Why Are Christians Viewed as Hypocrites?

- The article below was originally written as a response to an article dealing with the hypocrisy among Christians. I felt the need to respond and consequently there are a few phrases directed to an individual, whose identity will not be used.

As a recent "convert" to Christianity I have, in the past, had very similar opinions about Christians and I still do in some cases. However, in the interest of clarification, I would like to offer a few thoughts.

One recurring theme I see in many articles dealing with the topic is that Christians are hypocrites because they have the audacity to claim that non-believers are condemned to hell. Now, at first glance I agree that looks condescending and very exclusionary. However, the key to understanding this belief is in understanding Christianity as a whole. For one to claim to be a Christian requires one to accept that the Bible is 100% correct and 100% infallible. In believing that, it requires that a follower accept some truths which we as a society are at odds with.

A big one is the concept that you must accept the gift of salvation in order to escape eternity in Hell. Anyone who refuses this gift is therefore making the decision to spend eternity in Hell. What this indicates is that when a Christian states that a person who does not believe in the Christian God and in the atoning sacrifice of Christ and subsequently accept Christ's death as a gift providing personal salvation is going to Hell it is not being hypocritical or judgmental. They are simply accepting that the text of their scripture and the tenets of their religion are valid. By compromising the integrity and infallibility of said scripture they would render the entire basis of Christianity as invalid. The concept that we as humans, and more specifically as Americans, have created which we believe entitles all-inclusive acceptance and validation of any and all belief systems has no basis is any religious thinking, especially Christianity. By accepting Christian theology, followers accept that there is one and only one path to Heaven. That is our belief and it is grounded in Scripture.

Those are the basics. However, as noted in scripture, ALL men are born with a sin nature and are imperfect. We can not earn our way to Heaven by being good, fair, nice or accomodating- although each and every one of those attributes are admirable and should not be seen as unnecessary to a well-lived life. However, due to this sin-nature, people are capable of and even pre-disposed to, corrupting a pure message. This is evidenced by the mistakes made by the Bakkers, Swaggarts, Haggards, etc. recently. People with good intentions are very capable of losing sight of what their religion teaches. So, Sir, you will have little old ladies in the church who will tell you how they feel you need to behave. You will have people in the church who will tell you that homosexuals are the scum of the earth. They will tell you that to drink a beer will condemn you to eternal torment. They will profess to know that God tells us we can't wear this type of clothing or sport that haircut. All of these people are mistaken.

People, whether they have accepted Christ's gift or not, will sin today, tomorrow and every day until the day they die. The difference is that those who know Christ personally know that if they make a mistake their Lord will forgive them if they simply ask Him and repent. Someone who does not know Christ does not have that ability, or desire.
I do get embarrassed by and find myself angry with my Christian brothers and sisters who continue to condemn and rant and rave against everyone who doesn't believe what they believe. In some cases they may even have valid points. But no one listens to people who can't present a coherent and rational case. For a non-Christian to have a desire to become a Christian they need to have the plan of salvation presented to them with an emphasis on the unconditional forgiveness,love and grace inherent in this plan. In doing so, it is important to understand the alternative, and it ain't pretty, but to threaten and scare and condemn is counterproductive.

In conclusion, I do understand the bitterness I see in your article and my only intention is to give you some food for thought. Regardless of what Dr. Phil, Oprah and th rest of the mass media may teach us, life isn't about self-esteem and making everyone feel good. Every man, woman and child on this earth IS equal in the eyes of God. He loves us all, whether we love Him back or completely deny His existence. With that love comes a choice we are all given- accept salvation through Christ or don't. He allows us the freedom to choose. That's almost incomprehensibly simple, yet we all find reasons to ignore it or blame fellow men and women for our unwillingness to choose. The fact remains, when I die- when you die, who got the last word or who had the wittiest retort or the most cleverly worded argument for or against religion in general, or Christianity in particular won't matter. At that point the choice will have been made and we won't have the opportunity to say "whoops".

So, keep in mind that any Christian who is arrogant, condescending or exclusionary is subject to the same litmus test. It may even seem unfair that people like that are privy to such a gift, but they are. If Adolf Hitler had repented in his bunker before his death, we'd be seeing him in Heaven. That's a tough thing to accept for most people but it's true nonetheless. There are many Christians who have done and continue to do bad things and there many Muslims and Jews who have done and continue to do great things. That's not the issue. It's knowing that we all are bad by default and need to be forgiven, even if we aren't willing to accept that. Period.