I don't understand why you're a pastor if you hate Christianity so much. All you do is bash Christians.
-Anonymous
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Well, now. I was wondering if I would get one of these. Now that I have, I feel as if I have arrived, like the Internet is recognizing my legitimacy, or something. So thanks for writing in, Anonymous. While not technically a question, I'll do my best to address the lack of understanding you are confessing to here.
I'll start with the second part... am I always bashing Christians?
Of my 40 or so posts so far, by my count 16 have included some form of criticism of how some Christians go about living their faith. Granting that not all of my posts are answers to questions, and some are just silly videos, we'll say that so far I have been criticizing Christianity about, oh, half the time. So it plainly isn't ALL that I do.
Then again, this is fairly standard Internet Hyperbole, so we'll adjust your statement accordingly and say that I am often criticizing Christians on this blog, which is fair enough. You may also have noticed that said criticism doesn't often (or possibly ever) go to people outside of Christianity. Other than the occasional joking comment, I don't know that I have ever really criticized other faiths, or atheism. Certainly not to the same degree. I suppose that is where you could come to the conclusion that I "hate" Christianity.
You'd be wrong, though. I don't hate Christianity. I actually love it quite a bit, went pro, so to speak. I openly identify as Christian, even in situations where that isn't the most popular thing to be. I show people how my faith influences my decisions and even try to pull back the curtain to show where those ideas come from, the actual thought process behind what I say and do.
I do sometimes criticize Christians, though. Because that's part of my JOB.
I'm not just your average Christian, here. I'm a Christian Leader. I've got the degree, the robe, the funny scarf and everything. I literally get paid to help Christians stay on the right track. And we often end up on the wrong tracks. So when a question involves Christians doing things for reasons, I often will end up pointing out how those reasons are misguided, hurtful, or just plain wrong.
I don't do the same for people of other faiths, or atheists. Why? Because that ISN'T my job. I am not an authority on Islam, Judaism, Wicca, or Buddhism. I can't speak with the same authority on them. (I'm also not really getting any questions concerning Wiccans behaving badly. Not to say that they aren't, but nobody feels the need to write in to me about it.) My authority is similarly limited for Atheists, who aren't particularly going to care what the Bible has to say about anything.
(Another bit of Christian "bashing" coming up- If you are trying to convince an atheist of anything, the Bible isn't going to be treated as authoritative by them. Just a heads up.)
I know that there are a lot of Pastors out there who spend most of their energy talking about the sins of people outside of their herd, creating a nice echo chamber where the Church can feel great and superior to everyone else. This robs a church of its potential for growth, and indeed undermines the basics of Christianity (why worship a savior if you don't need to be saved?) completely.
The Great Hypocrisy of the Church is NOT that we preach against sin while being sinners. It is that we preach against Sin while pretending that we aren't. I will always attempt to correct what I see as problematic behaviors in Christians while sticking to mostly just offering love and support to those who aren't because that is how my position works.
So, I don't hate Christianity. I have no interest in "bashing" Christians, but I will criticize them when I feel they've gone wrong because that is my job. So I don't criticize despite being a pastor. I criticize because that is what I am, and I am trying to do it right.
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