God himself, in the flesh--routinely flouted this command, often in the very presence of Judaea's religious leaders. He also did many other things that were repulsive to the religious establishment . . . like talking alone to strange women, or breaking bread with men who were considered blood traitors to the nation, or even arguing publicly with the religious leaders of Judaea about God.

Sadly, the religion that bears Jesus' name seems to have missed this point.

A few years ago, after leaving a movie theatre in downtown Fort Worth, I was stopped by a group of people who were standing outside at the street corner. One of them handed me a tract--one of those little booklets Christian door-to-door and street evangelists often pass out. I put it in my jacket, thinking "This is a fairly normal group of people--it probably has some scripture verses on it or a review of the core beliefs of Christianity."

When I got home, I read it, only to discover that it was a booklet-length tirade about how seeking solace in movies and entertainment is a sure path to eternal damnation. I immediately threw it in the trash--and wondered how many poor souls would read it, believing that the God of Christianity really was a God who wanted them to be tired and bored for the rest of their lives, on pain of Hell.

To me, this episode is emblematic of a core problem which, in my opinion, will lead to the eventual collapse of Christianity in the West: a fundamental lack of compassion for people. People aren't stupid--most of them know their history, and even more (generally) know the difference between a person who cares about others and a person whose smile and veneer of friendliness are part of an overall marketing strategy. And many Christian organizations today seem more focused on generating marketing strategies and membership drives than in actually reaching to (and caring for) their communities.

Whatever happened to "praying for one another" (James 5:16)? Whatever happened to "sharing everything in common" (Acts 4:32)? Whatever happened to "love one another" (1 John 3:11)?

The apostle John said "let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18). A Christian who simply talks about love (or, worse, about Christ's love) without allowing him-/herself to truly love others is an offense to everyone he or she comes in contact with. A Christian who is not willing to break a few rules for the sake of another person's well-being is an offense to the very man whose name he or she has undertaken--a man who broke every rule he had to break in a relentless display of love and care for each and every man, woman, and child on the Earth. A Christian who preaches reconciliation to God--without practicing reconciliation with his enemies--is an offense to truth itself.

Let me be blunt--the world doesn't need another church. And it certainly doesn't need more Christians.

What the world needs, my friend, is love.

This blog is for the disaffected, the disenchanted, the exiles. This blog is for all the people who want to believe what the Bible says about God but don't want to be associated with Christians and Christianity. This blog is also for those who are dissatisfied with the status quo of 21st century American Christianity and want something different for themselves--and for others.

Let us find ways to break our modern-day Sabbaths together.