Are Christians responsible for improving the impressions that non-believers hold of Christianity?

Question

In the NBA, NFL, MLB and most colleges, athletes and others are held responsible for behaving in ways that reflect well on the team and/or the school.

Are Christians supposed to comport themselves in such a way as to give the best impression of Christianity to non-Christians? In what way?

- {♂♂} - {♂♀} - {♀♀} -

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

I'm not a Christian, and prefer not to choose the best answer. So I will refer this to the voting community!

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 1

If not Christians... then who? The Buddhists?

As for how... good question. Not launching themselves at us like attack dogs for being not-Christian would be nice, for a start.

http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/anti-wic.htm

http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/lothlor.htm

http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/iron-oak.htm

http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/fire01.htm

http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/antipagn.htm

Answer 2

I do not look toward Cristians to teach me or show me how to live my life and be a "decent person", and I don't expect them to want to, or need to.

There are more than 1,500 denominations of Christianity and para-church organizations in the world. In additon there are thousands of of "independent" Christian congregations, which are not affiliated with a denomination.

What do all these Cristians think? How do they "behave". Are they all alike?

How could Cristians possibly believe that they have the "responsibility" to set good examples? Examples of what?

Cristianity is the largest, single-most diverse and "disorganized" religion in the world.

Because of Christianity's vast diversity we have the Evil phenomena of "religious exclusion". This involves defining some individuals or their denominations as sub-Christian, quasi-Christian or non-Christian. This approach has led to serious conflicts. In some countries, such as Bosnia and Northern Ireland, discord has resulted in mass murder and even genocide.

Recent religiously based conflicts throughout the world have shown that if the political and/or economic climate is highly stressed, some believers find that it can be only a series of small transitions to go from "You are different from us," to "You are not a real Christian," to "You are sub-human," to "You have no right to live."

Fortunately, there is a great reservoir of tolerance in North America that has prevented intra-Christian and inter-religious friction from degenerating into widespread violence. However, three trends may cause the religious climate to change in the future:

Religious diversity in North America is increasing.

Fear of terrorism is playing an increasing role in the lives of many North Americans. Many adults associate terrorists with the religion of Islam.

The beliefs of Americans are becoming polarized along geographical lines, with the South retaining its conservative Christian identification, while much of the North East becomes secular and religiously liberal, and the West becomes rather eclectic and experimental.

"We're in for rough times ahead " .

Answer 3

I think the focus should be on living your life the best you can. Worrying about what others think of you shouldn't be your focus whether you are a Christian, Gay, or whatever! No single person is responsible for how people view the group that you fit into. You can't control how people look at things. Just be the best person you can be. Live your life.

Answer 4

Yeah, i think so. I think Christians are definately responsible for how non-Christians view Christianity. The Bible tells us from beginning to end that we are responsible. I think the worst is when people don't have a relationship with christ but say that they are Christians and when they do horrible things, it makes the rest of us look bad.

Answer 5

My demeanor is subject to scrutiny by anyone. Judge me or examine my fruits I don't mind. There are some who say they are christian. But do not live it. I can pray for them but each christian is responsible for their actions. That is free will. Let me say what the Bible says "Not all they that cry lord, lord shall see the kingdom of heaven" Don't judge everyone by the actions of a few. It would be like me saying You are atheist therefore you must be bad. You are not bad because of a title or group. Each person must be judged on their own merit.

Answer 6

Our responsibility as Christians is to be as faithful to our beliefs as we can. The degree of our success or failure will influence how others perceive us.
Judgments made from afar and without some fundamental understandings is most likely to be skewed to some degree. It's a human thing!

Answer 7

It really doesn't matter if all Christians acted like saints. The basis of the religion is a flawed, man-made book. Fairy tales, legends, and fantasy, don't equate with truth and facts.

Answer 8

that is a very tough answer. I would have to think about this before giving a true response. I will say that we are held to a higher standard of expectations due to our beliefs. Beyond that I should restrain in responding

Answer 9

Absolutely and of course!

Now allow me to add that I am responsible for giving you the gospel message and doing my best to lead a Biblical life.

I am not here to make the world like me. In fact, the Bible promises the opposite.

Answer 10

Yes and No, some non-beleivers come with a special attitude all their very own, on the other hand Christians are to follow the teachings of Jesus. Some do better than others but we are all humans after all.

Answer 11

Of course they are, but just as the NBA, NFL and MLB - it only takes a small fraction of the membership to make news and ruin it for the rest. particularly troubling is when high profile Christians make big errors (like Barry Bonds in MLB to use your analogy)