Going negative

Are Christians unChristian? | Tony Woodlief

The Barna Group, a respected Christian survey organization, recently asked young people to identify which perceptions they most strongly associate with Christianity. The three most commonly agreed-upon were: anti-homosexual, judgmental, and hypocritical.

Barna president David Kinnaman and co-author Gabe Lyons conclude in UnChristian (Baker, 2007) that Christians "have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for."

One can't dismiss these findings as the result of biased media or ignorant respondents. Most of those polled report knowing Christians personally, and a considerable percentage have spent significant time in churches themselves. What's more, large portions of young Christians agree, and worry, explain the authors, "that the unChristian message has become one of self-preservation rather than one of world restoration."

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