It's very common to see Christians/Christianity being mocked, questioned and slandered. Whether it be amongst your peers or on mainstream media, without a doubt there'll be a time where you witness an attack on the faith. As a Christian it can be disheartening and leads us to the question "why do we get so much scrutiny?"
There's an array of reasons but let us discuss a few.
Genuine Christians. If we look at numbers, we'll see that the majority of the world identify as Christians. This is most likely because their parents were and so if they had to tick a box on a form they would tick Christian. However, as we've discussed in our previous blogs (What is a Christian? Part 1-3) you'll find that these people that label themselves as Christians are not followers of Christ and so technically are not Christians. Why is this a problem? This means that these individuals live their lives as they please attaching the title Christian to it. Their lifestyles are most likely contrary to the word of God which means whatever they do is being attached to the religion. Imagine they chose to call themselves something else, that would leave far less Christians in the world but the remaining ones (most) would be a far better representations of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:2
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
Christian examples. This could be someone you know or someone from social media. In life we tend to look up to people. Whether its down to their talent, wisdom, success, we often admire certain people. Being in the limelight as we know means most of your life is available for us to view. With this comes a-lot of judgement, accountability and scepticism. Why is this a problem? If you have a big audience and your actions are contradicting the bible, how will that look for the religion as a whole? Many people watching may have heard about Jesus but will not know about the love of Christ. If your lifestyle is displeasing to the Lord, how will this emulate his light? Instead what we find happens is that Christians get hold to this standard and it repels people to the faith but not from your fame.
1 Peter 4:1
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.
This chapter is titled Living For God and clearly outlines what is and isn't accepted as followers of Christ.
Bad experiences. People leave church after a bad experience with a fellow member or disagree with what the pastor/priest said. If you leave because you don't agree with the teachings, so be it. However, a lot of the time we find that people leave due to altercations, differences or lack of friendships. An example, a new comer attends church and upon arrival is not greeted, not seated and once the service is done finds them self standing alone whilst the rest of the church socialise. Not only is this poor hospitality, but completely contrary to the word of God. We are taught to love however sometimes our actions as Christians do not portray God. The sad part about that is people leave the house of God for reasons that don't bring glory to God.
Jude 1:18
They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
Various denominations. Over the years we are seeing more and more sectors of Christianity. Something that outsiders find misleading. The fact that we have so many different groups brings on questioning as to why Christians can not unify and which denomination is the right one. Over time we may even see more variations to come. As Christian's we should be able to unify in the fact that we believe in Jesus Christ as the messiah.
So why does Christianity get so much scrutiny? Because we have Christians who don't act accordingly and because the church is divided. On top of this Christians are perceived as timid and easy to mock with no repercussions. When inappropriate jokes are made about our Lord we tend to take the Jesus approach (turn cheek, love enemies). Yes Jesus was the lamb, but he was also the lion. We should stand bold to defend our faith. This is not something new, the bible warned us about mockery. See scriptures below.
Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 10:22
22You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
The bible also speaks about making a brother/sister/child stumble hence we must me very mindful as to how we carry ourselves and portray our faith.
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