Gabe Lyons on Doing Internet Ministry:
“Non-Christians aged 16-29 years old were asked, ‘What is your current perception of Christianity?’
- 91% said antihomosexual
- 87% said judgmental
- 85% said hypocritical
- 78% said old-fashioned
- 75% said too involved in politics
- 72% said out of touch with reality
- 70% said insensitive to others
- 68% said boring
- 64% said not accepting of other faiths
- 61% said confusing”
Fair or unfair? Are we these things?
We often say in counseling others that when someone is offended, the reality of the situation (in a sense) takes second place to the perceived reality.
That is, if someone is offended, it is unhelpful for the offender to demand clarification of the offense so as to show that offense should not have been taken. Rather, apology (explanation) should be humbly, gently, and sensitively made for having given the grounds for offense. Once the situation is “defused” a bit, then we can start talking reality, admit mutual fault, and ask for apology for overreactions.
We call this “peacemaking.”
I wonder what would happen if we applied the same to our apologetics…
(Via ChurchRelevance.)
October 21, 2008 at 10:46 am
You know what these findings really show? That people are too insular and don’t actually intermingle with people of different beliefs (or non-beliefs). Some Christians definitely are all (or some) of those things, but some are decidedly not, obviously. People are too often complacent about stereotypes and bother not questioning them.
October 21, 2008 at 10:56 am
That is exactly it, Lea!
October 21, 2008 at 11:23 am
Precisely, society has grown to where it’s far too easy and often too accepted to stay in one’s own bubble, shout like a raving lunatic while casting stones at other people.
Stats like these do scream what has always been the case: youth in church either don’t market their church experiences enough…or their experiences aren’t worth marketing…or both.
On the flipside, most leaders and those who’ve been in the Faith for a while sometimes forget what needs to be done to reach out to youth.
It’s all about relevance. Scripture and Christ doesn’t have to be watered down or repackaged…but Christianity is free and fun…facts that aren’t often enough shared. Else, why would 68% be deemed boring?
Society has allowed an erosion of what’s fact & fiction, truth & lie, black and white…you get the idea…to become second nature. It’s acceptable to draw up stats like that…take them as fact…and never challenge the data. We are spoon fed information from liberal media sources and never try to research it ourselves.
Funny, is this not the same for our Bible-learning? How much more mature could we be by researching Scripture and dwelling on it.
Jesus spent 3 days in the temple talking to elders about God while his parents looked for him. I can imagine the discussions taking place…the learning and the eye-opening – dare I say heart-opening – wisdom that was shared.
October 22, 2008 at 1:25 am
It takes a lot of pride dumping to be a Christian (well). I do think that sometimes we must speak up on whos fault it is in order to preserve our rights and our message. However, I’m learning that there are so many things that our fellow Christians (and more so our non-christian) accuse us of that sometimes we just need to let Jesus take the sting. Besides… seldom is it you specifically or something you did that they’re upset about. And so we assuming a posture of humility allows us to grow much more and it is as you said the first step to peacemaking.
October 26, 2008 at 3:57 pm
What this shows is that the segment of the population you have chosen to identify with is being judged by the standards of the people you allow to be perceived as your leaders (people like Fallwell for example), who DO fit many of those negative titles.
Don’t kid yourself, there are MANY people out there who identify as christian who are ALL of those things… hell at one time the KKK was considered a “christian organization”…
Having spent time at Stonebrook I don’t believe there are many (any?) there who are (for example) “not accepting of other faiths,” but if you believe there no no Christians out there who do fit these negative stereotypes I suggest YOU all need to “intermingle” more. Remember if it’s a “stereotype” there has to be SOME truth to it, otherwise it would be a misconception.
I repeat (for clarity), I do not think the Stonebrook types and the Rock types are like this, but I do think many of you don’t pay enough attention to how badly some other (for lack of a better term) “fundamentalists” and “christian groups” act.
August 7, 2009 at 6:38 am
I would agree with David. Loud Christian groups are heard more, as are more controversial or unpopular views. People fashion group stereotypes based on those they hear from or about.
Someone may speak against equal rights for homosexuals, and a debate ensues. Or someone writes an editorial that morally judges homosexuals (or other legal but sinful acts). Or a national Christian figure (who preaches against sin and homosexuality) is exposed as a homosexual and/or adulterer himself. Or someone pushes the envelope of tax-free status by speaking too obviously for a particular candidate. None of those scenarios are hard to think of an example of, and those are four of the top five on the poll.
What should happen (but rarely does) is that when a Christian rep says something as if speaking for Christianity, more public rebuking and distancing by other Christians should happen.
When Dobson or some Christian leader gets national attention by saying that disallowing miscegeny is discrimination, but disallowing same sex marriage preserves a tradition, we should see more press releases by the SBC, Catholic Church, or even locally by Stonebrook, saying that they are in no way represented by that person. Otherwise young folks will lump Christianity (or fundamentalism) together, and conflate the objectionable views with non-objectionable churches, as the poll suggests.