Why do people generalize christians?

Question

Christians are humans like the rest of the world, they just live under a differen't value system and believe in God and Christ. We are human being and are not perfect. We make mistakes like everyone else. In fact, our faith tells us that we need Christ because we are so imperfect. Yet if we make a mistake or break one of our own rules, the whole world is out to get us. If one Christian is in the news for doing something bad, non-christians say the whole faith is bad.
Atheists get mad cause people generalize them in think things like, they must not be happy, or they must non be good people and what not and it makes them mad.
I just don't understand why if you have an enounter with a christian person that goes bad, you stereotype the whole faith system. If I came across an atheist who treated me like crap, I would think all atheist were bad people.

See...right there. Someone just asked why do Christians generalize others? Not all Christians do. Some may, but not all. To say why do Christians, you are saying that we all do.
What if I said why do non-christians live bad lives. That would makes some people who aren't christian upset who live good lives.

I guess even if you try really hard to make sure that your not steryotyping, you still can be. Thanks for those that were tactful in answering me and helping me with this. I guess I even have a few things to learn and need to be more careful with my wording. I think the only thing to do is to just not talk bad about anyone, then you won't have to worry about this sort of thing. Lesson learned.

Answer 1

You're right, real Christians are getting harder to find. You can't really blame people for not wanting to be a Christian with some of the examples out there.
That said, be careful not to fall into the same trap yourself, and be tempted to believe that ALL people generalize christians: a lot of folks are honestly looking for the truth and will hear you out.

Answer 2

>> We make mistakes like everyone else. In fact, our faith tells us that we need Christ because we are so imperfect. Yet if we make a mistake or break one of our own rules, the whole world is out to get us.

See, I'd believe this line of reasoning if it weren't for the fact that people will tell me I'm going to hell. It's true! Christians, in all of their "flawed ways", will tell *ME*, *I'M* going to hell. Isn't that funny? Why do they tell me that? Because, they say, I'm "immoral" and "have no values"... whereas in comparison, Christians have a monopoly on morality and values. I think this is why you get people breathing down your neck when you "break one of your own rules" - it' hypocritical. Isn't it odd that Ted Haggart ranted and raved on numerous sermons, on a film documentary, and advised the President on the indecentness of homosexuality, yet engaged in such actions himself? It seems that "those without sin may cast the first stone" doesn't seem to apply to some people - that's why we criticize.

>> Atheists get mad cause people generalize them in think things like, they must not be happy, or they must non be good people and what not and it makes them mad.

Absolutely. Do I kill people? No. Do I steal? No. Do I rape people? No. Do I pay my taxes? Yes. Do I vote in elections? Yes. Do I donate blood? Yes. Do I donate money to charity? Yes. Where in that list does it say I'm immoral?

>> I just don't understand why if you have an enounter with a christian person that goes bad, you stereotype the whole faith system. If I came across an atheist who treated me like crap, I would think all atheist were bad people.

... After that huge rant about how you wanted to be treated equally, you'd admit to doing the same? How callous.

Answer 3

Your faith isn't bad. There are just a lot of those Christians going around forcing their beliefs on everyone they meet, whether they want it or not. In general it makes the religion look bad to others. Honestly, I've got quite a few good Christian friends, and I'm a Druid. But they agree with me, there are good number of people out there calling themselves Christians that go around and belittle, harass, torment, and anger those of other beliefs, and do it in the name of their God and Bible. If the Christian faith could eliminate those people, they wouldn't have other religions so upset over them.

Then again, all religions are quick sometimes to making generalized statements. Not just the Christians are victims, so don't go around feeling like your the only victim of this. I know countless Christians that feel anyone associated with Islam is a terrorist, simply because of the actions of a few. Stuff like this goes on all the time. It's a pain in the butt to deal with sometimes if your the victim of such generalizations, but its something that I feel will never end. There will always be religious fanatics, in all religions.

Answer 4

You answered your own question stating that if you came across an atheist who treated you like crap, you would think all atheists bad.

The point is that people generalize. You get hurt by a certain type of person long enough, and you generalize to the rest.

Atheists and Pagans have heard for long enough that we are evil, vile and hell-bound. We tend to get sick of it. If we don't hear how evil and vile we are, we hear how people are "sorry for us". That's sickening too as it's condescending.

We don't want people praying for our salvation, showing us the errors of our ways or feeling sad for our ultimate outcome. We're people with our own beliefs as are Christians.

Treat us with kindness and respect and we'll treat you likewise. We may consider you an exception though, untill more like you come out and recognize that we are not to be pitied or prosletyzed.

Answer 5

There is a difference between God's Law and Man's Law.

Jesus gave Christians one law to follow. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Any other rules/laws that Christians are trying to follow were made by someone other than Jesus.

Christians are bound by our belief that Jesus is the Son of God and He rose from the dead. This is what separates Christianity from other religions. We are the only religious group to serve a living God.

After acknowledging this belief, is where it gets difficult. Each denomination wants to claim that their self imposed rules/laws must be followed to be a true Christian.

I am a Christian and my advice is to just do what you think Jesus would do. You can't worry what other Christians/Non-Christians are doing, because on Judgment Day, you will stand alone.

Answer 6

when moderate Christians stand up and make their voices heard over the strident din of their Fundy zealot brethren maybe there will be a more balanced view of modern Christianity. however, right now it's the wackadoos Christians that getting all the attention and their attitudes reflect the attitudes of the most vile aspects of Christianity ... the Christianity of the persecution of European pagans, the witch hunts, the Crusades, the Inquisition and the Native American death marches.

reign in your nutcases and maybe you'll get more respect.

Answer 7

I'm a Humanist, and I agree with you. Stereotypes are easy to criticize and are frequently used to justify discrimination and oppression. But unlike the non-Christians you cite (a generalization in itself), I don't take pleasure in the failings of my neighbors of faith or claim that the souring of one Christian spoils the whole barrel.

Answer 8

if we come across 90% of the christians who approach us tell us we need to believe or we are going to hell then i can understand. it has to do with respect. many christians disrespect other people and their beliefs, and if you dont show respect how can u expect it to be given back to you? however you are right, there are random groups that do go and make christians look bad. look at the Westboro Baptist Church.. (if u dont know about them you can google them)

they make christians look like horrible, promoters of hate, but hopefully everyone knows that they arent followers of christ aka "christians". we know what a follower does, tries to act such in a way as the person they are following. u cannot be a follower of someone and go off in your own direction.

Answer 9

It is common to generalize any group. A group can only be a group if they share things in common, so to generalize a group is to acknowledge the groups common traits. Do you see your self as a mammal? Mammals are a group that have been generalized. For instance, mammals are warm blooded, have four chambered hearts, give birth to live young (except for the duck bill platypus), and let us not forget that all mammals have at least some hair. If you do not share things in common with a group then you can not technically call your self apart of that group.

Answer 10

Because they are illogical and unreasonable, allowing a few experiences with a handful of folks to represent the billions of Christians on the planet.

Or because they are knee-jerk fools who listen to a few television programs and determine that the television must be spreading the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Often, it is the same people who claim to defend logic and reason who act out of sentiment, emotionalism, and proclamation of a preference as global truth before doing any scientific inspection of their hypothesis.