Sometimes we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Let me give you two examples where Christians cannot seem to win with non-Christians.
Non-Christians will often complain that Christians are hypocrites, by which they mean we do not live up to our own moral codes. While we say people should do X, we ourselves fail to do X. And yet, these same people will complain when one Christian calls out another Christian for their immoral behavior. Now the complaint is “you shouldn’t judge” (not recognizing that they themselves are making a judgement when they say “you should not judge” – and thus being hypocritical themselves – and that they make a judgment when they say Christians are hypocrites). So let me get this straight. Christians are damned if they fail to live up to their own moral standards, and they are damned if they try to encourage each other to live up to their own moral standards. Can we win?
And when you think about it, what kind of person would morally condemn someone for encouraging others to be moral? Only an immoral person would do so, or someone who is gravely confused about the concept of judging (see my article on judging).
Another example concerns evil and judgment. Non-Christians will often fault God for allowing so much evil in the world. And yet, these same people also fault God for being mean and unloving when He judged people in the Bible for their evil. If God allows evil. He’s evil. If He judges evil, He’s evil. Can God win?
The fact of the matter is that some people will complain about Christianity no matter what. Like spaghetti, they’ll throw out any accusation they think will stick to the wall, even if their accusations are internally inconsistent with each other.
Thinking to Believe 
October 5, 2020 at 8:02 pm
Jesus was perfect.He healed all that came to Him.He raised the dead,but we don’t realize how thankful those families were to receive their loved ones back from the dead! Yet He was criticised day and night. They really don’t like a perfect person. It becomes mirror to them showing how imperfect they are.
By criticizing He became inferior to them. WE do He doesn’t. Read Matthew 23.
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October 6, 2020 at 2:12 pm
Well, I think it’s more nuanced than that. Hypocrisy is when one claims to live by a certain moral code but then fails to live up to that code. A non-Christian who does not follow the Christian moral code can call out a Christian for not living up to the Christian moral code, because you don’t have to be part of the “in group” in order to notice and mention the hypocrisy being committed in that group.
Furthermore, part of the Christian moral code is Matthew 7:1, which states, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” And that’s where the problem lies. If a Christian calls out another Christian for hypocrisy, he is judging, which contradicts his moral code, thus making him a hypocrite.
But the problem there is that not every Christian interprets the Bible the same way. In fact, there are literally tens of thousands of Christian denominations, all of which interpret the Bible differently from other denominations, often in profound ways (like the conditions for salvation). Many Christians believe the Bible is the work of people, not God, and thus take from the Bible what they find useful and discard what they don’t. So their moral code may not include following Matthew 7:1, in which case they aren’t being hypocrites by judging someone.
So like I said…nuanced.
But even a Christian who follows Matthew 7:1 as part of his moral code can avoid being labeled a hypocrite by simply not judging other Christians who are behaving hypocritically. You’re not your brother’s keeper, after all. 😉
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October 15, 2020 at 7:51 am
Derek, as Christians we don’t live by a “moral code”. We live through Christ. In other words, we are trying to follow rules and regulations to measure up to some unattainable standard, we live and walk by the Holy Spirit. That’s much different than keeping a moral code although the end result may sometimes look the same but it is in essence totally different.
The matter of judging has been so criticized because it is not properly understood as to what Jesus was getting at. When the scriptures says don’t judge lest ye be judged it’s not referring to discerning between right and wrong. However it is referring to making sweeping judgement calls about another person and their spiritual standing based on their behavior. In other words, if I see you drinking a beer, it is wrong for me to say something like, “he’s not a real Christian because he drinks beer”. Maybe that’s not the best example, but making a final judgment call on anybody’s spiritual state or status based on anything you see them do that is questionable or morally wrong is the kind of judgement Jesus is talking about.
By pointing out other’s faults, we forget that we all stumble in many ways, as James put it. It’s not right for us as Christians who are living under grace to go around and point our fingers at the failings of others. This is how the Pharisees operated and Jesus called them hypocrites.
As you said, the concept is nuanced. We need to be careful to go to any extreme. Right is right and wrong is wrong. The question is how to handle these situations when it comes to people and how to behave and respond in a Christ like manner.
