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Monday, April 07, 2014

Are Apologists Hypocrites Because They Criticize Others?

Yesterday, I was labeled a hypocrite from a beloved family member. This wasn't because I had made a promise to him and then reneged. It wasn't because I said he should act a certain way and then I acted another. The reason for my being labeled a hypocrite was because I am a Christian apologist, which means I defend a particularly worldview. However, the charge of hypocrisy isn't limited to apologists only, but in today's culture, it can be levied against any Christian trying to honestly live out one's faith.

All Christians are commanded to be "prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15) as well as to "test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). In order to help Christians accomplish this aspect of their walk in Christ, I try to highlight issues and events in our culture that have significant moral or theological impact. While I do hold convictions on political matters, I really don't make a point of posting them unless they somehow has theological or moral stakes, such as the abortion issue. There is a lot of noise out there today. One of my goals in ministry is to inject clarity in these discussions and hopefully help other Christians be better equipped when they discuss them as well.

But as the issues become more contentious and as the modern culture moves farther and farther away from its Christian underpinnings, my commentary has become more critical, and this is where the problem comes in. I had recently posted about the reaction of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to the forced exit of Brendan Eich from Mozilla, who in 2008 supported California's Prop. 8. GLAAD issued as statement, stating "Mozilla's strong statement in favor of equality today reflects where corporate America is: inclusive, safe, and welcoming to all." My response was that it is neither inclusive, safe, nor welcoming to anyone holding a viewpoint that differs from GLAAD's. For that I'm charged with not being loving and not being Christ-like. In part, I was told "Your original comment about GLAAD not being inclusive, safe, and welcoming to those who disagree--- As if Christians don't do that all the time---so why even make this comment? It's hypocritical. If you are going to point out others' flaws, why not do it to Christians instead?" This was followed by "My point is that it's time to maybe take a break from pointing fingers. Lenny, as a church leader, does not reflect what the church is supposed to look like (like Jesus) when he makes those kind of comments, publicly. It fosters an us-vs-them attitude."

So, as I understand it, I am a hypocrite because 1)I criticize those outside the church instead of keeping my criticism directed toward Christians and 2)by offering criticisms at all I am somehow not reflecting Jesus. Both charges require a response.

Shouldn't Christians Clean Up Their Own Act First?

As I explained above, part of my job as a teacher and minister is to filter the milieu of daily events and help others try to make sense of them from a Christian perspective. Perhaps I don't do that well, but I do try through these blog posts, writing, podcasts, YouTube and social media. Because our society is now post-Christian, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Christians are increasingly faced with positions contrary to their beliefs. Jesus warned of such contrary positions when He would warn his disciples to "beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matt 16:6) or "When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues…" (Matt 6:5). Implicit in His instruction is a criticism of those who are outside the faith. Jesus is pointing out others' flaws while cautioning His followers not to do the same.

This doesn't mean that I shy away from criticizing those in the church, as the objection I'm answering here is lobbied more by Christians than non-Christians. But to assume that Christians should be perfect before we can ever examine the clearly immoral positions of others is ridiculous. Obviously my objector isn't perfect, yet he seems to feel completely within his rights to criticize me! So, that charge of hypocrisy cuts both ways.

Would Jesus Be So Unloving as to Criticize Others?

But perhaps it isn't using nonbelievers as a comparison that's the problem. Perhaps it's unChrist-like to criticize the lost directly. I mean, they're lost, right? Why should we expect them t do the right thing? But, I would turn this question around and ask "Why should we expect anyone to repent unless we show them that they are falling short of God's standards?"

Jesus did this all the time, too. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus asking for eternal life, Jesus criticized his love of wealth. "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor" was His command. When He was face to face with those Pharisees whom He used as a comparison above, He used the strongest language possible to tell them of their evil.  When He says that they are of their father the Devil in John 8:44, we may miss the impact of this; in that culture it is like using curse words to them.

We see similar actions by John the Baptist against Herod, Jesus telling the woman at the well that she did not know the Good she claimed to worship, and the Apostle Paul telling the Athenians that they needed to repent. further, Paul continues to warn the church that "neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

Of course, in all things we must balance our criticism in love. The command for defense is always "with gentleness and respect" and any Christian who doesn't treat people as people first and foremost is sinning. But criticism of wrongdoing is not unChrist-like. In fact, it is doing the very thing that Jesus did.

Any parent will know that they tell their child "no" far more than they affirm them. If you don't, the child becomes spoiled, thinking that anything they wish is permissible. For me not to shout an alarm to the Christian who may be damaged by a view popular in culture today would be as neglectful as uncritical parent. It isn't hypocritical for me to call out to others when there's danger in society today. It's what Jesus did to protect His sheep.

10 comments:

  1. I think his first point wasn't sufficiently answered. Why don't Christian apologists criticize other Christians? Or even other Christian apologists? If you're going to be intellectually honest that sword has to cut both ways. This is why I stopped doing a lot of apologetics and I've focused more on criticizing Christianity.

