Over the centuries Christianity has worn some very ugly faces. During the Crusades, Inquisition, and witch hunts Christianity appeared to be made up intolerant murderers who rounded up anyone who did not agree with them. Clearly current Christians are embarrassed by this dark past. I suspect that throughout these periods of religious fanaticism there were millions of loving compassionate Christians who met in secret even at the risk of death. Undoubtedly Christianity would not have survived these religious disasters if there weren’t dedicated Christians behind the scenes who portrayed the true face of Christ.
Today on the news, I saw reports of faith groups who are marching in Texas to make sure that discrimination remains lawful against gays and lesbians. What would Jesus have said about such intolerance? His amazing tolerance earned Him much criticism. Even though intolerance was the religious rule in Jesus’ day, Jesus ate with sinners, invited them to be His disciples, spoke to them when that was forbidden (Samaritan woman), and healed them. He called the untouchable Samaritans “neighbors” in his famous Good Samaritan parable. Religious leaders in His day, like many of today, disregarded charity, hospitality, love, and peace, and instead elevated discrimination against sinners as the public face of Judaism.
What did Jesus say about those who masterminded and enforced such discrimination? He called them “whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones,” “snakes!,” “broods of vipers.” 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give ….. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:13-36
The public face of Christianity today is one of intolerance and hatred, much like the Pharisees that Jesus talked against. The general public sees Christians as against homosexuality, evolution, science, abortion, and gun control. They clearly are more interested in keeping their wealth and power than in spreading the GOOD news and helping the poor and ill. Unless a person already knows the amazing grace and the peace that passes all understanding, why would he or she want anything to do with this judgmental, angry religion? Yet these religious leaders, like those in Jesus day, believed that they were doing God’s work.
The religious leaders who burned witches at the stake thought they were doing God’s work. The Crusaders who wore the cross on their vests and shields as they murdered people in Christ’s name thought they were doing God’s work. The priests of the Inquisition thought they were doing God’s work when they jailed or burned anyone who was thought to have committed heresy, such as those who read forbidden religious books or disagreed with the Church hierarchy. Christians who wore white hoods to harass and murder blacks in America had convinced themselves that they were doing God’s work and quoted Biblical passages to support slavery. The people who yelled “Crucify Him” outside Pilot’s home two thousand years ago also thought they were doing God’s work.
Jesus said you will know them by their works. We have to ask ourselves whether Jesus would have us tend to the poor, ill, and weak, or would He be encouraging the discrimination, ridicule, and exclusion is common with some Christians? We have come a long way in understanding these teachings of Jesus since the Inquisition, the Crusades and legalized slavery, but we have a long, long way to go to embrace his amazing grace for everyone.
Jesus came into the world, not “to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17
Read more UnChristian What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity.. and Why It Matters. by Christian researcher, David Kinnaman.