Evidence

Would a jury convict you for being a Christian?

A couple of days ago, I stumbled over this amazing, amazing video by Eric Moutsos, a Mormon and former law enforcement officer. I urge you to watch it. I kept nodding and saying, “Yes, YES, YESSSS!!!!” as he was talking. He actually gave me goosebumps.

Here's the video link one more time.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I come across people who are so clear-headed and confident in their faith that every word they say feels like a revelation. I don’t agree on every single thing with him, but 99% of it felt spot-on.

One thing he talks about is, “If you were arrested and tried in court for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

I kinda took a mental double-take hearing that because usually what you hear is the other way around. It’s always, “If you had to face God today and be judged by Him, would you pass the test and make it into Heaven?”

I never thought of it like this: Would a jury trying to convict me for being a Christian find enough evidence to believe I was a Christian, considering my words and actions? How often do I actually talk about God or mention Jesus’s name in daily life? That goes especially for situations where I’m not among fellow Catholics or Christians.

One thing I noticed, for example, is how I subconsciously tend to pander to people’s expectations of me.

When I meet someone from my liberal New Age days—be it an old friend, a relative, or mere acquaintance—I tend to be relatively mum about “God stuff.” Sometimes I even catch myself falling back into old habits, like using swear words, out of a desire to emotionally connect, to present a familiar veneer, to make that person comfortable with me.

Because, this is one thing I also noticed, many people from “back then” get uncomfortable when I start talking about how God/Jesus has worked in my life and changed it from the ground up. I detect a bit of jealousy, but mostly some level of cringe that they politely try to suppress.

It doesn’t surprise me, either—not too long ago, I’d have reacted the same way. Good for her, she looks happy. But man, that Jehovah’s Witness vibe… Get me out of here!

I’ve recently gotten better with new people I meet. The urge to conform is still strong, but when someone asks me what brought me to Steubenville, I force myself not to go on about real estate prices and the Catholic community and the weather, but to say, “The Holy Spirit.”

The reactions are mixed, but at least I can move on knowing that I’ve told the truth. I hope Jesus will help me practice so it’ll get easier over time.

Coming back to the “Christian on trial” theme, here’s a song by Gary S. Paxton, which no doubt inspired Moutsos’s question.

One other thing in the video that struck me: He says a lot of people ask him, “If the ship (aka our country, freedom, civilization) is going down anyway, why even bother to fight?”

His answer was pretty great. He says (I paraphrase): “People don’t get it. This is not about winning. It’s about showing God what you’re made of. What are you going to say? What are you going to do? Who are you going to become?”

The same questions we’ll have to answer when we stand before the Lord at the end of our life. Food for thought.