Tackling Thorny Issues in the Church

In This Chapter

Considering whether hypocrisy disproves Christianity

Seeing why being good isn’t a ticket to heaven

Finding out why Jesus is the only path to salvation

If you ever watch a political debate, chances are that a candidate will dance the political two-step. You know the routine. A candidate is asked a hardball question. The politician smiles and starts the response with “Good question; I’m glad you asked that...” Then he or she spends the next several minutes dancing all around the question without ever really answering it. Just once, I’d love to hear someone be honest and just confess, “I haven’t the foggiest notion.” I’d vote for that candidate on the spot!

Although politicians have perfected the art of dodging issues, voters don’t take candidates who make a habit of it too seriously. In the same way, you won’t pay Christianity much attention if Christians greet tough questions with a Fred Astaire foxtrot. Therefore, in this chapter, I dive into some of the thorniest issues that non-Christians and Christians raise about the Christian faith, dealing with issues inside the Church. (For thorny issues outside of the Church, flip to Chapter 16.) As I explore these topics, you don’t have to worry about me doing any dancing. My wife’s sore feet tell you that I have two lefties, so I pledge to leave my dancing shoes at home.

Observing Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is everywhere. You see it on the news – corrupt televangelists back in the 1990s and scandalous priests in the 2000s. You see it in the cinema – Christians portrayed as saying one thing and then acting to the contrary. Whether it’s from the media, the movies, or your meddling neighbor, all too often you encounter people proclaiming faith on a Sunday morning, but then utterly failing to live it out during the rest of the week. When this occurs, you easily become disappointed, discouraged, and even downright disgusted.

Sadly, this hypocrisy is enough of a turn-off to get many people to dismiss the Christian faith outright. Christianity’s worst enemy many times seems to be Christians themselves, because most don’t seem to be able to practice what they preach. Yet, as real of a problem as hypocrisy is, is it legit to hold this issue against the Christian faith itself? Or, in a grand irony, does hypocrisy actually help prove the core teachings of Christianity?

Considering two types of hypocrites

The word hypocrite actually comes from the Greek word for actor. Basically, hypocrites are people pretending to be what they’re not; in regard to Christianity, hypocrites are people who call themselves Christians, but whose actions don’t follow suit. I divide these hypocrites into two groups:

Weak-kneed double-talkers: Those who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk

Pharisee wannabes: Those who walk the walk, but don’t do it out of true love for and devotion to God

People often fall victim to one of these forms of hypocrisy or even to a combination of both of them.

Weak-kneed double-talkers: Constantly sinning and calling themselves Christians

The first category of hypocrites includes those who believe all the right stuff but are inconsistent in living out that belief. They’re weak in saying no to sin. They know that what they’re doing is wrong, but they do it anyway. But hypocrisy goes beyond moral failure; instead, it’s moral failure that Christians cover up and keep hidden. Weak-kneed people are the disgraced Christians who make the headlines: the pastor who has an affair with someone he’s counseling or the secretary who gets caught stealing the church funds. The weak-kneed aren’t usually prideful people. In fact, they’re often ashamed and saddened at their inability to do what’s holy and pure.

Temptation hits people at the exact spot in which they’re weakest. Therefore, to some extent, every Christian falls victim to being weak-kneed on certain sins in his or her life. However, weak-kneed double-talkers constantly struggle to give over an area of sin in their lives to God. When left unchecked, they create an entire private life of sin that lies just below the surface of their “normal” life.

Pharisee wannabes: Living by the rules and condemning others

Chapter 4 introduces you to the Pharisees, the dominant religious teachers of first-century Palestine. Many Christians today fall into the same trap of legalism (self-righteous and rigid practice of the outward acts of the faith) that the Pharisees did 2,000 years ago. These Pharisee wannabes are consumed with outer purity by following rules, but ignore inner qualities like love, grace, and humility. Unlike the weak-kneed, the modern-day Pharisees behave outwardly in a moral and upright manner. In fact, looking at their actions alone, they appear to be model Christians. But because they’re so consumed with following the rules, they develop a hardness of heart that takes them even farther away from God as they live their lives.

Similarly, the original Pharisees were so obsessed with following the Hebrew Law that they rejected Jesus’ message of love and grace. Outward morality became more important to them than true devotion to God. In fact, perhaps the greatest paradox of Jesus’ ministry was that he endlessly clashed with the outwardly pure Pharisees, not with the blatant sinners of his day. Jesus points out the dead ends of their legalism in Matthew 23:27-28:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

The point that Jesus was trying to make was that the Pharisees loved following their rules in the name of God more than they actually loved God – so much so that when God dwelled in their midst as Jesus Christ, they rejected him. Their black-and-white rules couldn’t handle Jesus’ radical claims of grace, mercy, and love.

Pharisaism is a disease, however, that not only plagued first-century Jews in Palestine, but has also afflicted portions of the Christian Church throughout its history. This age-old bent towards Pharisaism leaves people striving to follow God through behavior rather than through love.

Pharisaism produces a selfish pride that negatively impacts one’s relationships with God and others. First, with a focus on behavior, modern-day Pharisees give lip service to grace, but subconsciously, their pride coaxes them to believe that their “righteous” behavior is what saves them. Second, this group of hypocrites easily falls susceptible to treating others who don’t measure up to their standards with disdain. If you walk across their path and don’t make the grade, then watch out! Ouch!

Legalism is a trap that appeals to many people because it allows them to draw boundaries that, if they meet the expectations, God considers them acceptable. In a weird sort of way, the black-and-white world of legalism seems easier to many people, even though it’s restrictive. Although some people rebel against boundaries, others actually cling to them for security.