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  2. Thanks for the comment, Adrian. One thing I think you may have left out of the picture is the pastoral teaching on Sunday mornings. Many pastors are very comfortable teaching from the Scriptures and correcting the flock in their weekly sermons. They aren't very good at engaging in argument and reason with the culture at large.

    As I said, I do criticize the church were it's appropriate. However, the pastor takes a larger role here. Apologists are trying to fill in those areas that are not usually addressed in the Sunday service. So, I would argue that Christians get much more internal criticism and instruction (weekly) than they do apologetic training.

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  3. I am the "beloved family member." I am attempting, rather poorly, to be a disciple of Christ. I am a hypocrite and I can do much better. I fully acknowledge that.

    I have a couple things to say in response to this post:

    "Yesterday, I was labeled a hypocrite from a beloved family member."
    Your statement was labeled as hypocritical, not you.

    "The reason for my being labeled a hypocrite was because I am a Christian apologist, which means I defend a particularly worldview."
    The hypocritical label for your statement, and many prior statements (the overarching theme on many of your blog posts) was because I expect leaders of the faith, or a church, to be on their absolute best behavior in leading people to the love shown by Christ. Continually pointing out other people's sin, while not acknowledging your own (or more specifically, the Church's) is hypocritical--Jesus warns of this type of judgment, as you definitely know as an apologist. So, why engage in that manner?? You are supposed to know better.

    "But as the issues become more contentious and as the modern culture moves farther and farther away from its Christian underpinnings, my commentary has become more critical..."
    As if culture has ever been consistent with "Christian underpinnings." Loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself are the two primary commandments. Last time I checked, there has never really been a culture that practiced those two. Maybe there has been and you can enlighten me.

    "My response was that it is neither inclusive, safe, nor welcoming to anyone holding a viewpoint that differs from GLAAD's. For that I'm charged with not being loving and not being Christ-like."
    You were charged with making a hypocritical statement, as it was not consistent with Jesus's teachings of judgment. My bigger point was that the CHURCH has too often been, historically, the VERY SAME THING----"neither inclusive, safe, nor welcoming to anyone holding a viewpoint that differs" from their's. And you are a leader within that church. See the hypocrisy?

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  4. "So, as I understand it, I am a hypocrite because 1)I criticize those outside the church instead of keeping my criticism directed toward Christians and 2)by offering criticisms at all I am somehow not reflecting Jesus. "
    Not really. Log vs speck---though you are right that there is nothing inherently wrong about discerning sin and trying to stay away from it, or even alerting others to their sin, to spend more time condemning others's sin vs your's (or the church's), is to go against this principle. So, no, you are not a hypocrite (which I never said) for criticizing non-Christians---it is hypocritical to spend the time that you actually do spend on this blog (or Facebook) pointing to others' issues more than your own (or the church's). As far as the second part goes, I would not say that your statements (or more specifically, the pattern of statements you make) do not reflect Jesus because they are critical. I would be more specific and say that your statements do not reflect the love and compassion that Jesus showed to people who were broken and wanted healing. For them he was compassionate and developed a relationship. They were open to him. He could then be honest with them and guide them through their sin. The pharisees, on the other hand, thought they were better than everybody else, and spent most of their time condemning others IN THE NAME OF GOD. This is what I feel your statements reflect---not Jesus, but the pharisees.

    "part of my job as a teacher and minister is to filter the milieu of daily events and help others try to make sense of them from a Christian perspective"
    You are right, it is PART of your job. I would say that your MOST IMPORTANT job is to reflect the love of Christ, serve others, and empower them to do the same. Unfortunately, in my opinion, far too much time is spent "defending" the faith. As if Jesus needs us to defend him. He needs us to let go of everything and love Him, ourselves, and others. That is our defense.


    "But to assume that Christians should be perfect before we can ever examine the clearly immoral positions of others is ridiculous. Obviously my objector isn't perfect, yet he seems to feel completely within his rights to criticize me! So, that charge of hypocrisy cuts both ways."
    I never said anything about Christians being perfect. I just expect them (myself included) to act more Christ-like, and if they (we) don't, work on fixing that first before trying to fix others (or at least condemning others). I do not claim to be perfect myself, and I have claimed to be hypocrite as well. You are right, I am calling you out when I should be working on myself. Guilty as charged. I am not a church leader though. That doesn't make my hypocrisy OK, but at least I own my hypocrisy, and my intentions are to help others (and maybe yourself) recognize the hypocrisy so we can move past it.

