In 1996, The Barna Group did a poll on young adults and teens asking whether
or not they had a positive image of and respect for Christianity’s role in society.
The report showed that 85% were favorable towards Christians and the part
they played in the American society.
The Group did the same poll in 2006 and found that there was a growing sense
of hostility and resentment towards Christians. These days nearly 2 out of every
5 young persons claim to have a “bad impression of present-day Christianity.”
Beyond this, one-third of young people said that Christianity represents a
negative image with which they do not want to be associated with and one out
of six (17%) say that they maintain hatred towards the Christian faith.
So why do these people have such negative feelings towards Christians? What
changed in those ten years that makes those feelings so much stronger than
they were?
There are four things that the people surveyed said they didn’t like about
Christianity: the faith itself, the people who profess the faith, the Bible, and
Jesus Christ. Now all four of these things are key elements that make up
Christianity as a whole, but the people surveyed didn’t dislike each of these
equally.
-Their impressions of the Bible are mixed: most think it has good values, but
only three out of ten believe that it is accurate in all the principles it teaches.
-And Jesus draws an interesting set of reactions. Jesus receives the most
favorable feelings from those surveyed, but even the clarity of his image has
eroded among young people. Most young people can’t grasp the fact that Jesus
never sinned.
-But the one that got the most negative connotation from the people surveyed
was the people who profess the faith. Why though? Why have we, as people
who practice the Christian faith, given our own religion such a negative name?
One girl was asked what her image of Christians is. She replied, “Christians are
narrow-minded, antigay, anti-choice, angry, violent, illogical, empire-building,
convert focused people that cannot live peacefully with others.” Wow, is that
really the image that people have of us or is this just one random, harsh
comment about us? In a national survey that was published in the book
“Unchristian” they found that the three most common perceptions of present-day
Christianity are anti-homosexual, judgmental, and hypocritical. These “big 3” are
followed by old-fashioned, out of touch with reality, insensitive to others, boring
and that we are not accepting of others beliefs. These are the things that come
to mind when people think about Christianity. This is what your friends, maybe
some of your family think about you and your religion; Do you know people who
think that? Does it surprise you that so many people have a negative reaction to
Christianity? Has the way people think about Christians caused you to not even
want to claim to be a Christian…or even not made you want to BE one??
I’m not sure how that makes you feel, but it makes me mad that somehow the
one thing that we’re supposed to do we are obviously failing at.
Romans 13:8-10 says,
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has
fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not
murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are
summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no
wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
So where has all this gotten twisted? Have we just forgotten the example that
Jesus set? Have we become so self-focused that we don’t think about how our
actions and our words affect other people?
Jesus came to earth and loved and respected everyone no matter their social
status or sexual preference. The disciples trusted him so much that they gave up
everything they owned to follow him. Then Jesus showed us ultimate love and
gave us hope by dying on the cross. So why do we, as Christians, not follow his
example? Why are we known as close minded, judgmental, hypocrites? Why do
we spend more time arguing and gossiping about each other than reaching out
and living the life Christ has called us to live? I am tired of being a status quo
Christian; I want to be known for loving others, not judging others. I want to
be known for being true to my word, not for being a hypocrite.
It is time that we as a body of Christ, stop being so concerned with our comfort
level and start being concerned about loving our neighbors! It is time that we
join together as a family and encourage one another to love because he first
loved us.
the Bible: most think it has good values, but only three out of ten believe that it
is accurate in all the principles it teaches.
Jesus receives the most favorable feelings from those surveyed, but even the
clarity of his image has eroded among young people. Most young people can’t
grasp the fact that Jesus never sinned.
“Christians are narrow-minded, antigay, anti-choice, angry, violent, illogical,
empire-building, convert focused people that cannot live peacefully with others.”