John Sweetman
I have been reading a fascinating book (Nick Spencer and Graham Tomlin, The Responsive Church, IVP, 2005) about Christians and their mission in society. I really am wanting to be a more missional leader. Last week we looked at society's view of Christian beliefs. Here are some thoughts on society's views of Christians themselves - what people think about us.
What people think about Christians
Most people seem to have a love/hate relationship with the word "Christian." On the one hand, they will call themselves Christian, and on the other, they will criticise Christians. It's as though they have two different concepts of a Christian. One is the unofficial Christian who they want to identify with, and the other is the official Christian who they dislike.
They see the unofficial Christian person as a good person and a solid Australian. Christian in this unofficial sense means kind, caring and, most of all, tolerant and accepting. Any sign of judgementalism or intolerance is seen as unchristian. There is also a nationalistic edge to the term. Australia is seen as a Christian nation and the majority who live here are positive about their Christian roots. For example, they are happy to call themselves Christian in a census.
Conversely, the official Christian person (that's us) is seen as religious and is associated with stuffiness, legalism, hypocrisy, war, naivety, Bible-bashing, extremism and intolerance. The interesting thing is that even when people have actually experienced the love and generosity of real Christians, they still tend to retreat to their stereotypes of Christians, viewing their personal experience as abnormal. They presume that the official media and community perspective must be right.
Christians are not seen as being truly Christian for two main reasons. First, we are intolerant about the wrong things (that is, the things that most people are tolerant about like sex, morals, personal freedom). Second, we are hypocritical because we proclaim a moral code that we don't keep. Actually, unofficial Christian people pride themselves on their own moral code but it's personal and private so they can never actually be accused of hypocrisy. Only those brave or stupid enough to pronounce their moral code can be pronounced hypocritical.
How Christians can respond
This is not a new problem. The early church faced similar image difficulties and was unfairly criticised and persecuted. Yet the Bible emphasises the importance of reputation (1 Tim. 3:7; Rom. 12:17-18). Christians need to work on their image. We strive for good reputations.
We will always be liable to charges of hypocrisy if we proclaim the difference Christianity makes and then live in much the same way as everyone else. There has to be a noticeable difference.
We need to make the Kingdom of God visible so that Christianity will be aligned with goodness, compassion and generosity.
This is the biblical emphasis. Peter says: "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people" (1 Pet. 2:15). Real Christianity is not just the absence of evil but the presence of good. Christians need to be known for what they do, not just for what they oppose.
We also need to let our Christian faith and identity be known. This is how we show that the gospel is more than a private choice. We need to be more public about our faith and to adopt a more conscious sense of Christian identity. We don't force our views on others, but are open about our Christian faith - talking about God, reading our Bible publicly, speaking openly about our church or the ways we are serving others, praying for people. The Christian faith has to be far more visible in people if perceptions are to change.
