How Do they See Us?

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.—1st Corinthians 1:18

I often wonder how Christians appear to the rest of the world. Depending on the region of the county, the word “Christian” is synonymous with certain political loyalties. In other parts of the world, Christians are unwelcome because they are heretical with regard to the prevailing religious regime of the area. How do we respond to the varying perceptions of Christianity? Perhaps the most common misperception of us is that we are religious nuts—blindly believing in nothing more than a cosmic fairy tale.

It has been my experience that people who don’t know much (if anything) about Christianity think that its beliefs and practices classify it somewhere between superstition and religion. Superstition is “a belief in something not justified by reason or evidence,” or “an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear.” Using those definitions, I can certainly see why Christianity may appear superstitious.

The virgin birth of Christ, which I and many others believe as true, is something we take on faith. Aside from what the Bible says, we are unable to offer hard and fast evidence or proof that this was the reality of the situation. Furthermore, it is simply not very reasonable to believe that a baby can be born without the usual physio-biological factors required for such an event. However, we do not believe this out of ignorance or fear. We believe it because it is one of the basic tenants of the Christian religion. Religion is “a set of attitudes, beliefs and practices pertaining to supernatural power.” With the belief in the supernatural involvement in Christ’s conception, we embrace the idea of a virgin birth not out of superstition, but out of faith.

The world may not understand us. Moreover, it will likely hate us because the root of our beliefs is in direct contrast with man’s basic nature. We Christians know that we are not our own. We understand what it means to lose our lives for Christ in order that we may find it. We understand the necessity of denying ourselves so that we can serve God in humility.

Christianity is not a superstition. Nor is it a religion. It is a relationship with the Divine Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As long as we are living and breathing here on earth, we are in a category of our own—a category the world doesn’t understand or tolerate. To many, we are fools, chasing after a God we cannot see. However, we know that He is seen and will be seen. One day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord. On that day, the world will see what we already see, and they will know the truth to which we already are testifying.