Christians really have the unique ability to drive people nuts. Most other folks of faith are pretty good about keeping to themselves and staying out of other people’s business. But the same can’t be said of us Holy Rolling, Bible Thumpers.
The reality is there truly is a diamond hidden amongst all of that bothersome coal, and if you can somehow get past our many shortcomings, you’ll discover our hearts are in the right place.
So before you give up on us completely, here are a few helpful things you should know about Christians.
Yes…Most Of Us Are Fake
If you see a guy wearing a Coca Cola shirt, don’t assume he works for the company. Anybody can wear a shirt, few are the real thing. The same holds true for us. So many people will claim to be a Christian, but very few are really “followers of Christ.” What’s the big difference? Well…one is someone who is merely using the title for convenience and to be part of the club, while the other is really committed to changing their life in a major way.
…And Heavily Flawed
If it wasn’t hard enough to have to identify real “followers of Christ,” here is some more bad news. Even the “Christ followers” are a messed up bunch as a whole. Just know that if we were perfect, we wouldn’t need the fixing that Jesus Christ offers us in the first place. When we give our lives to Christ we are forgiven, but it takes all of a lifetime to become more like Christ. We’ll need your patience.
…And Confused
Anyone who tells you they understand each and every facet of the Bible and their Christian faith is a heretic and when you hear this you should start boiling the water. The truth is that the Truth is very complicated. After hundreds of years of research and study to rely upon, even the greatest Biblical scholars still disagree over some of the finer details of the faith. Yet, what is clear is that when you begin to study the Bible, the major truths become quickly apparent and the more you learn, the more you want to share it with others.
…And Pushy
Probably one of the biggest complaints about “followers of Christ” is that we are so pushy. I mean, why can’t we just keep our beliefs to ourselves? Well here is the answer. We imagine ourselves as if we’re on a river leading to a beautiful lake that we’ll be able to enjoy for all eternity. We want all of the people we love to be there with us. Across the way, we see friends and family going down a separate river that we believe with all our hearts is headed for a terrible waterfall that will spell their doom. We understand that we must look like complete loons as we’re waving frantically and shouting from the distance for you to get out of the boat before it’s too late. But you should be flattered that we’re willing to sacrifice whatever fragments of our dignity we have left for your benefit. More concerning to you should be those “Christians” who would calmly wave from abroad and whisper, “Enjoy your trip, my friend”
Who Can You Trust?
So with all of that compelling evidence as to why we should be ignored altogether here is a suggestion for your consideration. When it comes to really learning about who Jesus Christ is, try to seek out those Christians who are humble, encouraging to others, quick to forgive and slow to anger. Yes. I know we’re talking about needles in the haystack. But when you do find these unique individuals who have a peace and quiet confidence to them, try to figure out what makes them unique and special. The answer to that question could very well radically change your life.
Excellent post. Thanks for sharing this. I plan to share this link on my Facebook page.
Top notch post. Well done.
Lovely!
Well said. The image of the two rivers with different destinations is just perfect. 
Michael you are so right, and yet there are more ways Christians drive people crazy. In our world there is a strong anti-Christian force, and just the word drives some people nuts. Also many won’t go to church because Christians have driven them away, because they think we should have our selves together. I hope people can get the message that we follow Christ, not each other. That would help.
Mike: Thanks for reminding us that Christians are allowed to mess up and not be bible scholars and Jesus Christ still loves us.
I appreciate the author and he makes some great points. I totally get that no christians is perfect, none of us are. I do believe that even the pushy christians mean well.
The problem is not with Christians or Christianity, but with the rise of the fundamentalist movement within it. The fundamentalists basically believe that they have a monopoly on truth and god’s forgiveness. Christian fundamentalism portrays God in a way where he either can’t or won’t forgive those who don’t happen to accept the right dogma. Whether thats a simple as “jesus is lord” or as intricate as calvinistic predestination, the result is the same.
