'The Christian Inferiority Complex'

[SageTree]

Greetings folks. :namaste

First of all, for the Christians,I put this in 'Comparative Religion', because even within Christianity there are different approaches and understandings to what is means to be that Christian or a follower of Christ. And there are differences in how the Spirit comes into our lives, what is said, and how that authenticity is measured or reasoned.

And for everyone, I'm interested in folks' opinion or thought on the article inside, outside or on the fringe of Christianity, whether never a part of it or never apart from it.

My main goal is to just show the vastness of 'kinds' of Christians there are,
as far to often, I feel, a VERY broad brush is used to paint them all....

Painted with 'ought-to' from the inside,
and painted the same colour from outside.


(please read it if you wish to comment)



Sojourners is a feed I get on Facebook, one of the more positive and thoughtful, and I've really enjoyed the people's blogs they host.

This one caught my eye for posting today, as I feel some folks here might relate to the sentiment expressed in this writing.

I think this is best captured in the people who can't 'let go of' Jesus when they leave Christianity.
They know there is something there they relate to, but can't stand to stay in a Christian community.



But what particularly drew me in was the last few lines, which I've made blue,
and wish to lay more emphasis on.



This to me resonates with how I feel about the Spirit that the words and texts of Christian writings seek to capture, which is something that isn't always popular or easy to express.

I think one reason for the rise of the pejoratively used 'New Agers' is this sense of wanting to BE their beliefs, not just have them.
To practice them, not just to hold them.

And then not being sure where to turn when they have these feelings.
I myself was one of these people.

This seeking has come up in looking again to the writings of the early contemplative and mystic writings and it's come up in blending of eastern traditions.

One way, seems to go back to the basics, penetrating the dogmas, the other turning and leaving the dogmas in their wake.

Who is to say which is best?









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[SageTree]

The Christian Inferiority Complex

by Stephen Mattson 05-20-2013 | 9:19am

Many Christians have a confidence problem. They love Christ but are ashamed of everything associated with him. They want to be known as a Christian — just not that type of Christian. You know the type: the Westboro Baptists of the world; the scumbag televangelists on late-night cable; the fear-mongering preachers spewing apocalyptic prophecies; the proselytizers that scream at people outside of baseball stadiums; the celebrities claiming stupid things in the name of God; the “friends” who post bigoted messages on Facebook; the politicians who manipulate faith communities to serve their agendas; the anti-science, anti-environment, anti-women, anti-homosexuality, and anti-everything Christians who basically spread negativity wherever they go — the people who drag Christ’s name through the mud.​

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Today’s believers are hypersensitive and self-aware about the current events happening within media and culture, and in a society obsessed with consumerism, corporate loyalty, branding, product placement, and publicity, they understand that the Christian reputation is experiencing a fast decline, and they feel guilty by association.​

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This decline is not just happening in the “secular world,” but also within faith communities. Infighting, criticism, and self-deprecation are rampant within the American Church, and much of this is deserved, but it also reflects a corporate Christian identity that feels embarrassed and humiliated.​

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Christians are unique in that they recognize each other as a vast community — ultimately united in Christ. Individuals, groups, churches, organizations, and denominations that completely disagree with each other reluctantly admit that they can theoretically be brothers and sisters in Christ — all part of the global population of Christian believers. Thus, even though we may disagree on theologies, practices, traditions, and a variety of other things, we still associate ourselves with other “Christians” — even the horrible ones.​

Christian millennials are distinctively inclusive and gracious, allowing themselves to disagree with those they see as close-minded and hateful. They recognize that God is forgiving and loving, even to those Christians (and non-Christians) who are hateful and ignorant.​

This generation of believers has the ability to view themselves as the world perceives them, and they realize that the outside world attaches many wrongdoings and blemishes to Christianity. Therefore, they associate these past and current sins of the church as their own — they understand that perception is reality.​

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In response to this, many Christians are now refusing to publicly identify themselves. They know that the word “Christian” means a million different things to a million different people, and that the term is slowly losing its association with Jesus.​

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Plenty of Christians still have a superiority complex, in which they deny culpability for any of the church’s misdeeds and maintain a holier-than-thou attitude, but the new generation of Christians is trending away from this mentality.​

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Believers are finally starting to recognize that Christians have made plenty of mistakes. They are embracing dialogue and inclusiveness, and ultimately trying to right the many wrongs that have been committed in Christ’s name.​

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Though unbelievably gracious to others, this new wave of Christianity often refuses to acknowledge anything positive, and their acute awareness of Christianity’s shortcomings creates a sense of introspective pessimism. They are their own harshest critics and have a hard time accepting the good with the bad — they feel inferior to a world that is quickly outpacing a religion struggling to break out of its old habits.​

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Christians react to this inferiority complex in various ways. Some are hyper-hip and tend to overcompensate in order to fight the negative stigmas associated with them. These people are obsessed with culture, media, entertainment and communication. They are “experts” on everything secular. In fact, they sometimes purposely stay away from “Christian” identifiers. They reject Christian music, Christian books, Christian speakers, and Christian culture in an effort to emulate everything that is the antithesis of “Christian.” They are constantly modernizing their faith to relate to the world, and besides privately identifying as Christians to their fellow faith communities, they are quick to distance themselves from “mainstream” and institutionalized Christianity.​

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Other believers use self-deprecation as way to cope with their sense of inferiority. They mock Christianity: the acoustic guitars, the small groups, CCM, coffee house ministries, and all the other pseudo traditions that only those within Christian sub-culture understand. It’s their way of detaching themselves from the aspects of their faith that they’re either ashamed of or disappointed with.​

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Some believers react by using denial and silence. The mistakes, hypocrisy and shame of Christianity’s recent legacy are so daunting that they refuse to address it — or simply deny it. Others are constantly apologizing (there is a lot to apologize for) or abandon the faith altogether.​

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The church’s failure over the last few years, decades, centuries, and millenniums has resulted in a current generation of Christians that are constantly apologizing, denying, overcompensating, and self-criticizing. But there is hope.​

The Gospel of Christ is a story of redemption, and even the Christian legacy — filled with violence, greed, duplicity, exclusion, and injustice — can be set right by the love of Christ.​

One magnificent trait of these “new” Christians is their obsession with Jesus. They are able to see the life of Christ outside of the political schemes, religious doctrines, and agendas that are routinely associated with him. They are able to love Christ despite Christianity.


