Why People Laugh at the Christian Community

It is stuff like this that makes me cringe and say, “um, we are not with them….” But mark it down, this is what people think of when they think of Christians. We do have an uphill battle in communicating Christ to our neighbors, but thankfully there is no cause more worthy of our exertion and sanctified sweat.

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5. If only conversion was really this easy

20 Responses to “Why People Laugh at the Christian Community”

1. Barry says:

   May 15, 2007 at 3:06 pm

   That is indeed funny. ;-() And sad. ;-( It is truly ashame that Christians are lumped in with these guys. Maybe we should be more outspoken against these antics?
2. Bob says:

   May 15, 2007 at 5:08 pm

   An in-depth study and application of Jude might be a good start.
3. Nath @ Reformed Geek says:

   May 15, 2007 at 5:26 pm

   I am just glad I watched that clip before I had breakfast.
4. Seth McBee says:

   May 15, 2007 at 11:22 pm

   I wish I could laugh harder than that…but people actually believe it…that is the sad part…

   brutal…
5. Don White says:

   May 16, 2007 at 6:43 am

   I watched this clip last night with my 10 year old son. After our initial laugh, I explained that the people that were being singled out in the clip were real and they were ripping people off in the name of Jesus. My son wanted to know why these people were not in jail. Good question!
6. erik says:

   May 16, 2007 at 7:00 am

   It is really a vicious circle:

   2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
7.   Bovine Theology » Archive » Good Reading, Good Grace, Good Grief! says:

   May 16, 2007 at 9:24 am

   [...] Okay, so to end on a lighter note, let me whole-heartedly endorse a new choice in breakfast cereals: Arrr-mini-ohs, with the tag line, “It’s all up to you maties!” And last but not least, my friend Van forwarded this to me: a disturbing, frustrating, yet humourous account of why people don’t like Christians (not for the easily offended…Mom!). [...]
8. Javaguy says:

   May 16, 2007 at 1:08 pm

   Erik,
   rather than play the antagonist again, I would rather just encourage you to explain why you don’t agree with what these people are doing. Anybody can give their opinion and have others jump in because they trust that person. I think it is important as Christians to give direction, not just warn against mis-direction. You may say, “well, it should be pretty obvious.” I ask you, is it obvious to the general, non-Christian public? As you said, this is what they think of. If you simply say, “I’m not with them,” but don’t explain why, then you are doing nothing for the non-Christian except giving them more fuel for the fire. “Those Christian can’t even agree with eachother.”

   What was obvious to me was that these guys who made the video took snippets out of context in order to poke fun at Christians. The same thing could be done to your blog just as easily. Just take a few sentences from here, a few from there, put them together in a way that makes it seem like you are being contradictory, and presto, there is something for another Christian to discredit your blog for.

   They’ll know we are Christians by our . . . ability to discredit false Christians?
9. Seth McBee says:

   May 19, 2007 at 1:40 am

   javaguy…serious? Your going to really “rant” on this?

   Do you really think that erik just unabashadly says to non-Christians, “these guys suck!” and then walks away…

   give him more credit than that…

   I understand you like to pick fights, but come on…this one is far fetched, even for you…
10. Javaguy says:

    May 19, 2007 at 1:22 pm

    Is it? I’m not saying that Erik is wrong. I am just saying that I really feel that he needs to support his view, not just give it, otherwise, he is no more Biblical than they are. It is not a fight I am picking. I am just trying to make sure that we can look back on what we have said and say, “yeah, I did everything I could to do justice and follow the Bible as my example.” Which means Backing up what we say, not just letting people think that your opinion is right simply because you say so.

    As a side note, I recently heard a testimony about one of these televangelists that left no room for doubt that God worked through that person to bring about a healing. The person’s main point in their testimony was that it wasn’t about what he thought should be done or when it should be done. It wasn’t about the doctor’s ability or his ability, it wasn’t about showing off the absolute miracle that happened to his 2 year old daughter. It was about being fully dependent on God. It was about accepting our inability and accepting God’s sovereignty. There is no doubt in my mind that God used this televangelist to work a miracle in my friend’s daughter. If you had asked me what I thought about that televangelist just two minutes before hearing this testimony, I would have said pretty much what has been said here.

