A lot of people have sent me this video made by BuzzFeed, the same folks who produced such film classics as “What Bros Do Before a Date,”“Weird Things Couples Do When They Lose Their Phone” (apparently they look for it — so weird!) and “What It’s Like To Be A Hairy Girl.” It’s about as insightful and deep as you’d expect, considering the source and the title: “I’m a Christian, But I’m Not.” The viral clip, which spawned thousands of shares and a trending hashtag, features six millennials describing their makeshift Build-A-Bear faith. It starts with each person assuring us they’re “Christian” but they don’t think they’re “perfect,” and they’re certainly not “homophobic,” “unaccepting,” “uneducated,” “judgmental,” “ignorant” or “conservative.” If lumping “conservative” in with “uneducated, homophobic and ignorant” didn’t get the passive-aggressive message across aggressively enough, the next part makes it painfully clear: one by one, the carefully selected collection of manicured trendies informs us that although they are allegedly Christian, they’re also ”accepting,” “queer,” “gay,” “feminist,” “feminist,” and in case you missed it, “feminist.”
The video falters badly here, in the first 60 seconds, for the reasons: 1) To say “I’m a Christian, but I know I’m not perfect” is nonsensical. There should be no “but” in that sentence. There are definitely some haughty Christians out there (see: the ones in this video), but a Christian, in principle, is by definition a person who knows they are part of a fallen race and can only be redeemed through the blood of Christ Jesus. The Christian sins like all people sin, and it’s this recognition of his own sin that causes him to cry out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:21). By his Christian faith he knows that it is “God who delivers him through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” The correct way to say it then is, “I am Christian, because I know I am not perfect.”
2) There’s nothing more self-righteous than making a big show about your supposed lack of self-righteousness. It’s true that Christians need not be — and in fact usually are not — “ignorant,” “uneducated” or “homophobic.” But when you say, “I’m a Christian but I’m not _____”, you are passively accusing most other Christians of being whatever you said you aren’t. Therefore, in the process of pointing out how you’re not “on a pedestal,” you have placed yourself on a pedestal. In saying, “I’m not judgmental, unlike all those guys over there,” you are being judgmental. In showing off your humility, you areshowing off your staggering arrogance.
There are few days in my life when I am more pathetic than the first day back to work after vacation. My personal pity party is quite something to behold. What is lacking is a good old dose of perspective to remind me that my "griefs" pale in comparison to what most of the world faces each day. It took a comic strip to give me that perspective this morning.
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