Accusing Christians of being hypocrites

[Dan Theman]

The other evening I was watching a YouTube video and then I read the comments section and found another example of a naysayer who goes off the deep end and points out what we hear so, so often blaming Christians for many of the ills of the world. He was responding to another person's comment.

"If you need a god to know what's good and what's evil, you are not a human being, but a puppet. I will never harm anybody because i have a CONSCIENCE and not a human made "faith" which killed millions of innocent people the last thousand years. Of course, people who made slavery into a trade (christians and good churchgoers but also muslims) were still "good" for their community, because then, everybody thought that african people were some kind of animals. Women who died because honorable husbands killed them in the name of God, who died because some <staff edit> priests told them they sinned when they had kids out of wedlocks, who died because they were worthless inferior beings, betrayed, sold, shut in convents in the name of God, well, they probably were all sinners and desserved to die according to the nonsense you just wrote. Goodness or evil belongs to human beings, it has nothing to do with God. After all, this movie didn't tell about God, but about people who cared for each other."

I responded with "Christianity should not be judged on the basis of those who claim to be its adherents, when, in reality, they practice the opposite of what it teaches."

At this point let me say I do not take credit for my response for I found this quote on the website I link to below. I wanted to share this for it was as succinct a response I've ever read or heard on the matter of the topic of my post.

Why Are So Many Christians Hypocrites?

Like most of you, at times we are at a loss as to how best to respond to such criticism and for me this was a keeper. Your thoughts are welcome.

 

[Aleksandros]

Where did this person get their conscience from, then?

I think in most online cases it is wise not to respond to a bitter person, or try to explain to them - they are biased and except in certain cases, it'll splendidly backfire! Their problem is emotional, i.e they hate Christians and due to this, God, for whatever reason.

 

[CoolDude68]

Yeah, well this person is clearly a lost soul and it does bother me when I read such negativity but listen, we as Christians can't make anyone believe, all we can do is share our stories about the good news and then it's in God's hands to change someone.

People don't like to be preached too.

I may have answered that post by telling a story about my own experience in how I thought exactly the same way as he did and keep it short and positive. This way, it keeps them thinking and they'll remember a story easier that reading a scripture quote, for instance.

Your response was fine, but will he remember it? Here's what I might have said:

"I hear ya man. Dude, I use to think the same thing and was confused as anyone. How can a God let things like that happen? Then I realized we live in Satan's domain right now and it's no wonder the world is a mess! I just know one day it'll all make sense and God will provide the answers once we join Him in Heaven. Don't stress about it, open you mind up some and research it for yourself. That's what I did. God is very real, but so is Hell, and there's no way I want to go there! Life can be amazing even though we live in a screwed up world."

With this response he will remember it for sure. I talked to him as a friend, but didn't preach.

 

[grasping the after wind]

The other evening I was watching a YouTube video and then I read the comments section and found another example of a naysayer who goes off the deep end and points out what we hear so, so often blaming Christians for many of the ills of the world. He was responding to another person's comment.

"If you need a god to know what's good and what's evil, you are not a human being, but a puppet. I will never harm anybody because i have a CONSCIENCE and not a human made "faith" which killed millions of innocent people the last thousand years. Of course, people who made slavery into a trade (christians and good churchgoers but also muslims) were still "good" for their community, because then, everybody thought that african people were some kind of animals. Women who died because honorable husbands killed them in the name of God, who died because some <staff edit> priests told them they sinned when they had kids out of wedlocks, who died because they were worthless inferior beings, betrayed, sold, shut in convents in the name of God, well, they probably were all sinners and desserved to die according to the nonsense you just wrote. Goodness or evil belongs to human beings, it has nothing to do with God. After all, this movie didn't tell about God, but about people who cared for each other."

I responded with "Christianity should not be judged on the basis of those who claim to be its adherents, when, in reality, they practice the opposite of what it teaches."

At this point let me say I do not take credit for my response for I found this quote on the website I link to below. I wanted to share this for it was as succinct a response I've ever read or heard on the matter of the topic of my post.

Why Are So Many Christians Hypocrites?

Like most of you, at times we are at a loss as to how best to respond to such criticism and for me this was a keeper. Your thoughts are welcome.

I do not think that I would use that reply at all as the reply assumes that the accusations are legitimate. Which they are not. Slavery and slave trading , for instance, were not inventions of either the Christian or Muslim faith but rather instituted by pagans in some societies or the completely irreligious in others long before either Christ or Mohamed walked the earth. The poster that was being responded to shows little if any actual knowledge of History and that poster's ignorant view ought not to be reinforced by a reply that assumes his/her misconceptions are actually correct .I would instead challenge the basic premise that Christianity is guilty of the crimes the poster has accused it of being guilty of and invite the poster to make a reasonable case with evidence and historic fact rather than emotion and personal assumptions that showed Christians to be any more or less hypocritical than the rest of society. To say "I will never harm anyone" while clearly wishing to cause distress among and place unwarranted blame upon one particular group of people seems quite hypocritical in and of itself.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Where did this person get their conscience from, then?

