Sunday, June 07, 2026
Sunday Reflection: The unbliblical project of "Identify/Judge/Exclude
One of the things that is hard about being a Christian right now is that many people judge you without knowing your actual beliefs-- they have this template of Christians (Republican, obsessed with abortion and LGBTQ people, etc.) and assume you fit that mold. What they do not see is the diversity of beliefs within the faith, and the fact that many of us disagree with nearly all aspects of that template.
One part of that broad-brush categorizing is a sense that Christians have a central project to identify, judge, and exclude people they think are committing a sin. Setting aside the wide variety of views on sin, the identify/judge/exclude pattern simply does not match up with what Jesus taught. For example, here is part of Matthew 9:
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
The lesson isn't ambiguous: Christian churches are not meant to be temples of the pure. Nor should we imagine ourselves "pure" even if we accept those who are unpopular or make us uncomfortable. Even if you believe Christianity is about sin (which I don't), Jesus defines sin so broadly (ie, to include "lust in one's heart") that everyone-- everyone-- is in the group labeled "sinners." We all belong in the church, if we choose, with that commonality.
If only we Christians could do what Christ taught....
