(thanks to David Flanders)
(Bill Maher wonders about Christians who celebrate the killing of Osama bin-Laden here.)
It’s no secret that those of us who claim to follow Jesus Christ consistently fall short of living up to the way of life of our Rabbi. Being a disciple of Jesus is a lifelong journey towards conforming ourselves to the image and way of life that Jesus taught. However, so often, followers of Jesus chose to blatantly ignore some of the clearest instruction of our Rabbi and obscure it with vague theology so that we can get off the hook…. No matter what the situation is or what kind of enemy we have, Christians are called to bless the people who hurt us the most. This includes in theological battles, political disagreements, national wars, and personal conflicts. Christians are called to a radical position of nonviolence and forgiveness, grace, and even blessing of our enemies. There is no way around it. And when Christians chose to ignore these clear teachings, our hypocrisy is glaringly obvious to the watching world.
I don’t expect Christians to be perfect or even perfectly consistent, anymore than I expect anyone else to be. We’re all humans, which means we’re issued hypocrisy, inaccuracy, and inconsistency as standard equipment. That’s not a theological thing, that’s a human thing. With that in mind, I don’t believe it too much to expect that, since so many Christians seem so willing to judge others based on their beliefs, they should consistently live those beliefs. Or at least as much as humanly possible.
The problem, as I’ve frequently written about, is that too many Christians talk the talk, but refuse to walk the walk. Maybe it’s just too damned hard. Maybe it’s just easier to go to church, absolve yourself of you sins, and get on with life. I don’t know; I don’t believe in God, so that’s not something I have to understand. What I know is that while some of the kindest, most genuine people I know are Christian, so are so the some of the narrowest, most dogmatic, self-righteous, and judgmental people.
If you claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, you have a standard to uphold, those being the teachings you profess to have incorporated into your life. If you’re primarily concerned with preventing abortion, same-sex marriage, or any number of other secular issues, I’d submit that you’re not living Christianity, you’re using your faith as a club. You’re using it to force your narrow views and prejudices upon others in the name of your “faith,” which in reality is nothing but unvarnished bigotry.
I’ve struggled from time to time to express my dismay over those who sully a perfect serviceable philosophy of life. Then I ran across this excellent piece by Brandan Robertson, a Christian writer who does a far more authoritative job than I ever could of taking Christians to task for their hypocrisy.
What follows are four teachings of Jesus Christ that Robertson maintains Christians (almost) never take seriously:
1) Jesus, not the Bible, is God’s living and active Word that brings life.
“You don’t have His word living in you, because you don’t believe the One He sent. You study the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. And you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life.”- John 5:39-40 HCSB
2) The only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is through DOING the will of God.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 ESV
“An expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”“What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?”He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”- Luke 10: 25-28 HCSB
3) Condemnation isn’t Jesus’ style.
“I have not come to condemn the world, but to save it.” John 3:17 ESV
“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”- John 8:11 ESV
4) You’re supposed to sacrifice yourself and speak words of blessings for those you disagree with the most.
“Love Your Enemies and Bless Those Who Persecute You” Matthew 5:44 ESV
So, to those of you would accuse me of “Christian bashing” in an effort to nullify my argument, I’ll respond only by referring you to the four points above. It makes my point better than I ever could.
I’m not offering these criticisms of Christianity because I think myself to be better, more consistent, and/or less hypocritical. I do so because I’ve long since grown tired of those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ and yet don’t live his teachings. I do so because of people in my own life who’ve seen fit to think me “less than,” “lost,” and “in need of salvation” because I’ve chosen not to believe as they do.
All I’m asking is that before you judge others you get your own house in order and be certain that you’re walking the walk…because if you do that, you’ll realize that judging others is as wrong as it is inappropriate. Get your own house in order; if you’re like most of us, you’ll realize that’s a full-time job in and of itself.
