Continuing where we left off …
This week we continue our series on Losing Faith by considering the Second Objection to God and Christianity, “The believer becoming mad at or disappointed by the Church.”
As I’ve discussed objections to Christianity with former believers over the years, I’ve heard the following complaints about the Christian Church:
- “The Church is filled with hypocrites.”
- “How can an organization (or religion) that is unable to live up to its own standards be considered “holy” and the “Bride of Christ?”
- “The Church doesn’t hold its own leaders to the Christian standard.”
- “How can I in good conscience participate in and support such an institution?”
These are all valid complaints. If so, then, why is a former believer not justified in deciding that if this is the best that God can do, He either must not exist, or He is not worth following? The non-believer finds too much discordance between the ideal of the Church and the actuality of the Church. They’ve seen the Church fail, time and again, in its basic mission, to faithfully represent Christ and His message to the world.
Honestly, I can understand why the non-believer uses the Church’s own miscues to justify their lack of faith or refusal to participate in organized religion. I have made these same observations and asked myself these same questions. But I have come to a different conclusion in my personal quest. I believe that there are sound answers to each of these objections which many of those who opt out of the Church either don’t understand or chose to ignore. Let’s look at each of these and how they might be “answered.”
“The Church is filled with hypocrites.”
You bet it is! Each and every one of us who is a practicing Christian is guilty of this complaint. The unfortunate truth is that none of us are perfect. All of us are flawed. And no matter how hard we may try to live up to the Christian standard, we all fail. So, in that context, all who are professing Christians are to an extent, hypocrites.
But Christ knew this when He established the Church. He knew the faults and failures of His own Apostles and expected that those same faults and failures would be replicated in all His followers. He didn’t expect us to achieve perfection in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions while on this earth. He knew we were all sinners and would continue to be so even after we’d accepted Him and His teachings.
So being a hypocrite does not disqualify one from being a Christian. If anything, it calls one more strongly because of that hypocrisy.
The fact is that most Christians recognize this dichotomy within themselves. We all have to learn to live with the fact that we’re not going to attain perfection. That’s what Grace is for.
So, while I agree with and understand the basic complaint, I do not see it as a compelling reason to leave the Church.
“How can an organization (or religion) that is unable to live up to its own standards be considered “holy” and the “Bride of Christ?”
The phrase “Physician, heal thyself” comes to mind here. Again, this complaint is grounded in fact and truth. The early Church systematically excluded certain types or classes of people from leadership because the leaders’ love of power and control exceeded their commitment to the inclusiveness that Christ taught. And this practiced exclusion continues to this very day. Hardly activities that promote a questioner’s confidence in the integrity of the Church.
The Church of the Middle Ages went to war for reasons that were definitely not in harmony with the “love and peace” message that Christ gave. Again, today’s Church remains silent or provides tacit approval for many of the political wars that rage across our planet. Its failure to speak out against war and global atrocities is seen by some as its having given up the moral “high ground” in favor of keeping a “low profile.”
And in more recent times the Church’s support for discrimination or disenfranchisement of particular racial groups has been cited as evidence of its moral lassitude.
However, the point that many who are critical of the Church miss is that the institution can still be “holy” when some of its members clearly aren’t. The Church is as much an ideal as it is a physical presence. And it is “larger” than the actions (or inactions) of some of its members or leadership. Even if the execution of the idea of the Church as the Bride of Christ is lacking, the ideal of and its actual relationship to Christ is not.
Therefore, it is entirely plausible that the Church as an institution can be regarded with respect, love, and reverence, while some of its actions (or inactions) executed by its leaders do not deserve such. The institution, not the members or its leadership, is deserving of our faith and confidence because it was founded by God. As such it is holy in the deepest meaning of the word and deserving of our allegiance and faithfulness.
If we object to its lack of fidelity to the ideals on which it was founded, then it is up to us to remain involved in the Church and fix the problems we see rather than retreat from the organization and abandon it to the machinations of incompetent (or worse) leadership.
“The Church doesn’t hold its own leaders to the Christian standard.”
The fact that leaders in the Church don’t live up to the standards of Christian behavior has been an issue in the Church since its beginning. The Apostle Paul wrote about this when he wrote his letter to the Corinthians [1 Corinthians 1:10-16, 3:3-4] and again to the Galatians [Galatians 3:1-5]. He was continually having to remind the leaders of the new Christian Church of their duties, their responsibilities, and of the correct way to interpret the Message they had been given.
More recently the deplorable activities of some of the leaders of one of our largest Christian denominations has come to light. Again, Paul had to contend with similar situations in his day [Acts 13:4-12 and Romans 1:21:23]. Other contemporary examples, unfortunately, abound.
It is appropriate for the people of the Church to expect their leaders to exemplify the highest standards of personal and professional behavior. And when they don’t, the people of the Church should hold them accountable. [1 Timothy 6:3-5, and Titus 2 and 3]
But to hold our leaders more accountable and thus restore integrity to and confidence in our Church requires that we remain involved. The answer to the problem is not to distance ourselves from the Church, but rather to become more deeply involved. The sentiment behind the saying, “If you don’t vote, don’t complain about the politicians,” is applicable here.
Retreating from the Church because we disagree with its leadership or their actions is to ‘cede the ground’ to the “enemy.” Instead of turning away, we should instead turn toward and do all that we can to take control, to hold leadership accountable, and to formulate new solutions if the old ones don’t work.
Again, while I can see the argument and understand the sentiment but giving up on the Church is not the correct approach. Engagement and loving discipline are.
“How can I in good conscience participate in and support such an unholy institution?”
It’s easy to look at the disarray our churches and despair. The cumulative effect of poor examples of Christian living, despicable actions by Church leadership, and the Church’s failure to purge itself of disreputable elements would all seem to argue that faith in or involvement with the Church is a waste of time. However, I encourage the non believer to consider that the ideal of the Church as the Bride of Christ is still valid despite the failure of mankind to live up to the vision.
The fundamental issue we have with the Church and its performance (or lack thereof) is that while divine in constitution and nature, it can only express itself on earth through mankind. Although it is holy in purpose and meaning it is imprecise and flawed in execution because of its dependence on man to bring it to life within the world. It is an infallible expression of God’s desire for all but is hampered by mans’ fallibility in its attempt to ‘live’ up to the great ideal.
But the fact that the Church is not perfect should not serve as a reason to disbelieve in or leave the Church. Rather, I believe that the answer is for believers and members of the Church Community to remain active within the Church to work to help it rise to the wonderful standard against which it is measured. For it will only be through His Church that we can all find common cause to effect His purposes on earth and work together to help His Church become all that He intended for it to be.
By working with, in, and through the Church, we can all become the Church and reflect His love, compassion and glory to one another and throughout the world. By working together to help it rise to the ideal that Christ has set for it, we can all rise with it and help it to reflect that ideal more completely and more often.
Closing.
In its best moments, the Church does that today. But even in its worst moments, the Church still serves as a beacon for all humanity, calling us all to be all that God intended for us all to be … His Children and sources of love compassion and strength for and to one another.
Until next week,
God’s Blessings on You All.
Richard
December 14, 2018