Nearly every religion–Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam etc. have fundamentalist elements within them where they believe those outside to be evil, doomed or lost. They also all have more inclusive and open alternatives within each faith, some more so than others. I respectfully suggest Christians choose the latter. This doesn’t require some total abandonment to relativism or acceptance that “all religions are the same.” If you believe Jesus was the only incarnation of god or muhammed was the true prophet and the other religions are mistaken, fair enough. But perhaps God may have a plan for those that don’t happen to “get it” that doesn’t involve eternal damnation. Christian fundamentalists often believe this already concerning children under “the age of reason”, even though the bible never explicitly says children who don’t believe will still be saved. Couldn’t the same be true for atheists or hindus?
The author says that the “major truths quickly become apparent.” Nothing could be farther from…ahem…the truth. Go to one part of the bible and it says we’re saved by works. Go to another, and its by faith alone. Baptists, Pentecostals, Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Lutherans all have different concepts of what is required to be a christian or to be saved. Historically christians have been battling each other over the basics for centuries and much of what is considered “orthodox christianity” exists as it does only because theologians such as Augustine or Luther centuries ago happen to interpret the bible that way–and others followed suit.
I’ve heard the river metaphor before and I believe its flawed. Why? Because a river is just a force of nature. Its amoral and impersonal. With God, who is supposed to be a perfect moral being, its personal. When you say “You have to accept jesus as your lord and savior” to someone, you’re not warning them about an impersonal force will cause them harm the way a buddhist might talk about karma. You’re basically telling them that God believes them to be so worthless and evil the way they are now, if they happen to die without believing, he’s going to send them somewhere to be tortured.
Why does Christianity drive some people nuts? Sadly because the loudest Christians in America are the fundamentalists, and the more narrow, condemning and exclusive they are, the louder they get. People get irritated because fundamentalism is so obviously judgmental and so obviously wrong, except to those that are indoctrinated.
Craig,
This is such a beautifully written, well reasoned response. However; you did break the code of Blogging. As point of courtesy you should never outscribe the Blogger!
Rather than respond to each of your remarks, I’m going to use them as topics for future postings. You bring up so many excellent points and several deserve much more than a hastily penned pithy response.
In summary, and to stay on the topic of the Blog, I would say I agree with much of what you share about how many Christians can come across as arrogant, unwilling to listen to others and overly judgmental.
Paul teaches us in the New Testament that we are to “share the truth with love.” He further comments that if we share the truth without love, we come across as a “clanging cymbol” and are ineffective in sharing the Gospel.
I think it’s unfortunate that there are so many clanging cymbols among us and that we are probably more suited to forming a marching band than being part of a movement of faith.
Thanks so much for contributing in such a large way to the discussion and I look forward to learning more about your own beliefs.
Hi Michael,
I won’t post a long response and I appreciate your kind remarks. Your site does not seem to be of the “clanging cymbal” variety, thought I smell a bit of fundamentalism here and there.
My argument is not merely that Fundamentalist Christians are delivering the message arrogantly, its the message itself thats flawed. No matter how gently and with humility its delivered, Its of little comfort to a non-believer to hear “You’re destined for hell if you don’t change to my religion, because we’re all SO BAD. But don’t worry, I was destined for hell before I got saved too!”
I look forward to further dialog with you.
Awesome post, thank you for posting. Definitely something to think about (for Christians and non-Christians alike).
Michael:
You did an excellent job of covering a lot of ground in a brief and insightful way.
There is much that can be learned from this short post.
I’ve shared it with my followers on Twitter. It is my prayer that I’ll not be a clanging cymbal and will truly represent the One Who gave His all for me.
This is a critically important post. What would happen, if the world would look at CHRIST, more than at CHRISTIANS?
Of course, to many, Christians are the only Christ they may ever see . . . unless they look for His revelation.
For God promises to be found by those who will earnestly seek Him. (See Jeremiah 29.)
Such intelligent responses, from some obviously very intelligent people. Why then can’t these same people break the spell, because they were indoctrinated from child hood. Spoon fed the BS all their young lives and now they are like zombies.
Wake up and look around you. There is no god. If there is, he is an underachiever for sure.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, just our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds. Frank
Robert Graves went back to the original Greek and Hebrew sources of the Bible and wrote “The Nazarene Gospel Restored”. Why do Christians ignore this work?
What a wonderful, insightful post. If we would all only show Jesus instead of pounding out the beat on our cymbals.
WOW… what a great article. I am definitely going to share this link…..