judgmental – Page 2 – Changing the Face of Christianity

Judgmental Video: What Happens When We Judge

November 5, 2010 By R. Brad White 2 Comments

This judgmental Christian video is a live interview with a lady who has been judged by her Christian family, Christian friends, and Christian neighbors. It shows what happens when we are hypocritical and point the finger of judgment at others. It shows the repulsion others feel when we are smug and self righteous, when we should be holding up a mirror. What do we truly hope to gain in a relationship when we judge others?

Produced by:
Joel Bowder, Metro Community Church Edwardsville, IL
Part of their “Perception” Series – based off the unchristian book. looking at the reality of how the world veiws Christians and what we need to do to change that perception.

How We Are Making A Difference

October 24, 2010 By R. Brad White 1 Comment

Changing the Face of Christianity™ is making a difference by educating Christians on the intolerant words, the judgmental attitudes, and other negative Christian stereotypes we inadvertently promote.

We are making a difference by educating Christians and assisting in Christ-like transformation within our Christian churches.

Increasing Awareness

We are increasing awareness and assisting in Christ-like transformation within our Christian churches. We are promoting a Christian revival; a great awakening. While others are focused on evangelism and outreach, we are focusing on the growth, maturity, and transformation of Christians already in the church. Instead of hiding our flaws and imperfections, we are working for Christian transparency and realness. Instead of putting on a superficial mask, we are working for real heart change and transformation.

Working on Consistency and Depth

We are working to increase the consistency, depth, and true meaning of our faith, as modeled by Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. Like a wonderful sculpture, we are chiseling away those parts of our Christian faith and church that are not Biblical; those areas of our spirituality that are poor substitutes for the real thing.

We want to see Christians walking the walk, instead of talking the talk.

Jesus commands: “Love one another”. Are you doing that?

Think about how you act. Think about how you talk to people. Are you loving?

We Are Focused

Our ministry is 100% dedicated to reversing negative Christian stereotypes by removing those obstacles to loving one another; pride, arrogance, judgment, hypocrisy, homophobia, intolerance, and superficiality.

Please join us in this crucially important effort. We need every Christian we can connect with to engage in personal transformation into living more like Jesus Christ.

Christians are Judgmental and Smug

October 13, 2010 By R. Brad White 4 Comments

Judgmental, smug, self-righteous — Photo by Mike Licht, NationsCapitol.com

Judgmental, smug, and self righteous are all negative Christian stereotypes we are known for.

If you’ve ever heard a Christian self-righteously say “you are going to Hell!” then you know the source of this judgmental stereotype.

Condemned

By judgmental, non-Christians usually mean treating them as “condemned”. If you’ve ever heard a Christian self-righteously say “you are going to Hell!” then you know the source of this judgmental stereotype.

Are Other People “More Sinful”?

However, being smug or self righteous also means treating non-believers as “more” sinful than us, and acting morally superior. It’s also judgmental to criticize other people’s beliefs, choices, or conduct, when they don’t reflect OUR beliefs, choices, or conduct. We contribute to this smug or judgmental negative Christian stereotype when we make decisions ABOUT someone without really knowing or caring to know about them.

Here is real story that helps clarify the perspective on Christian judgment:

From “alistarz” on thinkatheist.com

My mom was raised constantly being told that she was a ‘bad person’. I’ve seen the emotional scars it left.

“My grandmother always tried to make me feel bad that my mom didn’t take my brothers and I to church. She would tell me that my mom was a ‘bad person’. Fortunately I was only around my grandmother for a few weeks each summer and on Thanksgiving or Christmas. My mom however was raised constantly being told that she was a ‘bad person’ whenever she did something ‘ungodly.’ I’ve seen the emotional scars it left on my mother.”

The Bible Speaks

God speaks to us about judgment in the Bible on two fronts:

Judgment of people outside the Christian church
Judgment of people within the Christian church

God makes it clear that it is His sovereign domain to judge those outside our Christian church family. Translation: don’t judge others…period!

For Insiders – Counsel

For those inside our Christian church, we are to counsel, help, and attempt to correct and grow each other. Judgment is only condoned when one of us is FAR off track and unwilling to repent or correct our behavior after repeated pleas by fellow Christian believers. And even then, having a smug or self righteous attitude is never condoned as acceptable behavior.

Requirements for Judging Rightly

Consider this: To exercise correct judgment, you need the authority to pass down judgment, the power to enforce your judgment, and a comprehensive understanding of the rules, laws, or guidelines that determine right from wrong. You also need the discernment to identify the truth from all perspectives. You need the wisdom to exercise mercy and forgiveness over judgment at the appropriate time and all for the greatest good.

Can you give up judging others and trust that God will judge rightly?

Who alone can rightly judge? God!
Can you give up judging others and trust that God will judge rightly?

What We Must Do

None of us are free of sin. To shed the negative Christian stereotype of being “judgmental”, “smug”, or “self righteous”, we need to exercise restraint, discernment, and personal humility. We need to love each other as God commands, and leave the judging to God!

Are Christians Hypocritical?

October 12, 2010 By R. Brad White 6 Comments

Hypocrisy in the Christian church is a huge problem.

Even Christians say we’re hypocritical. Being a hypocrite means we believe something, but act contrary to that belief; having a double standard; duplicitous. Christian Hypocrisy means pretending to be better or more “holy” than someone else while privately being the same as other people.

Christian Hypocrisy means pretending to be more “holy” than someone else while privately being the same as other people.

For example, it’s hypocritical to talk about having “joy” and “peace” in our life, when our lives are just as messed up, stressful, and turbulent as everyone else. Christian hypocrisy is evident when we pass righteous judgment on someone else, while ignoring our own problems.

From “anonymous” on thinkatheist.com

“I do agree that Christians can be good people. But, not good enough to defy their god by doing some community outreach with “hell-bound” people. I would never consider being a Christian, but I might consider not being so critical if more Christians were open and genuine and willing to actually talk about their beliefs. Their arrogance (“we know the truth, you don’t”) belies the hypocrisy of whatever acceptance/love they could muster.”

Jesus spoke about and warned against such Hypocrisy.

To be fair, being a hypocrite is not an exclusive Christian condition. It’s a human condition. Anyone who says “I’m not hypocritical” is by default…a hypocrite :-).

However, the reason why hypocrisy is an issue in the Christian church is because we’re the ones preaching about living a more holy or pure lifestyle. You don’t hear many agnostics or atheists telling other people how to live. Being “preachy” is a very accurate label for our Christian faith. So, the burden of proof lies with us. We must DO what we SAY…or we should stop saying. Anything less is the worst kind of hypocrisy.

Every Christian is guilty of living a sinful life. It’s impossible to completely escape sin on our own. When we speak or live in a way that hides our sins, or we act as if we do not struggle with any sins, we start down the hypocritical road.

We live as if our sins are not as bad as other people’s sins.

We begin to live as if we are better than those who do not go to church. We live as if our sins are not as bad as other people’s sins. Just because our sins have been forgiven because we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, this doesn’t mean we have a license to sin.

This is exactly what the Bible warns us against.

We need to confess our own sins to one another, and look at each other as equally burdened with sin. And when we live in a way that demonstrates that we are all equal in our plight, we can begin to see the value of Christ as a savior to us all.

The label of “hypocrite!” will fall away only when we become real and transparent, and when we learn to address our own sin as effortlessly as we like to address sin in others.