I thought your article, “Christians, show your love with actions”, published Nov. 14, 2014, brought up a very interesting point which could be developed further. It seems to be a repeating theme that Christians, in our desire to be Christ-like and set apart from the world, have separated ourselves from nonbelievers in a way that makes them believe we are extremely self righteous and almost loathing of nonbelievers. In an article that displayed the atheist view of Christians, What non-Christians want Christians to hear, a woman wrote in: “I have no problem with God or Jesus — only Christians. It’s been my experience that most Christians are belligerent, disdainful and pushy.” Naturally, this mutual atmosphere of hatred between Christians and nonbelievers immediately fosters defensive mechanisms on both sides the moment one feels they are being evaluated for their beliefs.
Unfortunately, these troubling interactions between Christians and Atheists could be contributing to the fact that in recent years, atheism has expanded exponentially (fivefold in only seven years!). If, as Christians, we were more intentional about expressing our faith through actions, rather than through quarrelling and fighting for accurate representation in our nation, we would be able to actually live out the Great Mandate in a way that would largely impact the world. When unbelievers observe Christians, they should be easily recognizable as believers through the way they live their lives; something should be different. If we want to change the world in Jesus’ name, we need to actually start behaving differently, not just talking about it.
— Fredricksburg freshman Claire Pedregon
Business major
