Arkenstone: unChristian

I'm about halfway through reading a new book: unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman. It's scary—more frightening in some ways than the latest monster movie.

Kinnaman is a researcher with The Barna Group, a highly respected research organization that focuses on issues important to the church. They're on our side: Their aim is "to partner with Christian ministries and individuals to be a catalyst in moral and spiritual transformation." The research behind this book focused on "outsiders," those looking at the Christian faith from the outside, in two age groups, the "Busters" (those born between 1965 and 1983) and the "Mosaics" (those born between 1984 and 2002).

These outsiders have a pretty low opinion of us. One outsider from Mississippi said, "Christianity has become bloated with blind followers who would rather repeat slogans than actually feel true compassion and care. Christianity has become marketed and streamlined into a juggernaut of fearmongering that has lost its own heart" (page 15). This individual isn't the only one. Within this research group, 87% said we're judgmental, 85% said we're hypocritical, 72% said we're out of touch with reality, and 70% said we're insensitive to others. Only 55% said we consistently show love for other people, and 30% said Christianity is relevant to their lives.

We have a pretty low opinion of outsiders too. We call them names: "pagans," "the lost," and "unbelievers." We trivialize their problems. We figure it's OK to be deceptive if a higher end is in sight (just remember the Idaho Baptists and their attempt to sneak children out of Haiti).

No wonder both sides feel as if a war is going on.

Back in my school bus driving days, I had to break up a fight between two boys. When I asked what happened, one boy came up with the explanation: "It all began when he hit me back." The victim mentality will justify all sorts of nastiness.

Many Christians I've talked to seem to think there's a vast conspiracy going on, especially on the university campuses, to discredit the Christian faith. Professors apparently meet to discuss strategy and plan attacks. The truth is, especially on the university campus, that half the world doesn't even know we exist and the other half is afraid of us. They know that we want to gain political power, then enact all sorts of restrictions on intellectual and religious freedom. They know we hate the First Amendment.

And in this dreary circle, both sides face each other, never making contact, never actually understanding one another.

Kinnaman doesn't leave us there. Each chapter ends with specific suggestions for healing the breach. For example, the chapter on hypocrisy ends with an account of a Los Angeles area church that sponsored a series of meetings called "Confessions of a Sinful Church." Transparency—being honest about our lives, even about the problems our lifestyles have created—was the aim. It wasn't just a recruitment ploy, but a real apology, and it broke down some barriers between that church and the people in the community.