Myth #1
Christians must be politically right-wing conservative and Republican.
Christians are found across the whole political landscape. There are leftwing socially and economically liberal Christians as well as the more well known, rightwing, conservative ones. In truth, Jesus belongs to no political movement and can be owned by no political party.
Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world. Indeed, Jesus will dismiss and remove any and all earthly kingdoms and rulers when He Himself comes to rule in his new kingdom. When standing before Pontius Pilate, Jesus clearly said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” And, specifically with regard to Pilate’s social, legal, political, and Roman judicial power, Jesus had this to say: “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above.” (See John chapters 18 and 19.) Jesus power and authority will trump all other human authority including their governments and political parties. Hence, Christians are to give their highest allegiance to the kingdom of Christ. (See Colossians, the first chapter.)
Myth #2
Christians must hate gays and hope to see them burn in hell.
Jesus hated and condemned no one. Or, more accurately, he condemned no one but the self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees who believed that they were better than everyone else (holier-than-thou).
Jesus put it this way: “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17). Jesus is not about hating and condemning, He is about loving and redeeming—regardless of who and what one may be.
Myth #3
To be a Christian: one must first cleanup one’s act and straighten-up one’s mess before calling one’s self a Christian.
The Apostle Paul reminds us: “But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners [my emphasis] Christ died for us.” Jesus does not save us because we finally got our act together and earned the right to be saved.
Indeed, even as Christians, we are inconsistent, do not live up to our own ideals of right and wrong, fail to do what’s right at the most critical time and often deliberately do what is wrong when we know we shouldn’t. Jesus saves us—even while we’re still caught up in our own ethical and moral mess of a life. If it were not for His merciful grace, we’d have no hope of forgiveness at all.
Myth #4
Christians must be anti-science and distrust all scientific discoveries and assertions.
God is truth. Any knowledge that is right, real, and true about the universe which God created, is good to know.
Science is in no position to categorically deny the existence of God in absolute terms. Proving or disproving God’s existence is beyond the realm of scientific focus and capability. Hence, we need not reject science.
Science does enable us to see the mechanics of God’s creation. Fear not science! “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge,” says the Psalmist (19:1-2). Live and learn. God being God, we have nothing to fear about what we may learn of the universe and its workings.
Myth #5
Christians must reject all other religions as absolutely false, as having no truth to teach at all.
All religions teach some, even much, truth. And even Christian theology gets things wrong, teaching falsehood. Thus, each and every one of us will be judged according to the truth—as we understand it—and whether or not we lived up to our very own convictions.
Again, Paul reminds us, that regardless of religion, “There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek [non-Jew, basically everyone else!], but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. …For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law require, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps accuse them, on the day when, according to my Gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.” (Read Romans the second chapter.)
Myth #6
Christians must have an “us-versus-them” mentality and become harshly judgmental, mean-spirited, and self-righteous, and fight the good fight. Among other things, this means taking control of the U.S. government (taking back America!) at all levels, from the congress to the law courts to the office of the presidency to local school boards, and so-on and so-forth. It means making America a Christian Nation, ruled by a kind of Christian theocracy.
Not! Such an attitude is the co-mingling of American patriotism with the Christian teachings of Old Testament promises respecting the “The Chosen People” entering the “Promise Land,” identifying America as the fulfillment of these Old Testament promises.
This is turning Christianity into an American civil religion—as if to say that being a good American is one and the same as being a good Christian. It is not. And it is nothing less than national idolatry. We’ve already noted the passage where Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world. Of course, Christians ought to be good Americans. However, being a “good American” does not necessarily mean that one is also a good Christian—faithful and true to Christ. The one does not equate with the other.
Myth #7
Christians must join and support the NRA, purchase and collect a variety of assault weapons, and begin saving up a private stockpile of non-perishable food items (along with other survival equipment) in preparation for Armageddon.
Well, when Armageddon comes, no amount of fire-power and food storage is going to prevent the unraveling of this world’s catastrophe in light of the great and awesome “Day of the Lord”—Judgment Day: “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a named inscribe, King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:11-16).
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