You mean God right? I guess you could mean your parents too. The ones who teach you right from wrong. Teachers too I suppose. God made them too though.

 

[Dan Theman]

I hear what you're saying CoolDude68 but this guy and others like him don't at this time accept the Bible, don't accept God, don't accept anything Christian, he certainly doesn't accept the idea of a satan, none of this is real to him. Without getting into a verbal battle with such a person, I prefer just a simple response that may plant a seed. That is my hope.

 

[Dan Theman]

I'm just not understanding why you (grasping after the wind) think my response would lead one to think his accusations are legitimate or that his/her misconceptions are actually correct. As I mentioned earlier I didn't want to get into a back and forth with him.

 

[Dan Theman]

You mean God right? I guess you could mean your parents too. The ones who teach you right from wrong. Teachers too I suppose. God made them too though.

I believe we are all born with a conscience, however for the Christian it is the Holy Spirit that indwells us that convicts us of wrong thinking, doing, etc. For everyone our experiences, parenting, culture, and the like have influence on what we deem good or evil.

 

[Ken Rank]

The other evening I was watching a YouTube video and then I read the comments section and found another example of a naysayer who goes off the deep end and points out what we hear so, so often blaming Christians for many of the ills of the world. He was responding to another person's comment.

"If you need a god to know what's good and what's evil, you are not a human being, but a puppet. I will never harm anybody because i have a CONSCIENCE and not a human made "faith" which killed millions of innocent people the last thousand years. Of course, people who made slavery into a trade (christians and good churchgoers but also muslims) were still "good" for their community, because then, everybody thought that african people were some kind of animals. Women who died because honorable husbands killed them in the name of God, who died because some <staff edit> priests told them they sinned when they had kids out of wedlocks, who died because they were worthless inferior beings, betrayed, sold, shut in convents in the name of God, well, they probably were all sinners and desserved to die according to the nonsense you just wrote. Goodness or evil belongs to human beings, it has nothing to do with God. After all, this movie didn't tell about God, but about people who cared for each other."

I responded with "Christianity should not be judged on the basis of those who claim to be its adherents, when, in reality, they practice the opposite of what it teaches."

At this point let me say I do not take credit for my response for I found this quote on the website I link to below. I wanted to share this for it was as succinct a response I've ever read or heard on the matter of the topic of my post.

Why Are So Many Christians Hypocrites?

Like most of you, at times we are at a loss as to how best to respond to such criticism and for me this was a keeper. Your thoughts are welcome.

There is no response to a guy like this for one reason, he isn't seeking. And if he isn't seeking he won't find. He is repeating things he hears, a couple of truths mixed with untruths and assumptions and is drawing a false conclusion. But again, he can't see that his conclusion is false because he isn't asking, he is telling. And as long as he isn't asking, he won't hear.

 

[CrystalDragon]

The other evening I was watching a YouTube video and then I read the comments section and found another example of a naysayer who goes off the deep end and points out what we hear so, so often blaming Christians for many of the ills of the world. He was responding to another person's comment.

"If you need a god to know what's good and what's evil, you are not a human being, but a puppet. I will never harm anybody because i have a CONSCIENCE and not a human made "faith" which killed millions of innocent people the last thousand years. Of course, people who made slavery into a trade (christians and good churchgoers but also muslims) were still "good" for their community, because then, everybody thought that african people were some kind of animals. Women who died because honorable husbands killed them in the name of God, who died because some <staff edit> priests told them they sinned when they had kids out of wedlocks, who died because they were worthless inferior beings, betrayed, sold, shut in convents in the name of God, well, they probably were all sinners and desserved to die according to the nonsense you just wrote. Goodness or evil belongs to human beings, it has nothing to do with God. After all, this movie didn't tell about God, but about people who cared for each other."

I responded with "Christianity should not be judged on the basis of those who claim to be its adherents, when, in reality, they practice the opposite of what it teaches."

At this point let me say I do not take credit for my response for I found this quote on the website I link to below. I wanted to share this for it was as succinct a response I've ever read or heard on the matter of the topic of my post.

Why Are So Many Christians Hypocrites?

Like most of you, at times we are at a loss as to how best to respond to such criticism and for me this was a keeper. Your thoughts are welcome.

Playing devil's advocate here in that person's defense, a lot of that stuff WAS supported and even commanded in the Bible so technically yes, those people do practice what it teaches. Or at least what the Old Testament teaches, which us Christians don't throw away. So technically that person is right in some cases.

 

[CrystalDragon]

There is no response to a guy like this for one reason, he isn't seeking. And if he isn't seeking he won't find. He is repeating things he hears, a couple of truths mixed with untruths and assumptions and is drawing a false conclusion. But again, he can't see that his conclusion is false because he isn't asking, he is telling. And as long as he isn't asking, he won't hear.

Honestly reading the Old Testament I can confirm that's not a "false conclusion"

 

[SkyWriting]

Why Are So Many Christians Hypocrites?

At this point let me say I do not take credit for my response for I found this quote on the website I link to below. I wanted to share this for it was as succinct a response I've ever read or heard on the matter of the topic of my post.
Why Are So Many Christians Hypocrites?
Like most of you, at times we are at a loss as to how best to respond to such criticism and for me this was a keeper. Your thoughts are welcome.

