Common Misconceptions about Christians (inspired by my brother Keith Lowell Jensen)

Last week my brother posted an article about misconceptions some Christians have about atheists.  I would like to post a quick little diatribe on misconceptions I think atheists have about Christians.

1.  If you don't believe the same thing the radical fundamentalist new earthers believe then you aren't a real Christian.  This one really pisses me off.  You know what?  These people didn't exist for 1,850 years of Christian church life.  So how could being a real Christian mean you believed what they do?  The truth is that Christianity from its very inception has been a very varied, and anarchic movement.  Even in the very birth of the religion, the supposed non-negotiables, were disagreed upon.  Even the very nature of who or what Christ was was in dispute.  So just because I don't believe what Pat "I got a diamond mine" Robertson says, doesn't mean I am not a Christian, it just means I am not a Christian of his ilk.

2.  If you don't believe what fundamentalists believe you are a buffet Christian just picking and choosing what you like.  This is along the same lines, however... and it is also not true.  Though not for the reasons you might expect.  ALL CHRISTIANS ARE BUFFET CHRISTIANS!!! You cannot read through the scriptures without in some way choosing to interpret some scriptures in light of others.  For instance the fundamentalists take Jesus literally when talking about what you do under the covers, but not when Jesus talks about what to do with your wallet.  You must make peace with a method of reconciling two seemingly opposing truths, my method is using Jesus actual life as the interpretive device.

3.  All Christians are conservative republicans.  Truth is, many are, many aren't, many don't fit into boxes of democrat republican, conservative liberal, and some are even radical anarchists like myself, and are so because of what we believe the bible and our faith teach us.

4.  All Christians are hypocrites... well that is true, but I am trying to become less so

Thanks heaps to my brother for guest posting while I was away getting in touch with my inner hippie

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