Unlike past Christians, today’s young believers aren’t tied down by denominational loyalties, traditions, or institutional expectations. Nobody holds a monopoly on their information, and they’ve responded to this freedom by going back to the basics — emulating the life of Jesus. They are sacrificially serving the world through grace, forgiveness, humility, and love. By wholeheartedly focusing on Christ, they can overcome their sense of inferiority by recognizing the supremacy of His love.​

Stephen Mattson has written for Relevant, Red Letter Christians and The Burnside Writer's Collective. He graduated from the Moody Bible Institute and is currently on staff at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn. Follow him on Twitter @mikta.​

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Reposted from here
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Are you one of these Christians?
Do you know one who is?
Where you yourself at one point?

Not really specific questions, just want to banter a bit.
I mean no harm and don't wish for this to turn into a rumble of any sort.

Just state what you have to say
Good points don't need to be shouted, right?


:namaste

SageTree

 

[InChrist]

Are you one of these Christians?
Do you know one who is?
Where you yourself at one point?

Not really specific questions, just want to banter a bit.
I mean no harm and don't wish for this to turn into a rumble of any sort.

Just state what you have to say
Good points don't need to be shouted, right?


:namaste

SageTree

Interesting article. I am not ashamed to identify with Jesus Christ although I do realize that many negative and outright evil things have been done which are associated with Christianity "as a religion". This is not surprising to me, though, because the scriptures reveal that evil men teachings doctrines of demons infiltrate the visible church. It has been the work of God's enemy(Satan) to continuously malign God's truths through history. I always remind myself that faith in Jesus Christ is about the Person of Christ and relationship to Him , not an institution or religion. Just because a person, group, or institution claims to be Christian does not necessarily make it so or mean they truly know and represent Jesus Christ. Since being saved by Christ many years ago I have never been a member of a denomination but have had close friendships and associations with believers in Christ from many denominations and backgrounds.

My focus is upon Jesus Christ because I believe as Paul stated, "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" 2 Corinthians 2:2, Jesus and His work on the cross to save humanity is the heart and focal point of the gospel message.

:cross:

 

[paarsurrey]

Are you one of these Christians?
Do you know one who is?
Where you yourself at one point?

Not really specific questions, just want to banter a bit.
I mean no harm and don't wish for this to turn into a rumble of any sort.

Just state what you have to say
Good points don't need to be shouted, right?


:namaste

SageTree

Jesus was a truthful prophet messenger of the one true God; he was a man son of Mary and he was neither a son of god nor a god. Paul and Church made a new religion and named it “Christianity”; it has nothing to do with Jesus son of Mary.
The hoax of Paul and the Church, in my opinion, has been so exposed and the Christians face a dilemma as to what to do. They love Jesus the man and his teaching of humility, love and his standing for the truth. They cannot leave Jesus the real man and become atheists; that would be another wrong.

That is what I understand from the situation.

I love Jesus son of Mary; the real man Jesus that existed as mentioned in Quran.

 

[Tranquil Servant]

I was raised Christian so at one point in my life, even though I would "say" I'm Christian, I wasn't living very Christ-like; I was consumed by the world and conforming to it's ways. I was never in denial about Christ but I was a hypocrite to him and to myself. About 9 years ago, my husband who is Muslim and I started living together and we would always get into heated arguments about Christ and Christianity. My husband would constantly challenge me to question my way of life. Sometimes I would feel sorry for myself as though I was being persecuted against (on a smaller scale) but my husband assured me that he wasn't trying to be disrespectful and encouraged me to study so rather than being discouraged, I would use those feelings of frustration as the fuel for my vehicle which would guide me down the path of true enlightenment. I felt as though I was born again for real (even though I'd been baptized many years before) and because I feel as though I'm gaining spiritual maturity, my ways of being and views of the world and life have changed. My husband has seen the change and doesn't challenge me anymore and when we do discuss religion, he accepts my answers (even if he disagrees with them). I like to refer to myself as a follower or servant of Christ which is the same as a Christian but the only problem I have with the title Christian is that it was a title given to the earliest followers of Christ by the Roman authorities in an attempt to degrade them and portray them as rebellious outcasts of society; kind of like how America associate Muslims with terrorists. But I say I'm a servant of Christ with pride and I don't apologize for anything anyone had ever done in the name of Christ because I know the true message and final commandment of Christ. Many people have done many horrible things in the name of their religion or ideology. Many people have tried to justify their wrongs by covering them up with twisted truths.

 

[SageTree]

Thanks to you all who have shared your stories, hearts and minds.

:namaste

 

[paarsurrey]

There is no need of an inferiority complex for those who believe in Jesus. Jesus' true teachings are mentioned in Quran; they may read them and benefit from them.

 

[Windwalker]

I say it's better to follow the religion Jesus had. That is following him.

 

[SageTree]

Agreed ^

OF and not ABOUT, right?