American Christians – SNAP OUT of It
Recently at a college close by to where I live in Rhode Island, the school paper was conducting a short questionnaire. The answers from random students were published in the paper for everyone to see. The question of the week had to do with whether or not creation science should be taught along side evolution as a legitimate part of the curriculum. One student replied, “Creation science is fucking stupid. I hate Christians.” I’m sure you can guess what happened next. That’s right. Christian students on campus were outraged. They felt their rights had been violated and that if a similar comment had been made about another group, it surely would not have been published. If a hostile comment had been made about homosexuals or African Americans, it would be a different story. People would have been upset. They would have stood up and said, “Hey, that’s prejudiced, you can’t say that!”
But nobody came to the aid of the “the Christians.” Nobody cared enough to defend them or stand up for their rights, at least not publicly. The only reaction came from the Christian students themselves.
I see this all the time. Christians always seem to be defending themselves or their religion in some way. Just look at the culture wars. They are fighting for their right to say “Merry Christmas.” This is getting ugly.
And we are completely, utterly missing the point.
There are a number of stereotypes that have been attached to the word “Christian.” They are uptight and stiff, completely lacking in sense of humor. They are easily offended by the sin or naughty behavior of others. They are judgmental and will look down on those who engage in pre-marital sex or get high. They are hypocritical. They will not listen to the perspectives of people who don’t think like they do. They only hang out with other Christians.
The problem here is not that people think this is what Christians are like. The problem is that this is what Christians are like. Each of these stereotypes is legitimate because American Christians continue to embody them instead of the Gospel. What we need to do is admit to people outside of the church that we have failed to live up to our bold claims, that the stereotypes are true, and that while comments like the one published in the school paper may not be politically correct, they are not unreasonable. Part of the reason nobody protested the hostile comment was that this student was merely verbalizing what a lot of people already think. He said it out loud and the conflict that exists between Western Christianity and the culture around it was exposed.
We should not be offended or surprised when people criticize or just blatantly hate the church. We bring it on ourselves. There are many different people groups in America. Straight and Gay, White and Black, liberal and conservative, republican and democrat, Muslims, Christians and Jews. Only one of these groups claims to be the representatives of God on Earth. Only one group of people here claims to know God personally, to actually have met Him, and to embody His character. While Muslims and Jews may claim to know the truth about God, followers of Jesus Christ are the only ones audacious enough to claim that He actually lives inside of them. That is a bold claim and when we make it, we subject ourselves to serious scrutiny and judgment from the people who will be watching to see if we live up to it. When we don’t, we can expect to have it coming. We shouldn’t complain. Not only should we not complain, but we should probably celebrate. Let me explain.
Two thousand years ago when the church had just been born, there was a group called the Sanhedrin. This was a counsel of Jewish leaders which had spiritual authority over Israel. They had a problem. There was a revolution going on in their midst. People kept getting swept up into this massive movement, convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was the God of Israel. The early church leaders, fellow Jews, were untamed, dangerous and radical. They threatened the Sanhedrin who were rigid, conservative, religious legalists. So the Sanhedrin retaliated. In an effort to squash this revolution, they persecuted these radicals, flogging, or killing them. They felt the need to defend their religion for fear that things would change.
Today, Western Christianity looks a lot like the Sanhedrin, and not at all like the Revolution of Jesus Christ. We are defensive, easily offended, and afraid of having our comfortable traditions taken from us. Any sign of persecution, any hint of hardships, and we start rambling on about our rights and how this country was founded on Christian principles. We need to abandon that position because it does nothing but get people angry.
First of all, who are we to worry about our rights? Jesus wasn’t concerned about His rights. He gave his rights up and allowed Himself to be humiliated, mutilated and killed for the Gospel and for the very people who condemned Him. The early church wasn’t worried about whether or not their rights as human beings were being violated. They were too obsessed with the mission of Jesus Christ to be worried about that. They were being whipped, fed to lions, having their heads cut off, and being sawed in half. We on the other hand may have to endure semi-harsh ridicule. We may not be able to enjoy seeing a “Merry Christmas” banner above the entrance to Wal-Mart, but may instead have to settle for “Happy Holidays.” Seriously, who cares? What on Earth are we worried about? We are soft, and at the same time, our hearts are hard. We are concerned for our own comfort and religious rights and we could care less about the very people God would rescue.
Secondly, not only did the early church not complain about their rights, but they rejoiced when they endured persecution. It was an honor. We need to get back to this place. It is for the Gospel that we endure mild persecution in America, if we can even call it that. This is not a time to get defensive, to be offended, to be taken aback. That’s missing the point. When we are criticized or verbally attacked, it is an OPPORTUNITY we should be hoping and waiting for. It gives us the chance to embody the character of Jesus Christ. He was counter-cultural. He loved the people who hated Him. How have we lost sight of this? Jesus is a cool costumer. He could handle ridicule, verbal attacks and persecution. He wasn’t offended. He used these situations as opportunities to show people what God is like.
And what is God like? Who is He? Have we forgotten? He is humble. He is a servant. He listens, understands. He is patient. He is the God who can deal with the sin of the entire human race. Once upon a time, the church embodied these characteristics. Now, we have turned Christianity from a wild and passionate, unpredictable, energizing, life giving movement into a draining, proper, and boring religion. A list of rules. When Christianity became a religion, it became something that needed to be defended. We forgot that it is a Person we are following here, and not merely a list of regulations we are trying to keep to. We got comfortable and began valuing ourselves above the people we’re supposed to be fighting for. The church is supposed to be the only community of people that exists not for itself, but for the people outside of it. Jesus lived for other people. This is how we must live.
We are to value people because God values people. But our priorities are screwed up. What do we think is more important to God – the gay marriage issue, or gay people? What should be more important to us – the right to say “Merry Christmas”, or liberal atheists – people? God does not value traditions and costums. These things can change. God values human beings. It is for humanity that He renounced His throne and became nothing.
I’m not suggesting that it would be a good thing if all of the religious traditions Christians enjoy were outlawed and if they began being discriminated against… But then again perhaps good would come out of it. Either way, to fight against the very people the church is supposed to fight for is to counter the purposes of God. He is in the business of reconciliation. Let’s not forget that. We need to shut up and listen. Let’s let people who don’t think like we do talk, even teach us about what they think and why they have those perspectives. Let’s earn the right to be heard not so we can merely influence politics, but so that we can talk about Jesus Christ with people who don’t know Him. Let’s become humble and passionate about embodying the character of Jesus Christ to the world around us. America will be gone someday. The Kingdom of God will never pass away. Why not start fighting for the latter. Where is our allegience?
