If the good Christians can understand that there are bad Christians...?

Question

would the good Christians please quit being so defensive, and help the rest of us cast a little shame on their violent, non-loving brethren?

Answer 1

Problem is that the bad Christians THINK they are good Christians and, therefore, they appear to be good and that's why they sound defensive. It's kinda like when the teacher would lecture the class about not doing homework....the good students who do their homework don't understand why the lecture and the bad students are sitting there, nodding their heads in agreement, looking around at the rest of the class....it never applies to them.

Answer 2

No way can we even attempt to try to downplay these so called "bad Christians" as you refer to them. They believe in Christ just as any other Christian. Anyone who confesses the name of Jesus Christ is doing a whole lot better than anyone who isn't. The only thing that differs from one believer to another is their closeness to God. Just because some of the individuals don't know all that they should or even know how to talk with and deal with the ignorance of the rest of the world when defending their faith, doesn't make them any lesser than the next. That simply says that they have some growth that they have to go through, to be able to reach you. Don't believe for a second that there are Christians that purpose to prove each other wrong or would even join the side of a non-believer to come against a believer, because anyone who would do this isn't really a true believer. God Bless.

Answer 3

Perhaps we would, if it were cast in that light. But I find that usually it isn't. There's a tendency to overgeneralize, to say that "Christianity" leads inevitably to certain results, or that Christians in general are hatemongers and fools. Naturally we can't accept that idea. If you wish to criticise those who claim to be Christians, then you have to step inside the system of belief for a moment. . . even if you don't believe it yourself, you can act as if you did, and make statements and conclusions based on that. But if you do that, you really have to spend some time to know what you're talking about- learn some theology and Scripture first. It works much better than tossing verbal grenades at both the good and the bad alike.

Answer 4

We need to remember that Christ did everything he did in love.

We try to Change others and in the process are hurtful in the way we do it. Look at what Jesus did to the prostitute who was about to be stoned by the pharasees. He said "let whoever is without sin cast the first stone." When everyone had left, He said "go and sin no more." He stoped her embarrasment and then corrected her. He showed he loved her and then tried to tell her she was wrong. I am a christian and while I mess up on a daily basis, I try to live like Christ. And I never read about Jesus condescending on others in an attitude of hatred.

If people have been treating you this way, then I am sorry. It is the wrong way to witness and it only makes them look bad to others. It is because of people like this that so many reject truth.

Answer 5

If non-Christians would stop making blanket generalizations about Christians, there wouldn't be a problem! Unless you've met every single Christian out there or even bothered to try to find out what real Christianity is all about, how can you (generally speaking of course) say that Christians are hateful, uneducated, small-minded fools, like I see time after time here for instance? OF COURSE those of us to whom none of those qualities can be applied are going to take offense when those statements are casually tossed about.

Yes, there are hateful, violent people who claim to be Christians, but you know what? There are just as many (if not more) hateful, violent people who don't make that claim! Why don't you go pick on them for a while?

Answer 6

My Irish great-grandmother used to say, "There's good and bad in all people." I think just because someone puts a label on themselves and says, "I'm a Christian." it doesn't mean they are doing what they ought to do.
I am SHOCKED at the awful things some people think it's OK to do in the name of Christ. Likewise, I am SHOCKED at the things some people do in the name of Allah. I have to say, sometimes I don't get it where the Israeli's are coming from either, with the way they deal with the Palestinians, after being treated so badly by the Nazis. We all need to clean up our own backyards, so to speak. Any time people claim to have the right to kill each other in God's name, it's a pretty good bet they are wrong.

Answer 7

I think the understanding needs to begin here: there aren't "good" Christians or "bad" Christians. There are just Christians who do good things and do bad things. This is why people have such terrible self-esteem and don't think that they can improve. Instead of thinking that they've made mistakes, they believe they ARE the mistake.

The Bible states that we are imperfect so it doesn't matter if I say I'm a "good" Christian or a "bad" Christian anyway! I'm always going to be imperfect and fall short of the grace of God. Knowing that, wouldn't it be easier then to analyze what I do as good and bad and ask for forgiveness for just those things than constantly beat myself up?

Answer 8

Yes - why not?
good Christians can be defensive
non-defensive good Christians make better Christians

Answer 9

It is false to qualify a Christian as good or bad. We all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. God calls us to not be merely good. Good is something that many people have very different definitions of. God calls us to be holy as He is holy. He calls us to be perfect. With His grace we can be, but as humans we continually fall short. But He stills loves us and urges us to go on so that love and life may be full in us. He forgives our failings are redeems us so we can try to love more.

Answer 10

There are no 'good' Christians I suppose. All of us are bad and sinful. But what makes us Christian is the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Christians are just sinners saved by the grace of God, who trust the Lord Jesus Christ to enable them to live lives that please God. Trust in Jesus to make you a person that pleases God.
Blessings!