CHRISTIAN HYPOCRISY - 02.01.2000 - By: B. Hearn

A skeptical coworker advised me recently that, “Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites,” and that Christians see themselves as morally superior, yet fail to demonstrate this by the way they act. These objections were then followed by the observation that Christendom has had a sordid past with the killing of Jews, the crusades and so forth. Another related view of the skeptic is: “If Christianity really makes such a difference in the individual, then why doesn’t it have more effect corporately?” This suggests perhaps that the individual is faking it, since Christianity from the skeptic's viewpoint hasn’t made any real positive impact on our welfare as a whole. When encountering such remarks as these I have often noticed an implied rational link to the skeptic’s rejection of Christianity as a system of truth. In fact, during my skeptical years as an agnostic I often cited the negative experiences I had with Christian hypocrites along with my doubts about core Christian truths. Although it is a fallacious argument to falsify Christian truth–claims merely on the grounds that hypocrisy exists in Christendom, it seems to be a fairly common tactic.

One approach to viewing the skeptic’s criticism on the issue of hypocrisy is to break it down into two areas: objection and conclusion. The objection, or expression of disapproval, is fairly obvious and is usually expressed clearly in the skeptic’s remarks. Basically, Christians don’t always practice what they preach. Adding insult to injury is Christianity’s exclusive claim on ultimate truth, even though most religious worldviews make similar claims. So in other words, the skeptic hears us saying; “Our way is the only way,” and meanwhile we appear to go about living our lives in discordance with our own teachings. At this point I should mention that in order to be a hypocrite one has to affect the virtues he does not have and I seriously doubt that most criticism keeps this in perspective. Rather the term hypocrisy is often used loosely to refer to one who asserts moral absolutes and doesn't live up to them, whether they try to fake it or not. I presuppose this here and focus more on falling short than on affectation. But what about the conclusion often drawn from this? Does hypocrisy in Christendom mean to the skeptic that Christianity is untrue, or that it’s just a poor worldview based on whatever standard the skeptic chooses? The following is my attempt to address some of the skeptic’s objections and conclusions that I believe, based on my experience, are likely to materialize in a discussion on Christian hypocrisy.

Christianity is a poor worldview because of its sordid history and the flagrant hypocrisy seen today in many of its members.

• We shouldn’t judge Christianity by its misuse. Those who murdered and tortured others in the name of Christianity did not act in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Would atheists want their worldview to be judged by the actions of Stalin who was both a murderer of millions and an atheist? If you are going to judge Christianity then you must consider Christ who claimed to be “the way and the truth and the life…”(John 14:6)

• What is the point of reference by which one judges a worldview to be poor? The answer may reveal the subjective and often arbitrary standards used to judge the Christian worldview. Even if the basis of judgment seems reasonable from a practical standpoint – such as, “is it helpful to me?” one should consider moving away from issues of practicality and focus on issues of truth. This is a reiteration of what C. S. Lewis wrote: “If Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it, however helpful it might be: if it is true, every honest man will want to believe it, even if it gives him no help at all.[1]”

I have personally found this to be one of the most difficult concepts to discuss with skeptics. After quoting Lewis [above] to an atheist one day, he responded – “no I wouldn’t.” I nearly rejoined, “Lewis said, every honest man.” The fact that I wanted to respond in this way only demonstrates my own nature, which is depraved apart from God. It will lead me to do precisely what Jesus would not do. Jesus would not make a confrontational statement for the sake of wit. In other words, I am a Christian who will act in an unchristian way when left to my own devices. Only by the fruits of the Spirit will I act like Christ. This is an important point that I will elaborate on later.

Christians believe they are morally superior, yet they don’t live up to the high standards they preach to others.                                

• Some Christians probably do believe that they are morally superior to non-Christians, but this is not a Christ-like attitude. In fact, the Bible clearly describes both the depraved state of our hearts and the debilitating power of sin. Here the Apostle Paul describes the conflict within: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Romans 7:18  “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man am I! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:21-25)

The life of a Christian requires a constant effort to remain in Christ, by remaining in the Word and through prayer. The Apostle Paul called to those who were at the churches in Galatia: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) When we cease to be in Christ, we fall out of step, and our sinful nature is right there to pick it up. In other words, Christians aren’t transformed permanently into morally perfect beings because the thoughts, words and actions that result from our sinful nature continually stain our character. As Tony Evans puts it: “We keep putting on dirty clothes after we get out of the shower.” In Christian terms, we require both a cleansing by the blood of Christ and the steady guidance of the Holy Spirit to stay clean. So it’s only by the continual unmerited grace of God through Christ that Christians have any kind of "moral perfection," and this grace is available to anyone who asks. Oswald Chambers approaches it from another angle with this concise statement taken from Colossians 1:28 “Perfect in Christ Jesus!”[2] Chambers explains that anyone, even the vilest person you can think of, as being Perfect when they are in Jesus. Everyone is “Perfect in Christ” and no one can earn it. This doesn’t leave much room for boasting and as the Apostle Paul also wrote: “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.” (Romans 3:27)