Christian Belief vs Practice

Our country is often called a Christian nation and Christianity certainly has played an important role in our history. The Founding Fathers may have been deists but they certainly affirmed and implanted in the early governing documents and doctrines of this country Christian values and practices.

One could insert practically any other religion and country at this point saying they affirm the religious beliefs and values. In Muslim countries they affirm the belief in Mohammed as the greatest of the prophets, and the teachings of Mohammed in the Koran. They are not dissimilar to Christian beliefs and teachings. After all Christians and Muslims are spiritual cousins; the spiritual progeny of Abraham.

But what strikes me is the difference between the belief in Christianity (or any other religion) and the practice of that religion. The vast majority of our populace affirms a belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Son of God, which is all it takes to be a Christian.

With that said, can we make an equal claim that most of the populace practices what Jesus taught and the values and principles found in scripture? Take Jesus summation of the law, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments.”  [Based on Deut. 6.5 and Lev. 19.18]

Then study the parables of Jesus, which generally turn societal values upside down, or the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the Plane, which do the same.

The point I am making is that we may believe in Christianity, specifically in Jesus, but most do not practice what he taught us to do. In fact, none of us fully practice what Jesus told us to do but some do try harder than others.

As to the institutional church it is claimed by many to be a boatload of hypocrites. If find not problem with that, the issue is whether the church acknowledges it hypocrisy.  “We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God,” as Paul said in his letter to the Romans.

Most folk, I fear in this country, follow the ethics of efficiency or secular practicality rather than Christian ethics. We don’t turn the other check to those who hurt us and even view such behavior as weak. We do not put God first in our lives but our own self-interests, enlightened or not, first. We are more often at odds with our neighbors and are quick to condemn our neighbor if they are not in agreement with us. We don’t walk the second mile we don’t even make a step.

In Genesis it says that we are to be the caretakers of the world and its contents. But in reality we have exploited the earth for selfish benefits leave the world worse for generations to come, no matter what we say. We have overpopulated the world, often with the church’s blessing, wasted its resources, and war over what we see as scarce. Then next scarcity being water that is often seen as a cleansing symbol in religion.

I like to read Politifact.com, which catch people up in their lies. I would suggest that if Politifact.com took a look the stated beliefs of Christians (and other religious systems) in the claims to practice the teachings of their beliefs they would find them “Pants on fire.”

On a more positive note it is good to see a new pope expressing and practicing Christian teachings. Recently he said, “People who judge and criticize others are hypocrites and cowards who are unable to face their own defects…Gossip too, is ‘criminal’ as it destroys, rather than exalts the image of God present in others.”