definitive essay for Christian

           The word Christian has come to mean things that it never should have. It has been attached to people and groups that weren’t truly Christian and therefore created a negative stereotype for the word Christianity, or Christian when referring to a person. This should not be, for any person of normal knowledge should be able to tell a Christian from a hypocrite.
           When someone claims to be a Christian do you just accept it, or do you question his statement and judge from his life whether he is Christian? That is where the problem begins. Someone claims to be Christian but their life does not exhibit the truths they preach. Then everyone believes them. When that "Christian" messes up it reflects badly upon all. It all starts with the individual who doesn’t consider the fact that when someone else says they are a Christian it isn’t necessarily true.
           The life of a Christian should not exhibit an attitude of self-righteousness, hatred, or violence. The Bible teaches humility, love, and peace. So how can someone who has accepted the truths of the Bible and lives by them do something hateful or violent? When people listen to someone claim to be a Christian and do something hateful they should question whether he is a Christian or not. If the individual apologizes and shows an attitude of true regret, then you can assume that he is Christian, and simply messed up. But if he refuses to apologize it could be that he is a hypocrite. Do not use his mistakes to create a stereotype of all Christians.
           There have been organizations that have used the name of Christ in their title to cover themselves. Then these “Christian” organizations do things that are very unchristian. Then people look at the organization and say that all Christian organizations are just like that “Christian” organization. All the while they ignore the true Christian organizations, such as Compassion International, who are out in the world helping the helpless, feeding the hungry, and giving medicine to the sick in poor countries. The stereotypes for Christian organizations always seem to come about because of people or groups that mess up. People should judge organizations by the actions that are made by that organization; and not merely by the claims of the organization.
           One of the actions that was made by a "Christian" organization that has greatly affected people’s attitudes toward Christians is the bombing of abortion clinics. The group that bombed the abortion clinics called themselves the "Army of God." They said they were Christians who were fighting for God. This cannot be true. They can’t be Christian and bomb abortion clinics; because that is in direct opposition to the teaching of scripture, which they claim to live by.
           This case of mistaken identity has cost Christians a lot. Many people have acted rude toward me because they had the idea that all Christians were extreme pro-lifers who were willing to kill in order to bring about the outlawing of abortion. That is not true. I am pro-life but I would never kill people in order to save lives.
           Some people have good reason to be confused about whether a person is a Christian or not a Christian because they fail to know what the qualities of a Christian are. These people should read the Bible and discover what it says about being a Christian. When you have a lack of knowledge about something you are more likely to interpret something done by a “Christian” group or individual as something that all Christians would do.
           In order to correct this problem and destroy this stereotype, people must accept the fact that people who claim to be Christians are not necessarily Christian. People must judge individuals and organizations by their actions and not by the claims that they make.

Written by:
Jonathan Johnston


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