It is so weird identifying as a Christian in the modern era.
For a lot of my friends, the word “Christian” means people like this...
[Jimmy Swaggart]: Men marrying men.
It's an abom-nation!
If one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died.
And this...
[Jesse Duplantis]: He said, "I want you to believe me for a Falcon 7X."
So I said, "Okay."
And this...
[Angry woman]: She's not a CHRISTIAN!
Okay, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it: The behavior of a lot of self-proclaimed Christians makes
me not want to be a Christian.
But I still am, because the one person I do want to emulate is the founder of the whole
thing.
I mean, Christianity is literally named for him.
If ANYONE gets to say how Christians are supposed to behave, I would say that he’s the one.
He probably didn’t look like that, though.
Do we have any better pictures?
Apparently not.
I mean, that probably looks as much like him as the other one.
So what DOES it mean to act like a Christian, according to Jesus?
Well, it means actively caring for the needs of the less fortunate.
In Matthew 25, Jesus says his true followers are distinguished by how they treat those
in need:
They feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and care for those who are sick and in prison.
However you treated the least of these, he says, that’s how you treated me.
Following Jesus’ version of Christianity means being generous and caring about people
more than money.
Jesus tells a story about a rich man who goes to hell while the beggar he ignored goes to
heaven.
Then when an actual rich man asks Jesus how he should live his life, Jesus tells him to
donate his riches to the poor
and says it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person
to enter the Kingdom of God.
Following Jesus’ version of Christianity means pushing yourself to be a better person
while being nonjudgmental about other people’s faults.
Jesus tells his followers to worry about their own faults, the metaphorical plank in their
own eyes, rather than worrying about specks they think they see in other people.
And when a crowd of people were ready to stone a woman for adultery...
(I mean, kinda sexist there; what about the man?)
Jesus says “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” and then he lets the woman
go back to her life, telling her he doesn’t condemn her.
Following Jesus’ version of Christianity means breaking down the societal divisions
that treat certain people as “less than.”
Jesus engaged intellectually with women when his sexist society said otherwise;
he made despised groups of people the heroes of his stories;
and he was condemned by others for being too much of a “friend of sinners.”
Jesus opposed legalistic thinking and prideful hypocrites who heap shame and burdens onto
others—
especially when those prideful hypocrites were religious leaders and people in power.
He said that his followers should be humble and kind,
that they should do good things when no one is watching instead of seeking glory.
He said that above all, his followers should be known for their love,
that they should love even their enemies,
and that they should show mercy and forgiveness far beyond what others might expect of them.
And that is the kind of stuff I want to emulate.
Not this:
[Fred Phelps]: They're idolaters at heart, filthy and depraved to the max. [laughs]
When you compare the actual teachings of Jesus to the reputation of many modern Christians,
it’s easy to see why Gandhi would have said,
“I like your Christ.
I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Actually, that’s a fake quote.
Gandhi never said that.
Why are there so many lies on the internet?!
But I agree with the sentiment.
And so does the Bible.
A huge chunk of the New Testament is dedicated to dealing with the fact that Christians often
don’t act like…Christians.
And that’s kinda the point.
Because, see, unlike "The Good Place," Christianity doesn’t claim to have the top point-getters
who’ve proven their moral worth by being the best people at all times.
Christianity is more like a 12-step program: screwups recognizing that we’re screwups
and that we need to learn to do better—and that we need grace along the way.
It says that God somehow loves us in spite of it all and that we have to accept that
grace and love and then turn around and show it to others.
Why am I a Christian?
Because that is exactly what I need.
Okay, I do love The Good Place though.
I really want to be Kristen Bell's best friend—and Jameela Jamil—
Actually, the whole cast, I just want to be the whole cast's best friend.
Good Place cast, [mouths] call me.
Are Christians all horrible people?
No, I know some truly amazing Christians!
But it’s an open club.
The jerks are welcome.
They might try to take over.
They might misuse the trappings of the faith in ways that hurt people.
And when they do, the rest of us have to stand up and say, “No, that’s not what this
is for.”
But the jerks are still welcome in the club.
Because we don’t get to decide who’s in and who’s out, and because we hope that
bit by bit, the good stuff will rub off.
And because, as human beings, we’re pretty much all jerks more often than we realize.
And we could all gain something from following this guy’s example.
I mean, well, not that one.
Wait, that’s not Jesus.