    It just makes me curious, (which I would not be if Erik had backed up his opinions to begin with) what he finds wrong with these. The clips that were shown were obviously taken out of context. The message being conveyed is obviously not what the original people intended. The same thing could be done to any one of us. So why is Erik agreeing with and endorsing guys who are trying to tear down Christianity? It doesn’t make sense to me. That is something the devil loves to see.
11. Seth McBee says:

    May 19, 2007 at 9:55 pm

    Javaguy….
    So you want erik to show you the error of the health and wealth “gospel?”

    The belief of every one of those guys shown were NOT taken out of context (for the most part) but is the actuality of their beliefs. Anyone who believes that Christianity is about YOU and not the complete glory of God is a false gospel.

    Health and wealth is all about “claiming” what God “owes” you. When in reality He owes us nothing but hell. From what I have seen and read, which is a lot, they switch John the Baptist’s calling (John 3:30) of “God must increase and I must decrease” to “I must increase and God must decrease”

    Copeland and the other guy (can’t think of his name, the one speaking about giving a one thousand dollar seed) are complete heretics and from everything I have heard them teach and preach, which again, I have seen much of their teaching.

    These guys are completely ripping people off for the sake of wealth.

    and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.
    1 Timothy 6:5

    and in their greed they will exploit you with false words…
    2 Peter 2:3a
12. Javaguy says:

    May 20, 2007 at 8:24 pm

    Seth/Erik
    “So you want erik to show you the error of the health and wealth “gospel?””

    No, what I said was, “I ask you, is it obvious to the general, non-Christian public? As you said, this is what they think of. If you simply say, “I’m not with them,” but don’t explain why, then you are doing nothing for the non-Christian except giving them more fuel for the fire. “Those Christian can’t even agree with eachother.””

    Erik’s post may get a good laugh or cry from a Christian, but what about the non-Christian? I’m not asking him to explain himself for my sake. I am suggesting that it is for the sake of those who don’t know any better. I even said, “I’m not saying that Erik is wrong. I am just saying that I really feel that he needs to support his view, not just give it, otherwise, he is no more Biblical than they are.”

    Health and wealth? Of the five minutes in the clip, less than two minutes dealt with money or drawing attention to oneself. Watch it again. I challenge you. Even when he did talk about money, he said that if anything he said was for his personal gain, may God curse him and cleave his tongue. Sure, you may not believe him. He may be flat out lying. But he, at least is trying to point out that it is NOT about him. Watch it again. Erik may be totally right, but my point is not to defend them as much as it is to hold Erik accountable to be better than them and show how they are wrong instead of just (once again) pointing the finger and getting a good laugh at someones’ expense without showing how he is justified in laughing at them. The impact to a non-Christian could be vital.
    The other thing I have a problem with is that he is endorsing people who are making fun of Christians. Since the world tends to hold one generality for everyone claiming to be Christian, they don’t know the difference between the televangelist and the blogevangelist. All they see is Erik agreeing with people who are ridiculing the name of Christ. ( I can say the same thing for his theme song. The Dropkick Murphy’s are a far cry from making us impressed with Christ, yet how many people do you think have checked out more of their songs because they liked what they heard on this site?)
13. erik says:

    May 21, 2007 at 5:11 am

    JG: do you thrive off of criticism? I can’t remember the last time you have written anything constructive or productive. I’m curious why you even read this site. I am not trying to be flippant or unkind, but seriously. In the last month you have found yourself taking up for people dressed up like clowns in serving communion and now the proponents of the health and wealth gospel…I half expect you to come to the devil’s defense if I were to write a post decrying his work…
14. Chris Gates says:

    May 21, 2007 at 8:39 am

    So funny . . . so sad.
15. What The World Thinks Of Christianity « Vintage Christianity says:

    May 21, 2007 at 8:43 am

    [...] 21 May 2007 What The World Thinks Of Christianity Posted by Chris Gates under Ministry/Preaching , Religion , Cults , Preaching , Pastoral Ministry ,Culture  Okay guys & gals, are you ready to laugh? Are you ready to cry? Are you ready to pull out your own hair? Well, here you go. Check out this video regarding late night Christian television from these two hilarious British guys.   [...]
16. Seth McBee says:

    May 21, 2007 at 9:09 am

    erik…

    ummm…how do I say this correctly…ummmm….