Regarding the interpretation of the bible, we are all constantly learning. The bible is not Algebra and we’re not trying to get a perfect score so we can impress God. Our goal should be greater understanding and the cornerstone of this understanding is growing in the grace and knowledge our Lord Jesus Christ.
Cheers !
Naz
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October 15, 2020 at 1:32 pm
“Derek, as Christians we don’t live by a “moral code”. We live through Christ.”
Well, from the perspective of a non-believer, there is such thing as a Christian moral code, a Muslim moral code, a Hindu moral code, and so on. A moral code is just the set of behavioral rules followed by members of a religion (whatever the explanation for why those rules are followed).
“When the scriptures says don’t judge lest ye be judged it’s not referring to discerning between right and wrong. However it is referring to making sweeping judgement calls about another person and their spiritual standing based on their behavior.”
But how do you know? It’s not like the Bible comes with a key or legend to reference for proper interpretation. It’s often unclear what should be regarded as literal vs. metaphorical, how vagueness and multiple meanings should be interpreted, and so on. That’s why there are so many Christian denominations, as I noted before.
It seems to me Jesus is talking about not judging others for being imperfect unless you yourself become perfect (which Jesus also says nobody is: Luke 18:19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone”), so pointing out someone’s moral failings is hypocrisy. And isn’t that what this blog post is about? Here’s the whole section:
Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Ironically, we have to judge the meaning of a passage about not judging! 😉
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October 16, 2020 at 7:01 am
Derek, you summed it up nicely, nobody’s perfect so don’t judge.
Regarding the “moral code” thing, I agree with you again that from the perspective of a non-believer that certainly is the case. However, once a person becomes a believer he will realize there is no moral code.
Cheers !
Naz
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October 16, 2020 at 6:13 pm
Hmm. But the definition of a “moral code” is “a set of rules about how people should behave or about how something must be done” or “relating to beliefs about what is right or wrong” (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/moral-code). Clearly the Bible contains numerous such examples, from the Ten Commandments to the Golden Rule. Perhaps your definition is a bit too narrow?
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October 19, 2020 at 7:13 am
Derek, yes my definition is very narrow and not fully explained as I would rather provoke thought than just blabber on ….
There is a world of difference in following rules or a moral code than there is following Christ. The ten commandments and the golden rule are not enough and does not do justice to explain what happens to a person when they are saved and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
To reduce a believers life to following a moral code makes the Christian faith no different than any other religion in the world. Every religion has a moral code and while Christianity surely does have a moral compass, it is not the driving force of the faith. The driving force of the faith is Jesus Christ in you. Everything starts within us and not from the outside with rules and regulations.
As believers, we are freed from the curse of the Law because the bible says the Law is a curse to anyone who does not follow it completely.
Naz
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October 19, 2020 at 2:06 pm
Well, having lived all over the world for much of my life, and being exposed to so many different religions and getting to know their followers, I’d have to say that Christianity is really no different than the other religions (apart from having orders of magnitude more denominations). I mean they all have their “spiritual awakening,” that feeling of euphoria or “burning in the bosom” when they believe they are in the presence of their deities, etc. It sounds exactly like the way Christians describe being filled with the Holy Spirit. Different rites, practices, histories, afterlives, certainly…but that being “touched by the divine” and that feeling of certainty of truth is evidently a universal experience.
The moral codes of all those religions are also somewhat different, but their purpose remains the same: proscribing and prescribing certain behaviors that the deities don’t or do like. And those behaviors may or may not be the driving force of those religions. That’s all I meant by using the term. It’s not meant to take away from any additional aspects you might care to add on top of the moral code.
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October 20, 2020 at 6:03 am
Derek, it sounds like you’ve been around the block a few times, no disrespect intended. I’m sorry that this is the view of the Christian faith you have deduced in your travels.
Good luck.
Naz
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October 21, 2020 at 11:40 am
Why would I take acknowledgement of experience as disrespect? Exposure to a wide variety of countries and cultures is important for perspective and personal growth.
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