Top 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Christians
People hear the word Christian and too often act like they already know the whole script. A few headlines, a few loud voices, a few bad experiences, and suddenly an entire faith gets shoved into a cardboard box with the lid taped shut. That is where a lot of this nonsense starts. You end up with half-remembered Bible claims, pop culture caricatures, and the kind of confident misinformation that sounds smart right up until you examine it for five seconds.
This list gets at those ideas head-on. Not the harmless little mix-ups, but the ones that flatten millions of people into one cartoon version of Christianity. Some of these misconceptions come from outsiders looking in. Some get passed around by Christians themselves until they start sounding official just because they have been repeated enough. That does not make them true. It just makes them old rumors in nicer clothes.
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Good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell
There's no such thing as pure good. Everyone deserves hell because of sin. Even saying a lie or looking at a person with lust is a sin, so none of us are immune. The only way to get to heaven is by accepting Jesus as your savior. However, that doesn't mean you should sin all you want. It doesn't work that way.
Why should people who never even hurt a fly send themselves to a place that they don't even believe in?
The afterlife is much more complicated than that.
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Gays go to hell
The Laws of Moses, which are in the Book of Leviticus, have been lifted from us Christians to follow. That includes the homosexuality statement. If you identify as queer, then you will not go to hell for that reason.
It's not your choice to be gay. You are born that way, so it's totally unfair if you go to hell. The only way is to live your entire life a lie by pretending you aren't gay, and that's not right.
A lot of these "Christians" on Facebook are like this, making decent Christians look bad.
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Christians are anti-science
Science and religion are not opposites. I am a Catholic Christian, and the more I learn about the universe around me, the more amazed I become at God's work. Christians who see science as a threat to their beliefs are closing their minds to newer knowledge about the way God created the universe.
Just because they don't believe in evolution doesn't mean they're anti-science. I want to kinda be a scientist, but being a Christian, I get a bad reputation in the USA. Remember, freedom of religion.
That's not completely true. Most Christians, including some popes, embrace knowledge and have accepted modern scientific theories.
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God is cruel because he allows horrible things to happen
If you want an in-depth description, read EndTimesBibleProphecy, "Why Does God Allow Suffering." I will make a long story short.
Sin was created when Lucifer, the most exalted angel, became proud and chose to rebel because of his free will. If God destroyed them, the other angels would be afraid, so they would serve him out of fear. God could restart, but who said it would not happen again? It would be an endless cycle of destruction and creation.
God has to have a plan to get rid of sin forever: Jesus Christ. Bad things happen so we can see the result of sin, death. Once it is seen by all, we will understand. Oh, and Jesus sacrificed himself so God has a new gift for us: salvation. Salvation is given if you have a faith that works, but not works itself. Read the link above for a more in-depth description.
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Christians worship three gods
If this were true, then we would break the Ten Commandments. It's basically three in one. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one being.
I think of it like fusion, but they're not gems and there's no dancing.
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Christians view everything as satanic
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The forbidden fruit is an apple
Researchers have maybe found out that it was a fig or a pomegranate, but even if they had found out that it was a banana, a coconut, or any other fruit, it still remains crap (the story, not the fruit!).
It doesn't say exactly, but researchers say it's likely to have been a fig or a pomegranate.
It really doesn't matter what fruit it is. All that matters is the message.
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Catholics aren't Christians
They are bad, kind of changed from the original Christianity or Orthodoxy. That's why I don't like it. They changed religion like ideology, but it is still Christianity.
Catholics are one of the largest divisions of Christians. All Catholics are Christian, but not all Christians are Catholic.
Why think they're not? Catholicism is the biggest church in Christianity.
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Jesus is a zombie
Although he rose from the dead, this doesn't mean he's a zombie. He was resurrected, not reanimated. Zombies don't have a soul. They can't love or feel. However, when Jesus rose from the dead, he still recognized everyone and loved them.
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Jesus was white
It's really sad that people still believe in this lie. He's not white, or black, or Latino, or Asian. He's a Jew.
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Anyone who commits suicide is automatically condemned to Hell
This is far from true. This is what many Christian thinkers used to believe, but over time, people have become more aware of factors like mental illnesses like depression that can decrease one's culpability. So while we recognize that suicide is always a grave act that should be circumvented altogether, we can also trust that our loving Lord understands everyone's struggles, including those who unalive themselves, and trust in his mercy.
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It's impossible for the Pope to go to Hell
This is far from true. While the pope is a respected leader, becoming the pope is not a guarantee entry into heaven
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Jonah was swallowed by a whale
Some translations of the Bible say "whale" and others say "big fish." It doesn't really matter what it was. What's important is the meaning behind the story.
Jonah was swallowed by a giant fish, not a whale. Whales are marine mammals.
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Christians all force their beliefs on everyone
I hate when atheists say this. We know God exists, and we're trying to warn you because we don't want you to go to Hell. Maybe you find it annoying, but please understand our intent. If we hated you, we would just let you be atheists and keep our mouths shut.
So, hate us and keep your mouths shut. We don't care about unrealistic warnings. Let us live our lives like we want to, because your intentions mean nothing to us.
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Christians are all gay-hating conservatives
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Jesus was born on December 25th
December 25th was the date chosen to celebrate Jesus' birthday. It's not the exact date, but the importance isn't the date. It's the meaning.
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All Christians are the same
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Christians are sexist
I am a Christian. Am I sexist if I am a powerlifter, and the other day I saw a small woman trying to carry a large box and I offered to carry it for her? If things like that make me sexist, well then I guess I am, but I definitely don't think women should never be allowed out of the kitchen or anything like that.
If you think sexism is not letting different genders do certain things, then ya, but if you think it means trapping wives in the house until Sunday, then na.
If you read the Book of Esther in the Bible's Old Testament, you will see that it completely debunks this myth.
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Christians are not allowed to listen to rock and roll
I don't know if that is true. Look at YouTube for the clip "Good Times" sung by a girl group called The Clingers from 1969. These four girls were Mormons.
I agree that in the early fifties, when rock and roll was considered "animalistic black kind of music" (just look at the criticism Elvis Presley received in those days from religious authorities), they didn't accept it. But nowadays, it's accepted by Christians to listen to and play rock and roll.
There's nothing wrong with music. This was just the result of elders seeing evil in everything they know nothing about.
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Christians are not allowed to listen to heavy metal
I'm Christian and I listen to metal. Just because I listen to songs that talk about the devil or whatever doesn't mean I'm gonna turn into a Satanist or something and start sacrificing goats and drinking their blood.
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Christians believe the earth is flat
What country would I move to if I wanted to move to Australia? I love that country.
Guess what? Flat Earth idiots say the country is a hoax, that everyone who tries to reach it will die, that all the prisoners from England were just drowned to death, and that everything you see is either South America and the people are actors or robots.
Only the idiotic ones. Flat Earthers tend to be Christians because of a few misinterpreted verses in Genesis. It's sad, but the smart Christians know the Earth is round.
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Christians believe in the Bible literally
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Christians are all churchgoers
I am completely Christian, and I do not regularly attend services. I have my reasons, but they do not have anything to do with a lack of faith.
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Christians believe gays are pedophiles
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All Christians give homosexuals "Gay Cure Therapy"
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Christianity is fear-based
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Christians support Donald Trump