Pastor Mark Driscoll
Defining Christian
Before we can discuss whether or not someone is a Christian hypocrite, we need a solid definition of what a Christian is. Sometimes people who do not act like Christians are not actually hypocrites; they are in fact not Christians at all. Believers might assume everyone gets this point. But as various focus groups sought to define “Christian” their answers included not only historical branches of the faith like Catholics and Protestants but other brands completely disconnected from Christian truth:
- Jehovah’s Witnesses—the “doorknockers” who see Jesus as a created being rather than eternal and fully God and are considered a cult by Christians
- Mormons—also called by one focus group member “the evangelical Christians on bikes”—a group that puts other sacred books alongside the Bible and teaches that Jesus came to America while denying His full divinity and are considered a cult or separate religion by Christians
- Libertarianism—a political ideology
- Scientology—one of several groups most Christians consider cults
- Hinduism—an entirely different polytheistic faith
- Buddhism—another belief system unrelated to Christianity
- Wicca—witchcraft that puts a modern spin on ancient paganism and is as close to becoming Christian as I am to becoming a Cadillac
People who become Christians later in life without years of soaking up information and experiences in church often relate to those wide-ranging answers. Before we jump on anyone for knowing so little about our faith, we should own the fact that most Christians would struggle to accurately explain the difference between Shintoism, Sikhism, Scientology and a sandwich. Christians often assume too much. It is unreasonable to assume that in a world as large and diverse as this planet that outsiders will understand what it means to be a real Christian or what constitutes the real church.
Whatever our faith, our goal should be to get beyond shallow first impressions of others. If you dislike a group and want to justify your prejudice, just look for individuals who prove your point and turn them into stereotypes that let you broad-brush everyone. If we do this by gender—we call it sexism. Do this by class—it is classism. Do this by race—it is racism. Do this by age—it is ageism. Do this by religious affiliation—well, there is no specific word. But it is nevertheless unfair, prejudicial, and bigoted. If you want to vilify Muslims, for example, just grab a few headlines about religiously-minded terrorists and smear all Muslims as violent. If you don’t like Christians, just grab some questionable soundbites about religiously-minded hypocrites—or some juicy details about professing Christians you know—and tag all church folk as hypocrites.
In the spirit of pushing back, imagine if the tables were turned? Why is it okay to say negative blanket statements about “most Christians”? Can you imagine the backlash from the Intolerista if something similar was said about an entire group of people based upon such things as gender, race, culture, age, or sexual orientation? How about this one, “most non-Christians are hypocrites when they judge Christians.”
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