What We’re Against; The Troubling Paradox Of Christians Being Viewed As Unloving
I have strong Christian convictions. But the more I explore and try to live out these convictions, I’ve come to regret how it is that so many Christians come across to those who don’t yet believe. Stereotypes about Christians abound and sadly, some of them have roots in at least a seed of truth. We’re known as anti-certain people, we’re known as judgmental, we’re known as buzzkills, we’re often viewed as somehow opposing science. But what troubles me the most is that many have come to view Christians as unloving.
I recently came across this quote:
“War. Rape. Murder. Poverty. Equal rights for gays. Guess which one the Southern Baptist Convention is protesting?”
Wow. That really struck me. You may say that it doesn’t apply to you because you’re not Southern Baptist, but that would be an exercise in missing the point. The point is that, to a large segment of the population, Christians are seen to be so focused on a few social issues (yes, I understand the importance of issues like marriage and abortion, so please don’t think I’m minimizing those) that we don’t care about the radical injustice of the world. How in the world have we come to this?
After all, shouldn’t we, above anyone else, be marked by love and compassion? It seems that, somewhere along the way, in our well-intentioned pursuit of holiness, we withdrew from society and actual relationships with anyone outside our immediate socio-economic sphere, that, when we decided that we did want to engage in meaningful issues, we could only do so from a distance which means that the “political hotbutton” issues get more of our time and energy because those are largely “conceptual.” You don’t have to know anyone who has had an abortion to have an opinion. You don’t have to know any homosexual people to have an opinion on whether or not they should be allowed to marry.
But many issues of injustice require us to get involved. They challenge our comfort and condemn our complacency. How is it that we, who should be known by our love have come to actually be viewed as lacking compassion? Shouldn’t we be leading the way? Isn’t “justice” an implication of the outworking of the Gospel in everyday life? Shouldn’t we be actively, intimately involved in working against the effects of the Fall? Shouldn’t we be known by our love?
- Read Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just by Tim Keller
- Read Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, And The Mission of The Church by N.T. Wright
Brent,
My problem with that quote is that no one, SBC’ers included, is going to say that the first four aren’t a problem. However, the “world” only wants the SBC/churches/christians to speak out when what we say agrees with prevailing wisdom, which may or may not square with biblical truth. Fact is, the SBC consistently does speak out against injustice/brokenness in the world. 2011 had a resolution condeming the mistreatment of immigrants. 2010 had resolutions about the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe and the scandal of SB divorce (and i’d argue that divorce is one of the top 2 most significant factors negatively affecting society today). 2009 had a resolution about adoption and orphan care. 2008 had a resolution celebrating ethnic diversity. 2007 had resolutions condemning racism and child abuse.
I don’t mean to pile on but I’ve listed all that to show that the SBC does speak out on issues of injustice and I think many churches and individual Christians do as well. But we can’t expect those who don’t follow Christ to find it loving when we warn them of the dangers inherent in life apart from Christ. Can’t we speak out against the issues AND work to improve the social systems that contribute to them?
I think Christians get a bad rap but for being unloving or unconcerned with social issues that don’t threaten political influence but I don’t think that bad rap is necessarily fair. I agree with the comment from Chris Blackstone. The social work is getting done. Protestant and Catholic churches are out there in the field of the world doing God’s work. But it’s gay issues and women’s issues that grab headlines. Feeding hungry people or funding a safe place for abused women & children or advocating on behalf of the poor will never be as newsworthy as opposing gay marriage and abortion. What would grab a headline is if Christians weren’t afraid to look at those things under a different lens. This Christian happens to believe that both hot button issues should not even be an issue because they are among those certain unalienable rights that release all other freedoms of this country. The same unalienable rights that allow me to practice my religion of choice. I think Christians get distracted by the yuck factor of sin and in that we loose compassion and we stand in the way of the work of the Holy Spirit. Imagine if we stopped fighting for political righteousness and just got out of God’s way. Imagine the depths of the souls He would reach if we just got out of His way and let Him love the people who don’t need our laws – they need His love.