Some interesting insights into the culture from the Baptist Press:
Only 16 percent of non-Christians in their late teens and 20s say they have a good impression of Christianity, and one of the most frequent criticisms is that the church has made homosexuality a bigger sin than anything else, according to a recent study by The Barna Group.
I can understand why many might say this; after all, homosexual issues dominate the headlines perhaps more than any other single social issue. Christians will be seen opposing it more often than anything else simply because the agenda is being pushed on more fronts than anything else.
But there is another good reason why the general public might perceive an over-emphasis on homosexuality by Christians, and it bears a strong relationship with the reason mentioned in the last paragraph. Probably no other immoral behavior is defended with such insistence that it is normal, natural and healthy. Even among those who defend the Supreme Court-granted right to abortion, there is still for the most part a recognition that abortion is not a good thing, that it is not an act to be proud of.
Not so with homosexuality. Homosexuality is pushed on society as not a choice, but an innate trait, like skin color or sex. The media works full time to help homosexuals present the image that homosexuals and homosexual couples are no different in any way than heterosexuals or heterosexual couples; in fact, it is said that the "gay" term stands for Good As You.
You will not find any immoral behavior that is defended more broadly, deeply, or vociferously. Can you imagine the same vehement, "normal, natural and healthy," civil-rights language used by homosexuals being applied to: abortion, lying, theft, drunkenness, drug use, prostitution, tax evasion, racial epithets, rudeness, parental disobedience, or ______________ (insert behavior here)? I dare say you can't.
Therefore, the refusal of Christians to give their blessing to that which the Bible makes abundantly clear in both Old and New Testaments to be abhorrent to God, makes Christians stand out from the culture. It makes them appear, well, judgmental. Which brings us to some other findings in the article:
Common negative perceptions that today's youth have, Barna said, are that Christianity is judgmental (87 percent), hypocritical (85 percent), old-fashioned (78 percent) and too involved in politics (75 percent).
The perception of judgmentalism comes directly from what I've just said.
The perception of hypocrisy is also somewhat understandable, given that our culture has for the most part lost it's understanding of Christianity and what it means. Most Christians understand that while we remain flawed creatures who continue to sin in this life, we are called to strive to obey God's rules, and we are called to speak those as truth to the rest of the world.
Our espousal of God's standards in no way means we meet those standards, or even believe that we do (believe me, I am well aware of how far short I fall from full obedience to God's standard).
But the fact that we fall short of that standard in no way alleviates us of the responsibility to aim for it. Would you tell your son or daughter the first--or even second--time they tried to ride a bike, that they must do it perfectly or don't even try? Would you expect your employer at a new job to tell you, "I expect you to do this perfectly and completely the first day, or don't even try." Would you hold a potential policeman to the standard: "If you've ever exceeded the speed limit or run a stop sign, you can't be a cop." (Certainly if one habitually abused the law, he wouldn't deserve the privilege of being a policeman, but I think you get the point).
It is often easier for non-Christians to take the position that since they can't fully obey God, that it's better not even to try (to try and fail might put them in the company of those "Christian hypocrites," after all). This seems to be the default position of liberals in general: better to not promote moral behavior at all, than to promote it and fail to live up to it.
It's unfortunate that our country has so lost touch with it's Christian heritage that so many people no longer understand the things I've just said. But Christians should remember what Jesus told us: "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." And "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man." And "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."
Our call is to continue to be the salt and light of the world. If those who view us as judgmental and hypocrites are ever to change and see the truth, we have to hold fast to the truth and keep telling them. If Christians don't tell them the truth, who will?
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