Others Being Aggravated at Criticism of the Church

Hey everybody!

If you know me, you know something I do a lot is criticize large institutions. I don’t really do this as a way of degrading an organization, but instead as a way of pointing out flaws that should be fixed, whether for the benefit of a specific part of that community or the institution overall. This tends to baffle a lot of people around me, especially when I am a part of the groups I am criticizing. This ranges from small fan bases of games to political groupings and the Christian Church itself. 

I have run into many people who get frustrated with any and all criticism of the Church, claiming that speaking negatively of the church was doubting my faith or speaking against God. It’s easy to see how they could come to this conclusion, the idea that something you are a member of is harming people or even just incorrect in some areas can be frightening, especially with religion. It was Karl Marx that said “Religion is the opiate of the masses”, and in many ways that is true. Though Marx was referring to class struggles, religion does provide hope for many struggling people, faith brings them comfort and church brings stability and community. When that comforting community of hope is accurately criticized, it can cause distress in their minds. However, I believe that the criticism and analysis of one's religious organization, Christian or not, is an important part of one's faith. 

Something I feel is easily forgotten when throwing around the “the church is the body of Christ'' line is the fact that the earthly church is also run by human beings, who are not Christ, and are more than prone to their own biases and mistakes. In the cases of these mistakes, it is of the utmost importance that they are pointed out and addressed properly. If these issues are not addressed, the church develops ongoing harmful effects to individuals, such as the church's history with the LGBTQ+ community and whitewashing. Criticism and hate are not the same things, constructive criticism is how we grow as people and as the Church. So don’t be afraid to criticize individuals who may be causing harm in your community, including the Church.

Until next time,

Rune