Judgemental

Through a message series at our church we are facing the perceptions unchurched people have of organized Christianity. (See the Barna group research results compiled in David Kinnamon's UnChristian. ) Some of those perceptions are not positive. Right or wrong, perception is reality until proven otherwise. Among those perceptions in play, people who are not connected with churches tend to see Christian people as judgemental; intolerant of other people's beliefs and presenting an air of superiority.

This perception poses a particular problem for followers of Jesus. On one hand, there is a particularity to our faith. We do believe that God is fully revealed in a particular person, who lived at a particular time in history, in a specific place, among a unique kind of people. We proclaim that all humanity's hope and destiny is found in this individual's death and resurrection, which is a matter of history record. We affirm that no one comes to God except through this particular individual. At root, we do not accept that all faiths are equally valid.

On the other hand, Jesus himself disallows a posture of superiority and judgement. Evidence for this abound in our own Bible. We are not to judge, lest we be judged. We are to esteem others a better than ourselves. With his dying breaths, Jesus forgave the very people who did not believe in him and who engineered his execution. We do not have the right or leeway to judge and attack those who don't believe the way we believe. In fact, Jesus makes clear that they are our mission field.

So what are we to do? I believe we've received a clue in the way a follower of Jesus called Paul handled being surrounded by the challenge of other faiths. Find a Bible and locate the book of Acts, the 17th chapter, verses 16 through 23. What do you think of the way Paul handles the situation?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.