Articles
The Beauty of Christianity
Both Atheists and Leftists, in cooperation with the media, academia and Hollywood, have worked tirelessly over the past several decades to demonize Christianity. Faith in Jesus Christ has been variously attacked as a puritanical watchdog, a threat to individual freedom, the enemy of the LGBTQ+ movement, hostile to a woman’s “reproductive rights” (i.e., abortion) and other vociferous accusations. Christians are regularly portrayed as hateful bigots, judgmental hypocrites, naïve simpletons, science haters, antiquated mythologists and worse.
What I find interesting about this seething hatred is that secularists pretty much holds all the cards. All of our public institutions – schools, state universities, museums, courts, etc. – are dominated by secular laws, teaching and principles. It is as if the anti-God proponents resent every single vestige of decency, morality and faith, and they try to stamp out every instance of it no matter how small. They despise religion yet act with religious fervor to silence “heretics” and promote worship of their goddess Cosmos – “Mother Nature.”
But in this article I want to praise some of the beauty and benefits of faith in Christ and the values of the New Testament. Christianity is not the bogeyman unbelievers claim it is. Actually, research and statistical analyses constantly affirm the increased physical health and emotional well-being of those who believe in God and strive to live a morally pure life. They live longer, happier, more productive, less abusive lives and prove themselves repeatedly to be a boon to their fellow man.
But note: evil things have been done in the name of Christianity, and opponents have caricatured true Christianity based on these abuses. Wrongdoing among so-called Christians is not to be condoned. Rightly understood, true faith brings out the most noble, selfless, generous, courageous traits in mankind. Further, the gospel of Christ reveals spiritual truths that prepare us for life in an eternal, spiritual world where our ultimate existence actually lies. This world is a trial phase of what we truly value and what we can become with God’s help. Considering earthly life as the be-all and end-all is like mistaking the courtship for the actual years of marriage to follow. That said, here is just some of the beauty of Christianity:
The beauty of forgiveness. The main focus of Christianity is the restoration of fellowship with God through forgiveness. Paul described his work as a “ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them …” (2 Cor 5: 18-19). But what results from the forgiveness God offers?
Ø An unburdened conscience – Heb 9:14; 10:22. Jesus “offered Himself without spot to God” and “purge[d] your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” This enables the Christian to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Unresolved guilt causes great harm to the human psyche, and it is the root of much emotional instability and social dysfunction. Agitated souls searching for a sliver of serenity will never find it apart from Christ. Only placebos and band aids are offered by humanistic counseling.
Ø Only the Christian who has honestly and painfully confronted his/her own weaknesses and faults can genuinely find the will to forgive others – Mt 6:12, 14-15; 18:21-35; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13. Forgiving an antagonist is not weakness; rather, it flows from a realization that God has been patient and forgiving with us, and we therefore owe it to our fellow man to give him a second – or third, or fourth, etc. – chance to redeem himself. Forgiveness does not come without accountability, but we are willing to take the risk of extending mercy in order to make peace
The beauty of joy. True joy is a deep, constant sense of well-being. Though our Lord is in heaven and we “do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8). This is not a superficial, emotional giddiness that springs from seasons of good fortune but rather an abiding sense of oneness with our Creator that cannot be diminished. Several passages in the NT connect joy, not with success, but with suffering (Mt 5:12; 2 Cor 8:2; Col 1:11; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 4:13). Such a spirit that is rooted in fellowship with God, not in the ever-shifting sands of the moment, is strong, unconquerable and secure.
The beauty of compassion. “Compassion” in Greek (splagchnizomai; don’t try to pronounce it or you will hurt yourself) means to feel the suffering or needs of others in the “pit of your stomach” (bowels, as the ancients referred to internal organs where they located the seat of emotion). It is the feeling of the father whose son was running in the Olympics and pulled a hamstring (perhaps you’ve seen this video). The son tried to finish the race but was hobbled by severe pain. The father watching from the stands couldn’t bear it any longer and ran out on the track, put his son’s arm around his neck, and helped him across the finish line.
Admittedly, even atheists occasionally show compassion, but Christians have perfected the sympathetic, humanitarian spirit due to their understanding of the true nature of man. Humans are spirit-beings, and their value emanates from the God who made them. Thus Jesus not only felt for the physically suffering, but “when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Showing compassion for people who are spiritually destitute and doomed is the kind of love that crosses all boundaries – ethnic, economic, educational, etc. – and can win souls through genuine concern.
The beauty of purity. Is there anything uglier than in-your-face indecency? Are we not yet tired of incessant, copycat vulgarity in public discourse? Have celebrities, athletes and exhibitionists not yet exhausted the exposure of their voluptuous, tattooed bodies for gawks and clicks? Grotesque piercings, rainbow-colored spiked hair, public nakedness and vulgarity all scream “Look at me!” and starkly contrast with “Let your speech always be with grace” (Col 4:6) and the “incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet 3:4). The Christian comports him/herself with beauty, dignity, modesty, respect for others (and for self) and rejects the profane, unseemly, hyper-attention seeking so characteristic of an insecure, unprincipled world.
