Christian Goth

[taylor30]

People dress wierd for one reason: They want to focus attention on THEMSELVES. They WANT people to notice them. Well, at church our attention ought to be on God. Don't come to distract.

Maybe, but people also dress up fancy to draw attention on themselves. We need to be careful NOT to judge a book by the cover. ONLY GOD knows for sure why a person dresses or looks the way they do. We should give people the benefit of the doubt since we really don't know.

[~candice~]

People dress wierd for one reason: They want to focus attention on THEMSELVES. They WANT people to notice them. Well, at church our attention ought to be on God. Don't come to distract.

Maybe, but people also dress up fancy to draw attention on themselves. We need to be careful NOT to judge a book by the cover. ONLY GOD knows for sure why a person dresses or looks the way they do. We should give people the benefit of the doubt since we really don't know.

This has to be a new record, quoting a 6 year old post

[coheir]

"Young man, you're not welcome here!" Those words echoed in Jeremy's head as he ran down the street. "I hate those stupid Christians. Anti-Christ Rules!"

Jeremy's life had become a living hell. It seemed as if God were to ruin everything that he loved. At the ripe old age of 14, he felt defeated and hopeless. Everybody made fun of his black clothes, dark eyeliner and lipstick, and gothic music. He was an only child living with his mom since his parents split up 6 years before. But she was too busy with her own messed-up life!

Everywhere Jeremy went, people stared and laughed at him. His dreary life had become a sad, hopeless existence. Nobody took the chance to even talk to him. Mr. Bailey, one of his teachers, pulled him aside and said, "You would probably have some friends if you didn't dress so weird." Mr. Bailey always had a way of pushing his buttons.

He wanted to run home and tell his mom, but he knew she wouldn't be there anyway. As he began searching through his back pack, he pulled out a Bible that he always liked to read when his feelings got hurt. He turned to the book of John and began to read about Jesus and his disciples. As he cried softly he thought, "I bet Jesus would have been my friend."

Jeremy woke up early that morning and walked into a church a couple blocks away from his home. He was excited about going to church for the first time. "Finally, someone will understand me!". As he took his first step into the church, he smiled at the usher and said "Hi". The usher looked at him coldly and then ignored him.

Jeremy walked with his head down as he slid into the center of the back row. As the Pastor walked around greeting old and new members of the congregation, he stopped when he reached the last row. As he glanced at Jeremy, he turned his head and walked back toward the pulpit. As the place filled with people, Jeremy sat all alone in the last pew. He turned and saw four people standing in the back looking at him coldly as the Pastor delivered his fiery sermon on proper Christian appearance.

Jeremy stood up and left the church. He swore he would never be back.

"Why can't I just be liked for who I am?" Jeremy ran faster. As he remembered those self righteous bible bigots, he began sobbing uncontrollably. "I hate them! I hate them!"

He stopped and crawled underneath a bridge where he had spent a lot of time thinking. It was dark and gloomy, but strangely comfortable. It reflected what he felt inside. It was, in some strange way, a place to hide from those "loving christians".

Jeremy was crying out in the same way we have cried out when nobody listened. Have you felt judged? Have you felt misunderstood? Have you felt alone? I think we all have. We need to stop acting like Christians and start acting like Christ!! Christ not only accepted these kinds of people, but he looked for them. He was excited that he had the directions to life as they went down the road to death. What was it that Jesus had? Love and acceptance. He was God and knew what it felt like to be rejected.

You know, I find myself in the middle of another counterculture. I realize that the same things I wrote about the "Metalheads" of yesterday are still true today. But one very sobering detail pierces my heart. Many of the same people that were crying for someone to understand them just 10 years ago, are turning their backs on the "Jeremy's" of the world today.

Many of you who were preaching unconditional love without condemnation and judgement, are guilty of hypocrisy today! You forget what it is like to reach out to someone on the edge that feel alone and confused. Don't forget that you use to be one of them!

Jeremy will continue to blame God instead of the people who are mistreating him. He will continue to follow Marilyn Manson and things like that who have the same venom. He will hate, and be hated. He will die in that pit - without a life line.

