It's week three of the five-part series: Christian Misconceptions with Biff R. Jones! This week, the misconception topic is that Christians are evil hate-mongers. To refresh from last week, Jones discuss how the world thinks that Christians are hypocrites and why that isn't true. To check it out click the link. Now, let's dive right into this week's topic.
BRJ: "3) Christians are evil hatemongers.
Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is for men to love God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their mind; and, to love their neighbor as themselves (Matt 22:37-40). However, Jesus also taught that there are standards for living. Those who are pushing a progressive, liberal, worldview have done a masterful job of redefining words to suit the purposes of their agendas. One of the most prevalent examples of this is the redefinition of the word, “hate.” Statements that disagree with someone, or a particular group, are labeled as, “hate speech.” Christianity teaches that followers of Jesus are to love all people. Period.
Christians may disagree with a lifestyle, action, statement, or philosophical view without hating an individual. Hate and disagreeing are NOT mutually inclusive. Granted, some groups espousing Christianity, while exhibiting behaviors that appear to be more demonic than Christ-like, have done more damage than good. Furthermore, they have become fodder for the media and those who have a liberal agenda. For example, “kudos” should be extended to the Westboro Baptist church whose anti-gay protests at funerals of Veterans, has left even the most conservative Christian scratching their head in disbelief and embarrassment. Nothing about this church’s behavior aligns with the teachings of Christ.
For those who may still be skeptical and believe Christianity is a hate-filled religion, I challenge them to read the New Testament portion of the Bible, which chronicles the life of Jesus, His teachings, and the establishment of the Christian church. Nowhere within the corpus will the reader find any instructions to hate individuals, nor is there any record of violence committed by those who followed Jesus’ teachings as a part of the newly founded church. Quite simply, in the truest sense, those who follow Jesus Christ cannot be hatemongers."
How can Christians be so evil and spiteful if Jesus taught that we should love our neighbors as ourselves? If the world claims that Christians are so self-centered, then if we are truly following Christ's teachings, we would spread an equal amount of love to others, too.
