Discovering unChristian Faith

This is chapter 2 of the book unChristian.

I mentioned in my previous post the dynamics of today's generation (see unChristian). The author continues to discuss the characteristics of today's 16-29 yr olds in chapter two. He also discusses the "words or phrases that people use to describe religious faith (Kinnaman, 2007)." Here are some statistics for you:
91% of 'outsiders' think Christians are antihomosexual
87% believe Christians are judgmental
85% believe Christians are hypocritical
75% believe Christians are too involved with politics
72% believe Christians are out of touch with reality
70% believe Christians are insensitive to others

The list goes on, but those are just a few characterizations of Christians by 'outsiders.'
The author does discuss positive phrases perceived by outsiders concerning Christians, but I won't list them since the numbers don't compare. The negative outweigh the positive.
The author sums up the outsiders perspective with 'six broad themes:'
1. hypocritical
2. too focused on getting converts
3. antihomosexual
4. sheltered
5. too political
6. judgmental
He gives a little summary of each, but they are mainly self-explanatory.

The author goes on to discuss some possible arguments one could use in retaliation to an outsiders perception. Us Christians could say that any outsider blames Christianity for their own spiritual denial, therefore, having a negative outlook. However, the author states that "it's easier for people to rationalize their rejection of Christ if they believe Christianity doesn't deserve respect (Kinnaman, 2007)." He goes on to say that we would be stupid if we believed an outsider would reject Christianity solely "to avoid feelings of spiritual guilt (Kinnaman, 2007)."

An outsider's perception of Christianity is not based on their own random presumptions. Their perception comes from multiple sources that include: having Christian friends, co-workers, neighbors, or family members, having been in the church themselves and experiencing the negativity, being a 'sucker' to 'secular' media (although author states that outsiders are not influenced by media as much as we think. Only 31% said that tv and movies influenced their thinking, while 44% said books influenced their perception. Music followed both at only 16%), and being hurt by a Christian.

The author goes on to discuss that Christians sometimes respond to the negative perception by 'hijacking Jesus' or present the word in a less offensive manner ('hijacking' the REAL image of who Jesus was). My question is, have you ever heard a sermon on hell? Moving on....

The sad thing is that many young people WITHIN the church hold the same perception (I would completely agree since I AM one of those young people). Here are some stats for you:
80% of churchgoers believed Christians to be antihomosexual (remember 91% of outsiders felt this way)
52% of churchgoers believed Christians are judgmental (outsiders - 87%)
50% of churchgoers believed Christians are too involved in politics (outsiders - 75%)
47% of churchgoers believed Christians are old-fashioned (outsiders - 78%)

Obviously, the statistics for those WITHIN the church aren't as bad as those outside the church. However, as a Christian, it is sad to see that half of us Christian church going people believe the rest of us are judgmental. What's wrong with that picture?

And yes, the author does say that the churchgoing 16-29 yr olds do want nothing more than to live a life for Christ and try to partake in activities pleasing to Him, but many still hold onto a negative outlook because of what they experience in their churches and the Christians around them.

The author goes on to discuss reasons on why Christians should care about an outsiders perspective. If you are interested in knowing why we should care, then read the book, but I can sum it up for you by saying this: We should care because we need to change it.

That's all for chapter two. I have been mainly just reading this book without completely forming an opinion. I am one of those 16-29 yr old Christians, but I hold an outsider's perspective. I have personally dealt with passed judgment, hypocrites, and crazies who instilled fear in me. And no, I am not talking about the fear of God, I am talking about the 'if you mess up or do anything wrong, you are going to hell kinda fear (I got saved every week because of this). At one point, I do believe I went from Christian to outsider during my college days. I stopped going to church altogether simply because the church closest to campus was uninviting and old-fashioned (no one greeted me or said hi, I felt totally unwelcomed). I was discouraged and gave up. I felt that me being a single, young girl could not help the church in any way. I was no good to them (I wasn't a family six), so no one payed any mind to me. I didn't visit any more churches after that and gave up going unless I went home for a weekend. And even then, I was one of two 20 somethings in my church.

What are your thoughts?