Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Semi-Official Blog of Zack Hunt

Home
Progressive Christian
Should Christians Publicly Criticize Other Christians?

Should Christians Publicly Criticize Other Christians?

Last updated on: January 15, 2016 at 11:59 am by Zack Hunt

Should Christians Publicly Criticize Other Christians? 2016-01-15T11:59:37-06:00 Zack Hunt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

argue (Credit: the rik pics, Flickr Creative Commons)

What will the world think if they see us fighting like this?

You’re driving people away from the Church.

Tearing down our brothers and sisters makes people want nothing do with with the church.

As they say, if I had a dollar for every time one these shame bombs was dropped in the comment section of a Christian blog or tweeted out or left in a Facebook thread, I’d have enough money to finally fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming Batman.

Alas, I have not yet discovered a way to monetized the ubiquitous appearance of Christian clichés. So saving the world from cartoon villainy will have to wait for another day.

That’s not to say the folks who employ these cliches are cartoon villains. I’m sure some of them are coming from a genuine place of concern for the Church. But ultimately, whether intentionally or not, these sorts of attacks are nothing more than an attempt shame dissidents and critics into silence. They’re employed by Christians either angry or disappointed that their fellow Christians are criticizing and questioning leaders or institutions they believe deserve unwavering support from the faithful. It may be spun as a call to unity, but ultimately rhetoric like this is the last defense of those who have little to no evidence or facts to defend their beloved. So, rather than demonstrating why the criticism directed at their beloved is wrong, these folks result to holy shaming in the name of “unity” and potentially lost converts.

The ironic thing about all of this concern over what the world will think is I’ve never once heard non-Christians list “publicly criticizing each other” among the reasons why they don’t come to church or why they don’t believe in God to begin with.

Science, hypocrisy, philosophical doubts, abuse at the hands of church folks? Check, check, check, and double check.

But I’ve never encountered anyone who said they weren’t a Christian because public disagreement between Christians destroyed their faith in the existence of God. Nor have I heard any of my fellow millennials list public criticizing each other among the reasons they so famously are fleeing the Church.

Clearly, that is all anecdotal, but in the midst of a never-ending flow of think pieces, books, polls, and studies meant to explain why so many people are leaving the Church, I can’t recall a single instance in which either a non-Christian and/or former church goer listed public criticism among the reasons they stopped going to church or never showed up in the first place.

Maybe somebody somewhere made that claim in a poll I have yet to see or a think piece I have yet to read, but without exception I have only ever heard the aforementioned concerns from my fellow Christians.

Never from people outside the Church.

If anything my non-Christian friends and neighbors care far more about the Church hiding her problems behind closed doors instead of openly confessing her sins and answering her critics.

Need proof?

Look no further than the infamous Catholic priest abuse scandal and the ever-increasing list of Protestant child and sex abuse scandals that have followed in its wake. The churches involved went out of their way to their flaws and failures in order to maintain public appearances, to keep up the illusion that they were one big happy, functional, and perfect family that always got along, never fought, and certainly never did anything sinful.

The result of trying to hide the Church’s problems behind closed doors while silencing anyone and everyone who dared to speak out was and still is a mass exodus of the faithful and the assurance that countless others who never attended church in the past would almost certainly never darken the doors of a church in the future.

Obviously, the abuse alone was enough to drive people away from the Church, but the coverup that followed and the ongoing attempt to silence dissent and quash criticism in the name of unity, sent a clear message to those on the outside that public image was more important to the Church than integrity, faithfulness, and the truth.

Sex abuse scandals are an extreme example to be sure, but it’s a important precedent in the digital age when every church scandal or public disagreement is met by online holy warriors who believe it their divinely ordained responsibility to maintain the Church’s public image. In the shadow of such heinous coverups, theses attempts to shame and silence fellow Christians merely serve to reinforce the idea that the Church cares only about its grip on power and nothing about injustices done in its name.

If Jesus was starting off his teaching ministry today, he would almost certainly be condemned by the very people claiming to carry his banner. I mean, look at the gospels. So much of Jesus’ teaching ministry is spent debating, rebuffing, and rebuking religious leaders – his fellow Jews. For example, when Jesus says “You have heard it said…but I say…,” he’s directly rebuking the teaching of other religious leaders and sometimes even correcting scripture itself.

His own disciples didn’t escape public criticism either. It seems like you can’t go a chapter without Jesus having to put them in their place for the dumb things they said and did, like the time branded Peter as “Satan.” Not exactly the sort of warm fuzzy, constantly affirming schtick we demand of our Christian leaders today.

And then there’s Matthew 23.

Remember that chapter of Matthew’s gospel?

In it Jesus goes off on the religious leaders of his day, denouncing them as blind guides, hypocrites, white-washed tombs, and children of hell among many other not so warm and fuzzy criticisms. Can you imagine the reaction to such a diatribe today? The holy warriors would come out in force to shame Jesus into silence by condemning him for “tearing down his brothers” and “sowing disunity” that will “do nothing but drive people away from the Church.”

Don’t get me wrong.

The pursuit of unity is a noble goal.

But unity simply for the sake of unity is not only pointless, it’s dangerous.

When unity is elevated above all else, the practice of silencing those who disrupt that unity and shaming critics who reveal the Church’s failures becomes a sort of perverse spiritual discipline, a holy calling thrust on those who very well may have good intentions, but who fail to see the vital importance public debate and even criticism play in the life of the Church.

For without transparency and public accountability, abuse and corruption thrive.

This, I think, is a big reason why God inspired the writing of scripture.

Rather than sacred propaganda, the Bible is a living testament to the constant failures and flaws, infighting and disagreements that shape the story of God’s people. It’s a bold exercise in transparency that does little to cover up centuries worth of egregious sins and fierce disagreements of men and women we now consider saints. Murder, rape, slavery, exploitation, and condemnation. It’s all there for all to see.

As if God wanted it that way.

Not that God wanted murder or rape or slavery or any of that to happen.

Of course God didn’t.

Rather, it seems God wanted those stories recorded and left in scripture to remind us how important honesty, transparency, and accountability are to our identity as the people of God.

And how much more important it is maintain those virtues rather than pursue a quixotic quest to keep up a perfect public image.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 12, 2016

Has Ted Cruz Ever Actually Read The Bible?

Next Post

January 21, 2016 CA Church's Robocall Campaign: "You Are Going To Hell If You Are Not A Member Of Our Church"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Review Classifieds Commentary Fundie Friday Funny Pictures Music Video News Prophecy Technology Televangelist Throwback Thursday Tract Tuesday Tracts Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz