Why do people reject God because of the "hypocrisy of the church"?

Question

Meant to be an honest question...What does God have to do with the hypocrisy of men?

Answer 1

People reject God because of the people who represent him and the lack of evidence of a god of ANY sort.

I'm sorry, but most religious folks come off as pushy when it comes right down to it. :\

Answer 2

I don't think people reject God due to the hypocrisy of the church. Instead, I believe that they reject the church that they are in due to the hypocrisy of the congregation there.

Pesonally, I left the Baptist church due to the hypocrisy of the folks that I attended church with. They'd be passed out in the bar on Saturday night and avoiding me like the devil on Sunday morning.

And yes, I also went to the bars, but I don't adhere to the Baptist belief that drinking a couple of beers is sinful. Getting drunk, that's another story.

Answer 3

God has nothing to do w/ the hypocrisy of men,we all have our own free will. That's why we are not to judge and we are to worship God for our own faith, regardless of what anyone else is doing, because in the end it's just you and God at judgement time. Unfortunately that's where a lot of people miss it,because they are looking for some direction and it's from man, when it should be from God's word, if everyone read the bible and prayed for understanding it will be given, therefore the ones who don't know any better will not have to lean on man for their faith in God.

Answer 4

People reject God not because of the "hypocrisy of the church", but because "the church" never introduced them to God in the first place. As a result they had a skewed vision of who God was based upon the actions of those who claimed to know Him. They rejected God on the basis of "the hypocrisy of the church" because they did not have a first hand relationship with God. They relied on secondhand information from a unworthy mediator. Jesus described it as the blind leading the blind. The same dark spiritual powers that infected the Pharisee's did not leave planet earth when Pharisee's such as Gamile and Caiaphas. The demonic forces simply moved onto their next assignment, and today here they are infecting large portions of the American church.

If any person and/or persons who does not know God attempts to introduce Him to someone else they project their own inaccurate and often undesirable false image of God upon their victim.

(Jesus said that the Pharisee's traveled much for one acolyte, and they made that acolyte twice the son of hell they themselves were)

That false image (Golden Calf ring a bell?) is what is rejected, and even more unfortunately often that false image is what is accepted. In both instances God Himself is not rejected because he was never a part of the equation to begin with.

Although it does happen, few who truly know God well walk away from Him, and those that do, almost never come back. That is a truthful and sad yet interesting paradox.

There is also a polarized version of this excuse, the hypocrisy this time lying with the accuser and not the church itself. Often "the hypocrisy of the church" is simply and excuse as a result of being spiritually blind and deaf. Having never seen or heard God they seek fulfillment only in what they can see and hear, cast off all restraint, do as they please, and justify themselves in their own minds through the condemnation of those who do walk in character and integrity.


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To prologue this answer:


The context of this question is obviously directed towards the American Christian church at large. So we have our target market to identify. A broad slew of different denominations, all except Mormons use the exactly same text as the other. Many have completely different interpretations of the text. So the identity of "the church" is really quite schizophrenic and is dealing with a sizable personality crisis. One thing that almost all the churches do have in common however is quite clear; they lack in abundance the power spoken of in their own text.

Some claim that having supernatural power isn't of God anymore, but most just ignore it rather than ask themselves a vital question: how can a few Satanist punk teenagers down the street operate in a higher level of supernatural power than 99% of churches in America today. This inconsistency is what the Biblical text says is not only possible but necessary and the lack of action upon its statements is merely a symptom of a much greater sickness: the church at large is primarily dead. "Faith without works is dead".

If none of the characteristics of Christianity exist within a group of people flying under the Christian flag they themselves are decieved about the very foundational aspects of what makes up their own identity. The fruits of the spirit (kindness, gentleness, patience, humility, bound together by the love of Christ), or the gifts of the spirit (the prophetic annointing, signs & wonders, tongue-speaking, and many others) then you have to ask yourselves this question; are we human because we say so or because we are? We are only human if we have all the characteristics of a human. It is insanity for a man to claim he is a woman; he does not have certain characteristics that make up a woman. Its the same with Christianity("little Christs"), saying you are a Christian has no value credibility unless you are currently living a lifestyle within the very concrete parameters that define Christianity. Christianity has absolute concrete parameters. Anyone who says Christianity is an abstract is misinformed. Christianity does not exist through mental acknowlegement or even coroporate agreement but through an individuals actions that display itself as such. These concrete parameters are defined in the text used by Christianity compiled into a book widely know as "The Holy Bible". However most just accept what they are taught and never seek out what their textbook says.

-Jimmy


P.S. That textbook is alive, so pay lots of attention to it.

Answer 5

Because people associate "God" with the "church".I grew up in the church & saw others look down their nose at us because we didn't have as much money as they did, weren't as well dressed, etc. I have read the Bible, & my understanding is that the church is not the building, but the congregation. I think that spirituality is different from religion. I could be wrong. God knows I've been wrong before (lol).

Answer 6

hypocrisy?????

church issues i understand. some reject god because they don't get what they want. some reject God because they don't get to do as they want, such as certain known sins, some reject God because they see how certain churches treat their people from making their church care more about the money(tithing) making the church feel more like a business. some reject not God, but the denomination they looked into and don't see that there are other ways to learn of his message, other beliefs they were feeling that one rejected and another excepts, but they didn't know of the one that excepted it. such as those who left a church because of the gifting of tongues. some reject God's law and only except Jesus as law, yet Jesus said he wasn't on earth to replace, but to full fill and teach gods laws better. when certain churches ignore Jesus in that they tend to ignore the old testament which in turns effects confusion and rejection. my family has been touched by all of the above. but we still do not reject God, we reject the teachings of man and follow the words in the bible to our interpretation and learning. as well as historical facts learned thru college theologian studied and what we feel god has placed in our understanding. but that is how we view it, many may disagree and call us hypocrites, but we only have to answer to god and Jesus for our words. God bless and i hope you find your answer.

Answer 7

God has nothing to do with hypocrisy, men do, and men and women make up the congregations who follow God.

Answer 8

Well I rejected the Church for the hypocrisy within it. I rejected God for the inconsistencies in the bible that was written and edited by man.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 9

One shoe certainly does not fit all, but I think many people use the hypocrisy of others as a convenient "out" for themselves. Rather than follow God, they think they have found a good excuse not to.

Answer 10

Because just as people use the lies of the liberal media to make general negative opinions about our excellent Country, they also make generalized opinions about Christians based upon false or misleading information presented by modern churches.

It all comes down to a quick fix. People don't want to think for themselves so they use a quick fix to fit into the norm and jabber just like everyone else about lies that have no basis in the way things actually are.