-Pastor Bob @ Sanctuary Intl.

So I'm a goth, so what? I wear black, does that mean I'm evil?

What does goth mean? There are many ways to describe Gothic. Let me overview some of them.

An obsession with death

A liking to the color black

Witchcraft

Evil or demonic

Those are some examples of what most "normal" people would call Goth

Now I'll tell you what I think. Don't agree with me, but don't tell me I'm wrong. These are my beliefs.

Goth is a beautiful thing. Yes is usually means we dress in black. However, I know plenty of goths that dress in nothing but white. Does it mean we are obsessed with death? Maybe, but is it possible that we could be obsessed with the death of our earthly burdons and the need to cast a blanket of darkness over that which is bad? I went to a church once dressed "normally". When I say normal, I mean: Black clothing, big boots, trenchcoat, eyeliner and black lipstick. When I attended the church, I was quickly shunned because of the way I looked. Why does goth mean that I love God less than you? Wouldn't Jesus love me? Jesus hung out with theives and prostitutes! Not because he wanted to change them, but because he loved them! Did not Jesus say "I AM the Light of the World"? Do you think Jesus would love me for who I am? Or would he turn me away? I despise the church signs they say things to the effect of: Stay away from all things with the appearance of evil... I have to tell you, that's not goth.

When you say Jesus hung out with theives and prostitutes and did not want to change them; YOU make it sound like he allowed them to continue to practice their chosen field on a daily basis while they went along with him wherever he went. I disagree with your beliefs. Jesus is about change. from the ways of the world ( the world we live in by our choices before we know him ) to his ways.

[Guest AndrewCothran]

People dress wierd for one reason: They want to focus attention on THEMSELVES. They WANT people to notice them. Well, at church our attention ought to be on God. Don't come to distract.

forget it ..

Edited February 28, 2012 by AndrewCothran

[brightmorningstar]

There is no such thing as a Goth in the Bible. There is no such thing as a Christian Goth. Yes there may be Christians who dress as goths, arguably no problem, but Goth has no relevance to Christianity.

[brightmorningstar]

The Higgs Bosun walks into a Roman Catholicd church and the priest says you are not welcome here, and the Higgs Bosun says well how can you have mass then?

[joi]

Bottom line, ask God to teach you/me His truth and convict you/me when we are not pleasing Him.

[~candice~]

The Higgs Bosun walks into a Roman Catholicd church and the priest says you are not welcome here, and the Higgs Bosun says well how can you have mass then?

[Voluntary Joe]

Aesthetically I personally love Goth, I think it's captivating and beautiful. I have dabbled in the Goth lifestyle a bit (mostly the fashion, but the literature and music is also quite good) Don't let anyone make you feel anything less than absolutely valuable, Christians who shun you do it out of fear of things they don't understand and are being hypocritical. There is nothing wrong with Goth as long as you are diligent in the Lord. Goth has many different styles and each is uniquely beautiful, and while some in the minority do enter ungodly territory that doesn't mean that the entire subculture is evil. Some Christians will make you embarrassed to call yourself a Christian and that is their problem, you shouldn't feel devalued by them, instead feel sorry for them because they won't have the joy in getting to know what a wonderful and incredible person you are. I encourage you to be who you are and continue what you love and what makes you happy while ensuring that God is always first in your life.

In Love and In Christ,

Voluntary Joe

[nebula]

There is no such thing as a Goth in the Bible. There is no such thing as a Christian Goth. Yes there may be Christians who dress as goths, arguably no problem, but Goth has no relevance to Christianity.

I know I'm late to this post, but in reading it, I have to comment that the argument does not make sense.

Consider this:

"There is no such thing as a Hillbilly in the Bible. There is no such thing as a Christian Hillbilly. Yes there may be Christians who dress as Hillbillies, arguably no problem, but Hillbilly has no relevance to Christianity."

Does this make sense?

We can do the same with the words "Yuppie" or "City Slicker" or "Protestant" or any other modern identity.