Popular Misconceptions Associated with Christianity

Christianity, by definition, is simply a "religion based on the life, teachings, and example of Jesus Christ." (Encarta Dictionary). The rulebook for the Christian faith is widely accepted as the Bible, which is believed by Christians to be the wholly ordained Word of God and contains all we need to know about the life, teachings, and example of Jesus Christ. Still, despite the fact that we have these sacred writings to direct our paths, there still seems to be some confusion, even amongst Christian believers, as to what Christianity is all about.

Misconception #1 - Christianity is a Specific, Universally Defined Belief System

As a Christian who made a public profession of my faith in Jesus Christ at the age of 7 and has attended a variety of protestant Christian churches since my grandmother first enrolled me in the Cradle Roll at the First Baptist Church of Whiting, Indiana, when I was four days old, I tell you from first-hand experience not all Christians believe the same things.

While, to my knowledge, all Christians (as defined as a follower of Christ) believe the Bible to be the authoritative Word of God, not all Christians interpret the teachings of the Bible in the same manner. These varying interpretations have created the different denominations of Christianity.

There is a general consensus on the main tenants of the faith, such as Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God, who came into the world in the form of man and died on the cross in payment for the sins of man. He was resurrected to life on the third day, and currently reigns with God in heaven. Only the blood of Christ acts as an atonement to God for our sins. We are not forgiven by any act of works that we may do but only by the grace of God.

Still, there are a wide-range of beliefs on topics such as drinking alcohol, dancing, taking communion, feet washing, speaking in tongues, where deceased souls are awaiting the return of Jesus Christ, and even on the doctrine of "once saved, always saved."

When in a quandary about what to believe, I go directly to the Bible and to prayer - speaking to God directly. As a result, I have often found myself at odds with some of the teachings of churches I have attended. The Primitive Baptist Church taught that I was not scripturally baptized if I was not baptized by a minister of the Primitive Baptist faith. I believed very strongly that my emersion by a Conservative Baptist pastor was scriptural and that it was not necessary for me to be re-baptized. While we continued to attend that church for a while based on other like-minded beliefs, I never became an official member.

For me, the big thing to remember is I am accountable to God. It is He that I will stand before in judgment at the end of my life, not any deacon board. As a result, I attend a church that most closely aligns with my spiritual beliefs and live my life seeking to learn and grow according to Biblical principles more so than any denominational criteria.

Misconception #2 - Christianity is Complicated

Christianity, as the act of following Jesus Christ not as a religion, is relatively simple. Jesus summed it up in two commandments given in Luke 10:27, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself." (NIV)

My abbreviated version: Love God and love people. Even the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament can be divided into the subheadings of these two commandments.

Now, while I am making the claim that Christianity is simple, do not confuse this with an assumption that living the Christian life is easy. In fact, it's hard. It involves putting God and others before yourself, a concept not readily accepted in this me-first culture that seems to be evolving in the world around us. I personally fail all the time.

In an interview during Gospel Music Week in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2004, Christian comic Brad Stine gave this response in an interview my daughters were doing for an article for The Tampa Tribune on advice from Christian entertainers. I like his perspective.

"Just remember that 'easy' is not always 'right.' It's easy to have sex with someone," he said. "It's hard to love someone. It's easy to live with someone. It's hard to be married. But you know what? Hard can be good because hard builds character, and we need character."

Misconception #3 - Christianity Provides a Problem-Free Life

Any notion that, by becoming a Christian, your life will instantaneously become worry or problem-free is not Biblically based. The Bible does not teach that God is our genie, there to solve our problems and make life easy for us.

Larry Crabb, in his book Finding God, makes this prolific statement: "Finding God in this life does not mean building a house in a land of no storms; rather it means building a house that no storm can destroy."

A quick look at the book of Job in the Old Testament reveals a compelling example of a Godly man's lack of immunity from sorrow and pain. In fact, not only was he vulnerable, he was vulnerable despite living a life that pleased God. God himself flaunts Job to Satan as a man "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 1:8 NIV) God then allows Satan to test Job's faith. This passage became a source of great strength to my own father when he was a young boy. He was stricken with rheumatic fever and was bedridden for more than two years, unable to go to school, play with his friends, or participate in any of the normal activities of a growing boy. He constantly reminded himself that, like Job, he had done nothing to cause this affliction. Bad things do happen to good, Christian people. Like my father, we have to rely on the Lord through good times as well as bad. The lyrics of a Christian song by Scott Krippayne states it this way, "Sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms His child."

By the way, those two years out of school placed my father in the same class with my mother in college. Who knows, without that delay, my parents might never have enjoyed their 47 years of marriage and my parents may have never become my parents.

Misconception #4 - Christianity Prohibits Fun

In searching the word "joy" at www.biblegateway.com, 242 results appeared for scriptural passages throughout the New International Version of the Old and New Testaments. At the same website, a search of the word "celebrate" returns 67 unique passages in the Bible (NIV).

In a parable Jesus himself told, commonly referred to as the Prodigal Son, there is much to indicate that a party took place when the wayward boy returned to his father's house. The father ordered a fatted calf to be killed as he declared "let's have a feast and celebrate." The other son heard "music and dancing" as he neared the house. (Luke 15:11-32 NIV)

Youth pastor and frontman for the Grammy-Award winning Christian band Casting Crowns, Mark Hall, has told me often in interviews, "People know what we are against. They need to know what we are for." I think the misconception that Christianity is opposed to having fun comes from this fact. When you only hear about a topic in terms of the negatives, you begin to develop a perception that is negative.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Don't believe me - spend a few moments with my children and some of their friends. No booze, no drugs, no sex, but they seem to find other ways to have a rip roarin' good time.

Misconception #5 - Christianity is a Religion

Now I know I may have helped to further this misconception with my opening definition of Christianity; however, the fact that Christianity is defined in the Encarta Dictionary as a religion does not mean I do not personally believe this is a misnomer leading to a common misconception.

My reason for refusing to categorize my Christian faith as a religion is because that term generally suggests an institutionalized belief system. For me, following Christ is a way of life. That term, defined as a "course of conduct" by www.freedictionary.com, more closely resembles my definition of Christianity as a Christian lifestyle rather than simply a bunch of doctrinal rules determined by leaders of a specific denomination. To be a Christian, you must follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Does this mean that every Christian gets it right, every time? Absolutely not. Being a Christian, however, is the act of growing to be more Christ like. A condition I do not believe we can absolutely attain in this life but will in the next.

Following Christ defines who I am, determines what I do, and often affects how I feel and react. It is the result of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To categorize it as nothing more than an institutionalized belief system, for me, would be the saddest misconception of all.

Information, unless otherwise attributed, is from personal experience, knowledge, and opinion.