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One of the lessons that I asked students in my CALM 20 classes to participate in was to examine stereotypes and the problems they cause. Among other identifiable groups, I also asked them to list some common stereotypes about Christians. Before I list the things they identified, I should mention that often many of the students were Christians themselves, so they were obviously reporting on things that hadbeen said to them, or attitudes they had become familiar with. Stereotypes about Christians:
I'd like to talk about these stereotypes. Some of them are obviously ridiculous, but it's worth mentioning that these stereotypes are real, in the sense that there are many people who believe most if not all of them. As someone who was an atheist for most his life, I certainly believed many of these things. The students were supposed to examine where stereotypes come from, and how limited contact with a few from the group in question can lead one to assume that all share the same characteristics. That's the definition of a stereotypre. They also recognized that most stereotypes have a grain of truth behind them. So the question I'd like to examine is where these stereotypes about Christians come from, and how much truth (if any) is behind them. My premise is twofold; first, that most Christians, by their behaviour, lead people to accept the stereotypes, and second, that media exposure to groups claiming to be Christian who really aren't living out God's Word can tarnish us all. Let's deal with the misconceptions first. These are true stereotypes, in that people really do believe something about a group through contact with just a few people, something that is usually false. That's what a stereotype is. One stereotype mentioned was that Christians don't drink alcohol. It is true that some choose not to … but some do. It is also true that some non-Christians choose not to drink. I drink very little, but that was a decision I made long before I became a Christian. In fact, there is no prohibition in the Bible about drinking. Jesus' first miracle, after all, was to turn water into wine, and we can assume that He drank wine as did everyone at that time. What the Bible does say is that Christians should not exhibit drunkenness. Drinking to excess is the sin, and a bad thing for anyone to do, Christian or not. Another stereotype that is probably related is the one about Christians not having fun. That one made me laugh. But I think it's clear where it comes from. There are a lot of non-Christians who equate 'having fun' with drinking, partying, promiscuity, and getting drunk. As a high school teacher of many years, the truth of this has always made me sad. I learned a long time ago that one doesn't need to be drunk to have fun. The Christians I know are some of the happiest, fun-loving people I know. Christians don't disbelieve science at all. For example, prayer for people who are ill always includes a prayer that God will guide doctors in their application of medical science. While it is true that some Christian beliefs run counter to accepted theories in science, I think that far too much emphasis is placed on this by some Christians who, rather that exercising their freedom to believe what they want and not judging others, seem to want to foist their particular beliefs on everyone, sometimes in a very negative way. I really think that we need to concentrate more on our celebrating our life in Christ and bringing non-believers to God. And you may, for example, have heard that some Christians do not believe in global warming as the result of human activity. But the Bible makes it very clear that we are stewards of all of creation, and have a duty, according to God, to look after things. Nowhere does it say that we can't be doing a not-very-good job of it. One only needs to look at all the garbage in the oceans to see that we are failing. My opinion is that we are not doing a very good job of looking after things; global warming is a fact we can't ignore, and as Christians we need to pray for guidance about the best way for our leaders to deal with it. So let's look at some of the other stereotypes about Christians; the ones we tend to bring about by our behaviour. The characteristics of a Christian, someone who is trying to live his life according to the Word of God, that he should exhibit, will refute many stereotypes. - A Christian does not hate - A Christian loves everyone, good or bad, just as God loves him - A Christian does not judge others; we leave that up to God I'm sure you know a few Christians who fall down over these three things. In fact, Christians, like others, sin a lot. The diffeence is that they admit freely that they have, and are constantly both asking for forgiveness in their pryers, and trying to do better. Christians do not think they are better than anyone else; quite the contrary. They acknowledge, as mentioned above, that they sin just as everyone does. Galatians 5:22-23 says it best: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control“ Christians are people who face the same difficulties as everyone else, and like all of us, don't like to make it known to everyone around them their various failings, especially with people who aren't close friends. That's human nature. We're supposed to emulate Jesus in all we do, but until you get to know someone well and discover that they aren't perfect and don't claim to be, it's easy to generalize and see them as self-righteous, 'stuck up' or intolerant. No one is more aware of how Christians fail in this regard than Christians themselves. But they are perceived as being 'perfect' because they hide their failings, and so are looked down upon as being hypocritical. Christians go to church to look for help from Jesus … help with their personal failings. Having gotten to know many Christians, people who try their best to live their lives as God wants them to, and having prayed with them many times, I can say honestly say that most of us are more aware of those failings than the average non-Christian. It's one of the things we pray about often. But if you're a non-Christian, you don't see that. We hide our sins. We don't always go to church. We can be judgmental of others. We participate in negative gossip, occasionally exhibit intolerance, and do things that are wrong. Christians are human. We sin. But get to know a few of them, and you discover that they are working on becoming better people, every single day. They pray, asking God for forgiveness. They try to do better. They help each other to improve. You see, we have this ideal that we're striving towards, to become more like Jesus every day, in every way. That is an unattainable goal, but we don't get discouraged, even when we fail. Non-Christians don't see any of this. They judge us only on our behaviour, and notice every little thing we do that's unchristian. One of the most important things a Christian can do is to try to live a life that is inspiring to others, to demonstrate to the world how loving God can change you and make you a better person. That's a lofty goal, and very difficult to live up to. Some of us are more successful than others. The reason I chose God many years ago was because of someone in my life who did that very well. Some stereotypes come about because of media coverage of Christians, and often people who declare themselves as such aren't really living the Word of God. Christians hold many beliefs. The fundamental ones are that Jesus is the Son of God, that He rose from the dead, and that only through Him can we achieve salvation. Coming to know Jesus means that we try to be like Him … we try to love everyone as He loves us. The main message is love. Unfortunately 'love' doesn't make the news. You won't see stories about church congregations who feed the homeless, or counsel people suffering from addictions. You won't see stories about youth groups who provide safe alternatives to students on a Friday night so they won't make bad decisions. No stories about Christian youth who work at summer camps for underprivileged kids. No stories about churches who welcome the indigent and the homeless, and yes, even LGBTQ, into their midst every Sunday. What we see instead are news items about Christians and churches who are not living out the Word of God. Hate, intolerance and bigotry from people who self-identify as Christian make the news. (The Westboro Baptist Church comes to mind). The media has a tendency to exaggerate and exploit these things. The true message is very simple. Christians who follow the Word of God do not hate. They are not intolerant. They are not judgmental. They leave the judging up to God. True Christians may hate the sin, but they always love the sinner. Unfortunately not all of us do a good job of living this. I can only speak for myself, of course, despite knowing many fine people who also try to live their lives every day in a way that is pleasing to God. In my own experience, I had a difficult time after first becoming a Christian in learning how to help people … students … who I didn't like. I didn't know how to let God help me to help them. It was only after asking a good friend for some guidance that I discovered the answer. You love them as God loves you. Once I figured out what that meant, it changed me as a teacher. |