An Uncomfortable Talk: My Take on Christianity

A close personal friend of mine, who happens to be gay, was just publicly tormented during a protest at his college. A group of people claiming to be Christians picketed the school’s (newly enforced) zero tolerance policy against harassment regarding public displays of affection between all couples. This means that everyone is free to kiss, hold hands, and be out in the open with their partner of choice – without having to worry about being tortured.

These “Christian” protesters brought about the very opposite of what I believe Christianity is about: Love. But instead of showing the unwavering love that is taught so strongly throughout the Bible, they brought fear and hate to those around them and chose to hide behind their religion in order to do so. And it is so, so sad.

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I am a Christian. As in, I believe in Jesus and God and the fact that God sent Jesus to die and save humanity from their sins. But most people who don’t see me in church don’t know that I’m a Christian because I don’t like to talk about it.
Why?

Because I am scared to be lumped into the overwhelming majority of what the mainstream view of Christianity has become. I am ashamed that so many people hate and fear in the name of Christ.  I worry that people will automatically assume that I am something that I am not and write me off before they get the chance to know the truth.

The sheer number of people (and whole churches!) I know and/or have come in contact with who hide behind their religion as “Christians” in order to judge, slander, and otherwise bring down those who they deem as less is getting out of hand – both online and in real life.

To anyone who has been cast away by a so-called Christian, I apologize and can assure you that not all of us are that way.

Somewhere in the Bible (and by “somewhere” I mean Mark 12:31), someone asks Jesus what the greatest commandments are. The second one he lists is to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

To me, that means get off your high horse and love the guy next to you who might be different, but is shockingly similar to you (you are both human, after all). That means despite your varying skin tones, genuinely give that woman a chance. That means that just because you’re heterosexual and your neighbors are homosexuals, you don’t have an excuse to not love them. Rich, poor, black, white, purple, tattooed, pierced, eight-armed… whatever it is that makes someone different than you is no excuse to not love them.

To me it means that as a human (sinner) it is not my job to do the judging. It is my job to love.

Somewhere else in the Bible (and by “somewhere” I mean John 8), Jesus clearly says,  “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” He says this in regard to a woman who was caught committing adultery. When the town hears of this they call her a harlot and are ready to stone her to death.

The point? We are all imperfect people. We have no right to judge others for their wrongdoings because no matter what they’ve done, we’ve done something wrong too. To me, this means that two imperfect people do not a good judgment make. It isn’t up to me to determine the destiny of someone else’s soul when I am every bit as much a sinner as they are.

What it means to me in practice? Instead of judging people who are different than me, I try to accept them. I say I try, because I don’t always succeed. But rather than following the ways of the more conservative, radical Christian believers by judging those who are not exactly like me in lifestyle,  creed, race, sexuality, and whatever  else there is….I try my hardest to keep my heart and mind open to everyone.

In short, it breaks my heart to see so-called Christians pitted against other members of our human family. It kills me to hear religious groups telling their followers that homosexuals are unforgivable. Or that pro-choice people are directly going against the orders of God and should be punished for such. Or that women are somehow less than men.* Or that (insert nationality of choice here) are all terrorists and hate Christianity so we must retaliate.

That kind of judgment based on a religion based on God’s all-encompassing love for his creation? I just don’t get it.

*As a side note to the women are less than men thing, I have never been inclined to feel as though I need to walk paces behind my husband. As I see it, if God made women from man’s rib  (his side!), it was a symbol that we are to be side-by-side – as equal partners in life. Otherwise, He’d have chosen the spine, buttocks, or other rear-facing body part to create the woman from. Ahem.

So perhaps I’m just an incredibly liberal, hippy-dippy, tree-hugging, animal-saving, human-rights-activist with a religious twist. Perhaps I’m a “bad Christian” for not taking every single thing in the Bible literally and creating a radical lifestyle for my family. Maybe because I’m pro-choice, anti-hate, and open to people from all walks of life, I don’t qualify as a Christian anymore. Maybe I’m doing it wrong by feeling like loving people is my number one priority as a Christian.

Or maybe I’m doing just fine.
There’s only one way to find out….

Until then, I guess I’ll keep on loving. There’s not much else to be done.

I would like to add that this in no way means that I think I am not judgmental. Although I try to not be, it is inevitable that in some way, I judge others when I shouldn’t. I don’t always open my heart the way I should. I don’t always walk with my beliefs, and it isn’t always easy for me. I am not claiming to be perfect or to hate others who believe differently than I do. I’m just explaining my take on my faith. That’s all.

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