"The Church is Full of Hypocrites"

“The Church would be great if we could just get rid of all the sinners.”

That sarcastic little quip comes from the mouth of Patrick Coffin, host of a popular Christian radio show.  It is meant to point out that the pews would be empty if such a task was undertaken.  There would be beautiful architecture, ornate stained glass windows, and nobody there. 

I think of that quote whenever I hear people say:

·         “Christians are judgmental.” 

·         “Christians hate [insert identity group ]”

·         “Christians are incurious and superstitious.”

·         “Christians aren’t generous enough.”

·         “Christians are hypocrites.”

A Religion Made for Screw-Ups:

Because you know what?  We are all of those things. The truth is that Christianity is the world’s largest collection of ridiculous and failed people.  We try to live up to a standard we’ll never meet, try to persuade other to do the same, and find new ways to blow it every single day.

Take the twelve apostles – the men handpicked by Jesus Himself:

·         They were poor, uneducated, and unsophisticated.

·         Most thought they would have it made when Jesus took up an army and established Himself as king. 

·         The treasurer stole from the money purse then betrayed Christ to His death. 

·         In Jesus’ hour of trial, their leader denied that he knew Jesus – three times – then ran. 

·         All the other apostles scattered and ran, with the exception of the one who wasn’t old enough to shave.

That, my friends, is the religion where I know I belong.       

This is why each year on Palm Sunday, when we read the Passion account, the whole congregation plays the part of the crowd that yells, “Crucify him!”  The implied question for all of us is: “Do you think you would have done any different?”  My answer is:  Nope.

The Main Attraction:

Now, this isn’t to say that we shouldn’t try to be better.  God has told us how we ought to live and we should – out of love and obedience – honestly attempt to conform ourselves to that.  The Church is a hospital for sinners, and the purpose of a hospital is to get better. But you don’t go to a hospital to see the other patients, you go to see the surgeon. 

That is why I find it frustrating when I hear someone say he/she could no longer call himself a Christian because of the actions of other Christians.  What did you expect?  The real draw of Christianity isn’t the ridiculous clowns known as Christians, it is Jesus Christ.  

This is either about Him, or you’ve missed the point entirely.