15th October, 2010

JEFF BAKER

It's always easier to throw stones than build bridges. The Christian imperative is that we should build bridges to be true to our faith, but an added irony of bridge building is that there really is no 'other side'. The Apostle Paul was a great bridge builder. He said he tried to find common ground with whoever he was with; Jew or Gentile, believer or non-believer. Common ground does not need to mean compromise on one's convictions, but the sharing of our common humanity, and so the sharing of differences can, in most cases, occur peacefully.

Reading a Barna Christian research paper that has analysed some negative ideas many non-Christians have about Christians was both disturbing and challenging for me. These were their findings on those negative opinions. From them I've written down my reflections, attempted to personalise a response, and so perhaps put some more steel and rivets in the bridges I want to build.

Christians were often seen as...

• Hypocritical: "Christians say one thing and do another; they hold to a moral superiority."

     If we as Christians somehow communicate (deliberately or ignorantly), that we are 'better' than others, then inevitably we will rightly wear the 'hypocrite' label in the eyes of many. I think that when I am standing on high moral ground, it could be easily interpreted as hypocrisy. In fact, as a believer, I aspire to high moral values, yet do not keep those high standards very well. I fail. I fail regularly. Should I then never speak or comment on moral issues from a Christian perspective lest I appear morally superior? This is a dilemma when I want to discuss good and bad, right and wrong, and communicate my beliefs. However, I am also aware that I am under grace, through faith, that covers and compensates my own failings. I think I need to try harder to mix an equal amount of compassion to every moral comment I make, and find ways to not seem superior or condescending when I do.

     Short answer: Christians all fail their own beliefs; we are not accepted by God because we are morally good, on the contrary, we are accepted by God because we acknowledge we are not and ask for His forgiveness and help to change.

• Too political: "Christians can be seen by many as too aggressively political, or overly motivated by political agenda."

     Although two-thirds of Australian's believe in God, conservative values seem "out of touch" for many. We can also be seen as preoccupied with right-wing political agendas. Non-Christians can typically identify well known Christians in politics more readily than music, sport, business, or the movies. I would like to be identified as one who believes firmly about things, and possesses unique solutions to life's problems while also respecting others' perspectives. Perhaps I don't communicate this well sometimes when I put forward my opinion.

     Short answer: Christians have strong values yet respect every person's individual choices. We should try to keep this equilibrium in how we relate to people and discuss the issues of life.

• Too focused on getting converts:  "Non-Christians often feel like they are targets or religious game. They question the motive to get people 'saved', and can doubt that Christians genuinely care about them."

     I think clichés and bumper stickers cheapen the message of Christ. I have stood on the corner and shouted at the world, and assumed I was "preaching the Gospel". In our society today, people are mostly literate, generally educated, and bombarded daily with advertising. We have learned, in a modern world, to filter and process mountains of information - surfing through TV channels, the internet, and making rapid choices. The average manager spends 30 seconds on a resume and ruthlessly discards 90 per cent of them. As shoppers, we whisk past thousands of products and services in the malls and supermarkets, our eyes flitting back and forth constantly making evaluations. Yet we will stop when we see something of genuine value to us.

     It was not a "turn or burn" t-shirt, or a infomercial-style American Christian TV show that caught my attention to the Christianity. It was a genuine friend with an authentic faith; it was a neighbour who shared her story over coffee and conversation, and friendly stranger's proposal with no strings attached that drew me to experience Jesus myself. I need to remember that sometimes it's my insecurity or some bizarre guilt-driveness that can cause me to reduce an awesome message into a monologue or at worst a manipulation of the conscience.

     Short answer: Christians carry a fantastic testimony of God's personal intervention in their lives. It doesn't even need wrapping! In that context the Gospel could not be more compelling to a person seeking the 'real thing'.

• Antihomosexual:  Some say "Christians are bigoted and homophobic; they disdain gays and lesbians, and are fixated on curing them or leveraging politics against them."

     Homosexuality is a strange sexual phenomenon in our world today. I can be threatened by its conflict with my Christian values of marriage and family and outraged by the political agenda being forced upon me. While the Bible and believers confess that homosexuality is wrong, it's good to remember that there are many things we, as humans, do equally wrong. A sophisticated businessman cheating on his wife is just as wrong. Spectacular sins are no more evil that covert ones; behind them all are people who have high intrinsic value to God, and therefore to me.

     Short answer: As salvaged sinners themselves, Christians hate sin, yet love the sinner.

• Superficial:  "Christians are viewed by many as shallow, disconnected from reality and the grit and grime of people's lives; relying on simplistic blanket religious solutions to the complex problems of life."

     I can sometimes forget the great story of the Good Samaritan. That in the busy day-to-day affairs of life, study, work, play, family and friends, I can be tempted to offer Bandaids to cover gaping wounds in people outside my comfortable circle. A pithy cliché, a spiritual slogan, or favourite Bible verse are not the answer people in need are seeking. Our 'modern' lives are so busy and preoccupied with so many things that people can live totally alone in a city of millions.

     Short answer: Christians practice the art of downsising so that there is plenty of time to genuinely care for the people they pass each day.

Concluding thoughts:  Religiosity is an enemy within for all those who desire to be spiritual. Introspections, like these above, are great spiritual disciplines to combine with our relationship to God - while, of course, remembering that I am far from perfect. After all, Jesus, unlike the Ten Commandments, embodies more than truth. "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1: 17) Truth may represent the confident ground we stand upon in the midst of a sea of ambiguity and confusion today, but grace is demonstrated in the bridges we build to each other as we struggle through life together. And the added benefit is that every bridge we build provides an avenue for others to connect back to us. Happy constructions!

Jeff Baker is an English and sociology student at Murdoch University, Western Australia.

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