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  5. "But, I would turn this question around and ask 'Why should we expect anyone to repent unless we show them that they are falling short of God's standards?'"
    Think of it this way: you are in a dark room with another person. You, a Christian, who is (or should be) full of love and light have a flashlight (that represents your love and light). The other person, who is broken and dark, does not have a flashlight (as they, at the moment, do not have that light inside that you have). The best thing for the light-holder to do is to walk with that person and shine the light in front of them and help them to find their way. Maybe the worst thing to do is to take that light and point it right at them---to shine it brightly in their eyes so that they can't see a thing. They would much rather be in the dark than to see that bright light in their eyes. This is what Christians do far too often---we use our light incorrectly, and throw it back in other people's faces, and it's because, in my opinion, we feel this need (or duty) to get people to repent and "show them that they are falling short of God's standards." We are to be the embodiment of those standards, not the preachers or defenders of said standards.
    I am a teacher, and there are some teachers that really need some help--they aren't very good (not all, but some). One of the things I do is train future teachers and mentor teachers in need. What I do FIRST is have them watch me for awhile. Then, I assess their level of commitment. If it isn't there, we talk about maybe doing something else that isn't teaching. If they are committed, then we talk about where they might need help. Then, I watch them. After all of that, I can then offer them feedback, but only after all of that. If I came to them right away and said that they were terrible and that they need to figure it out, they would not feel empowered to change. They would turn away from my "offer of help." Same thing with Christians---they jump right to the "let me help you" part. You know, the part where they (we) go, "you sinner!!! Repent!! You are not meeting God's standards!!"


    "Of course, in all things we must balance our criticism in love. The command for defense is always "with gentleness and respect" and any Christian who doesn't treat people as people first and foremost is sinning. But criticism of wrongdoing is not unChrist-like. In fact, it is doing the very thing that Jesus did. "
    The command for love is greater than the command for defense. Jesus spent so much time being with people, healing them, loving them, empowering them. Yes, he criticized, but not to the degree that he loved. He DIED ON THE CROSS FOR EVERYBODY, not just Christians. Why focus more on the criticism part? I just don't get it. He died for all, yet Lenny, too much time is spent defending "the faith" or "the church" or "Christians." Why not defend all of humanity? Jesus did.

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  6. "For me not to shout an alarm to the Christian who may be damaged by a view popular in culture today would be as neglectful as uncritical parent. It isn't hypocritical for me to call out to others when there's danger in society today. It's what Jesus did to protect His sheep."
    Damaged? Why should a Christian be "damaged" by a popular view? There is so much scripture that speaks to being unafraid, to having faith! Why focus on Jesus protecting his sheep? That is what I mean when I said that you speak with an "us vs them" attitude, as if other sinners are not Jesus' sheep? Love God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do your best to empower people and be compassionate and understanding. Live up to God's standards YOURSELF! And if other people do the opposite, or even if they do bad things to you, what is there to be afraid of???? You are in alignment with the Gospel, and that is all that matters.


    Lenny, I have enjoyed this, and I thank you for your time.
    Nate :)

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  7. Thought you all might enjoy this comment from Greg Boyd, in his book "Repenting of Religion," as it is applicable to this discussion:

    "The loving oneness of the church is to reflect the loving oneness of the Trinity. Indeed, the loving oneness of the church is to participate in the loving oneness of the Trinity: “As you … are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us.” As we participate in God’s loving oneness, we replicate this loving oneness among ourselves. And as we replicate this loving oneness, the world sees and believes that Jesus Christ is sent from the Father. The world knows the reality of the triune God because they encounter the love of the triune God in us." - See more at: http://reknew.org/2014/04/gods-goal-for-the-world/#sthash.5u50QYQd.dpuf

    And:
    "God’s goal is that humans, when filled with God’s unsurpassable love and eternal life, would replicate God on an individual level and overflow with love back to God, to themselves, and to their neighbors. As God gives his life to us, we manifest the fullness of his life in ascribing infinite worth to God as our source (worship); we affirm the infinite worth we ourselves have because of what God has done for us in Christ (self-love); and we affirm the infinite worth others have because of what Christ as done for them (neighbor-love)." (Repenting of Religion, 28,30) - See more at: http://reknew.org/2014/04/gods-goal-for-the-world/#sthash.5u50QYQd.dpuf

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  8. Nate,

    Thanks for the response. I've only two things in response:

    1) The idea you have on Jesus teachings on judgment is misunderstood. In context those verses were dealing with salvation and how one shouldn't assume anyone is too far gone. It's why on the very same chapter as the judgment/log and speck passage - just 13 verses later - Jesus said “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." If you know them by their fruit, judgment MUST happen. Same chapter. Same teacher. Same audience. That's not an interpretation unique to me. Most commentators read it the same way.

    2) I think this passage that a friend of mine shared is very applicable. It's by G.K. Chesterton. He writes:

    "What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert–himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt – the Divine Reason . . . We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table."

    To that I say amen.

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  9. I must say its highly symbolic of the age we live in that this is even an issue. My my how things have changed in the last 35 years. When I became a believer the critique of both Christian and culture was commonplace and we were hardly worse off for it. Judgment is a part of life- The scripture speaks of judging the House of God first- but it hardly precludes the judgement of behaviors and attitudes in the world that do not acknowledge God's truth. Speaking the truth in love of course is only enabled by abiding in Christ and being led of the Spirit. John the Baptist used words such as "brood of vipers" and Jesus "whitewashed sepulchres" The culture is framing the church and not vice versa.

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  10. Lenny, I will also use a G.K. Chesterton quote in response to your Chesterton quote and as support for what I have been saying the whole time. When a newspaper posed the question, "What's wrong with the world?" Chesterton responded with this: "Dear Sirs: I am."

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