All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
As Jesus pointed out, this disqualifies us humans
from being able to pass (capitol) judgment on others.
Every human is a hypocrite.

3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Paul also explained that hypocrisy is our lot in life.

Struggling with Sin

Romans 7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. 16 And if I do what I do not desire, I admit that the Law is good. 17 In that case, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. 20 And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s Law. 23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

[EpiscipalMe]

There is no doubt that terrible things have been done in the name of God, but that does not make these actions of God.

Hypocrites are everywhere, including in our churches. This does not invalidate our faith.

Live a Christian life and lead by example.

 

[Ken Rank]

Honestly reading the Old Testament I can confirm that's not a "false conclusion"

Playing devil's advocate here in that person's defense, a lot of that stuff WAS supported and even commanded in the Bible so technically yes, those people do practice what it teaches. Or at least what the Old Testament teaches, which us Christians don't throw away. So technically that person is right in some cases.

The mainstream Christian view of the sacrifices, even of God in the OT, is skewed. Because of this teaching, those who have been raised around Christianity but who now reject God see two things... hypocrisy by many Christians and also a angry God who seeks to destroy. Both are false.... Christians have not been perfected yet and therefore remain imperfect (we strive for perfection but won't taste it in it's fullness until His return) and God is the same yesterday, today, and forever... He does not change. If He was a God of law back then, He is today or He changed. If He is a God of grace today, He always has been or He changed. Throw in the fact that we lack understanding when it comes to sacrifices and thus walk away seeing Him as a bloodthirsty ogre. The truth is, the "sweet aroma" that ascends to His throne during the sacrifice isn't the burnt flesh of an animal He created and called "good," it is the heart condition of the child of God who knows that the animal being offered died because is his own sins.

I didn't say the person wasn't correct at all... if you go back to my post you'll see that I said he is mixing "a couple of truths mixed with untruths and assumptions." I stand by that... some of what he says is true, most is assumptions based on incomplete evidence and understanding.

 

[FireDragon76]

People like this are often just seeking to dodge moral responsibility themselves, the moral responsibility they know a religion like Christianity demands. So they look for low standards to measure themselves against, instead of God's standards. Easier to grumble about "pedophile priests", the history of Christian slavery, or hypocrisies among Christians than to actually have to face down to the little, and not so little, things you do every day.

 

[FireDragon76]

One of my favorite stories that hits close to this topic is about Confucius. One time he visited a king and the king complained that he couldn't find honest advisors and he wanted to know what he could do to find honest advisors. Confucius said "Be honest yourself". The human tendency is to pass the buck to somebody else, to make virtue somebody else's problem.

 

[SkyWriting]

One of my favorite stories that hits close to this topic is about Confucius. One time he visited a king and the king complained that he couldn't find honest advisors and he wanted to know what he could do to find honest advisors. Confucius said "Be honest yourself". The human tendency is to pass the buck to somebody else, to make virtue somebody else's problem.

Be true to yourself. Treat others well.

James 4:17
So whoever knows the right thing to do
and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Mathew 7: 12
In everything then, do unto others as you would have them
do unto you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.

 

[grasping the after wind]

I'm just not understanding why you (grasping after the wind) think my response would lead one to think his accusations are legitimate or that his/her misconceptions are actually correct. As I mentioned earlier I didn't want to get into a back and forth with him.

He makes quite a few either completely incorrect or somewhat inaccurate statements. By saying that not all people that say they are Christians act like they are supposed to act, as a way of defending Christianity, you fail to refute the inaccuracies and downright untruths that the poster has posted. In so doing, you have given him leave to continue not only to believe but to broadcast his inaccurate beliefs as you do not dispute what he has said that is incorrect thereby to his mind tacitly acknowledging that his version of history is correct and you are merely proposing that that the guilt he ascribes to Christianity as a whole belongs only to some that say they are Christians. If his statements were completely factual then your response would be appropriate but since many of them are not factual at all I find it an inadequate response. Christians often act poorly and often in contradiction to what the religion and certainly Christ would advocate but not every evil done under the sun, and certainly not the institution of slavery , the slave trade or racism is the fault of someone claiming to be a Christian coming up with the practice.
I can surely understand not wanting to get into a back and forth with a person that seems so emotionally unprepared to listen an alternate view.
Sometimes it is best to simply not engage in conversation with someone that one can tell beforehand will not likely listen to anything that does not reinforce their own view.

 

[Dan Theman]

Ken Rank, there is a great example of one in the NT that was not seeking yet was transformed into a mighty servant for Him. Paul. Others as well. God will call the unwilling so lets not assume that the person I originally wrote of will not hear and come to know the Lord.

 

[Shempster]

The title alone tells me that this is a bad idea on every level. Satan is called the "accuser of the brethren", so I think doing it is helping him out, know what I'm sayin?

If you are alive and breathing then you are a hypocrite in some form or another. Its called being human. We can't help it but with the help of the spirit, habits of hypocrisy (meaning acting the opposite of the philosophy one claims) should decrease with maturity.