    AMEN!
17. Javaguy says:

    May 21, 2007 at 11:41 pm

    Honestly Erik, have you even processed what I have said through all of these things? In every single instance, I have said that you may well be right about them. I don’t know. My point (since I have to repeat myself AGAIN) is not to defend these people but to make you look at how you go about your criticism of them. Feel free to ignore me again and say that I am sticking up for them, but I am not. I am trying to hold you accountable to do things the way Christ told us to. There is a fine line between calling out false Christians and judging them. I don’t think you know where that line is. This particular post is the prime example for the reasons I stated above. It would be nice if you would address the issues that I actually bring up rather than coming to an immediate conclusion about what I am saying and closing your mind to anything else I might have to say. I am not against what you are doing. I just want to make sure we are true to the Gospel and do it in a manner that is glorifying to God. I don’t think laughing at people is one of those ways.

    No, I wouldn’t defend the Devil. But if you were to tell a non-Christian that the Devil was evil and expect them to believe you just because you said so, you bet, I would be on your case to tell them why. Expecting people to take your word for it without explaining the Gospel behind your reasoning is making your word more important than Gods. Please, tell me I’m wrong about this, but if you do, please show me how you come to that conclussion.
18. Javaguy says:

    May 25, 2007 at 5:31 pm

    please, don’t leave me hanging. I believe these are valid points and need to be addressed just like anything else. You are probably tired of hearing me say this and may even doubt my sincerity, but I honestly support your site and appreciate the work you are doing. That is precisely why these things bother me. I know you are busy with your conference, so it is hard for you to take the time to respond right now. I just didn’t want this to be left hanging and thought I would throw in a reminder. Thanks.
19. Jim Swindle says:

    July 6, 2007 at 9:47 am

    Javaguy:

    Here are some of the things wrong with the people mentioned:
    1. Kenneth Copeland – Believes/teaches that words have a tremendous power on their own, apart from the Lord. The idea is that saying it makes it so, which is not the same as the Bible. The Bible’s teaching is that we’re to have faith in Jesus Christ, not faith in faith itself nor faith in the power of our words. See, for example, Acts 4:12 and Ephesians 2:8-10 and Acts 2:38 (all of which verses Kenneth Copeland would almost certainly say he believes).

    2. Mike Murdoch – Is not credible when he tells you to sow a seed by giving to him or to his ministry. The whole idea of seed-faith giving isn’t found in the Bible, so far as I can tell, but came from Oral Roberts. Yes, it’s true that if we give, it will be given unto us (Matthew 7). However, that verse isn’t designed to be used by a preacher trying to get others to give to his own ministry. Mr. Murdoch would be much more credible if he told people to give by faith to ANY valid ministry, or to the poor in the name of the Lord.

    3. Benny Hinn seems to think of “slaying in the Spirit” as the cure for every physical ailment. That’s odd, since it’s not even mentioned in the New Testament. Some of the prophecies he’s come up with are somewhere between weird and false.

    Not every televangelist is evil, but we should be very wary of those who are preaching a gospel that’s centered on giving people what they want in this life: wealth and health. The Lord can and often does give health and wealth, but not always in this life.
20. Javaguy says:

    July 6, 2007 at 10:37 am

    Jim,
    thank you for expounding on these things. I think your point about Mike Murdoch is especially a valid one. I don’t mean to be so negative, I just feel that Erik needs to watch his steps closely especially since his site is becoming so popular and his influence greater. I seek to keep his site above reproach and to be honest, I am not seeing that right now. He is endorsing the Dropkick Murphy’s, and the Beastie Boys, both of whom have no intention of glorifying God, and he is, in essence, pairing with unbelievers for the sake of ministry on this post. These are the exact same things he is faulting other people for in his posts. I have written about this on several occassions and the answers I have gotten are simple, and vague. Then, when I respond to his responses, I hear nothing. He gives one response, then is done without acknowledging any kind of discussion. The feeling I get (and this may not be true) is that he reads what I have to say, gets offended by it, writes one response, and expects that to be the end of conversation. It doesn’t matter what else I have to say. He gives one response and expects people to take that as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If this were the case on just one or two posts, I wouldn’t be bothered by it because I know how busy he is, but it is not. There are probably 8 or 9 different posts in his archives where Erik gives one response to me, then is done with the conversation.

    Again, for the sake of Erik, you, and all the other readers, I am not trying to discredit him or cause anyone to think that he is not trying to further God’s kingdom. I firmly believe in his ministry and support it and I quite often refer people to his site, not to read our debates, but to be blessed by what he has to say. I just think he should be a little more cautious about what he accuses others of doing if he is blind to the same faults in his own ministry. If I am wrong about this, then I would encourage him to explain more about the reasons behind his accusations so that people can see how he came to his conclusions, not just accept his conclussions because he is Erik.

    Thank you for your response.