“Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus” is the title of a recent Huffington Post article, which seeks to explain the findings of research conducted by the Pew Research Center. The post was written by two professors: Phil Zuckerman (associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College) and Dan Cady (assistant professor of history at California State – Fresno). They suggest the research confirms:
what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.
So What?
Even the authors admit the language of hate is perhaps an inappropriate choice. They clarify their intent thusly:
Evangelicals don’t exactly hate Jesus — as we’ve provocatively asserted in the title of this piece. They do love him dearly. But not because of what he tried to teach humanity. Rather, Evangelicals love Jesus for what he does for them. Through his magical grace, and by shedding his precious blood, Jesus saves Evangelicals from everlasting torture in hell, and guarantees them a premium, luxury villa in heaven. For this, and this only, they love him. They can’t stop thanking him. And yet, as for Jesus himself — his core values of peace, his core teachings of social justice, his core commandments of goodwill — most Evangelicals seem to have nothing but disdain.
Do you agree or disagree with the assertion that Evangelical Christians are decidedly UnChristian if Christian is defined as seeking the way of Jesus via following “his core values of peace, his core teachings of social justice, his core commandments of goodwill”? Why? Explain.
Do you agree or disagree with the assertion that Evangelical Christians are decidedly UnChristian if UnChristian is defined as those “Christians” who are seen by outsiders (non-Christians) as antihomosexual, judgmental, and hypocritical (the top three characterizations of Christians by young adult non-Christians according to David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons in UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity … And Why It Matters, 2007)?
If you find Evangelical Christianity doesn’t measure up to the way of Jesus in one or more areas, what do you feel are effective methods for reform in that area/those areas?
If you are not an Evangelical Christians, can you identify the shortcomings of your tradition (i.e. mainline). What are you doing to help reorient your tradition’s way to the way of Jesus?