Mis-interpreting Christianity

On Wednesday, I went with my church to go see The I-Heart Movie. It's a well-done movie which the trailer doesn't give justice to. I went into the theatre not wanting to be there, wondering "what in the world have I gotten myself into?" Hold on, before you continue reading, if you haven't already, click on the link and watch the trailer.

It's an inspirational Christian movie, and it made me realize a couple of things.
One of them being that I feel that it is harder to say that you are Christian these days, than to admit that you're gay. I find this ironic because it used to be the opposite a few years ago.

Here's why I think this: First of all, when people hear that you're a Christian, they automatically assume that you're all self-righteous and hypocritical, or like a cheesy Ned Flanders, or even a conservative goody-two shoes. They think you've got a disease or something. If you don't believe me, you should hear how a few people at my old workplace talk about Christians.

On the other hand, its easier to be gay these days because of all the media discourse they get about their issues. Gay people are seen as victims of society. Of course, it was different a few years back, but now this is what it is.

Christians are seen as hypocritical because:
1. The Crusades, where lots of innocent (and not so innocent) people were killed through a religious battle by Christians.

However, anyone who is familiar with the Bible will know that killing people is not something Christians are supposed to do. The best I can do to explain the Crusades is that the people in command of the killing sprees weren't influenced by God, but rather a different source. It is tragic that the image of God was distorted by these killers.

2. There are many people out there today that claim they are Christian, but don't live out a life that reflects God. From little things like swearing, to even bigger things like pre-marital sex, non-believers only see hypocrites. Non-believers see Christians sinning and setting bad examples again and again, which leads to Christianity as a whole to seem like a big lie.

Of course, no one is perfect, which is why we need God in the first place. Through our weaknesses, we begin to see his strength. Non-Christians need to see that Christians are just people too, and not judge the religion based on the mistakes Christians make.

3. Sometimes, Christians aren't very loving, but seem more judgmental. The movie, I-Heart, showed a person holding up a sign that said "GOD HATES FAGS", which isn't true. God loves everyone, its just that He created woman to be with man. It says in Leviticus 20:13, "If a man has sex with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is abhorrent". God does not hate "fags", but rather, hates the sin of homosexuality.