Last week Donald Trump tweeted the following: "How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian when he lies so much and is dishonest". You might not take Trump seriously and already understand that the practice of politicians using faith to score points is nothing new, but his comment does lead us to think about some of the common mistakes people make when they think about Christians.
We're perfect
We are definitely not perfect. And we know that we're not. We still sin like everyone else but Jesus came to save people just like us. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost," (Luke 19:10)
We know that we'll never be perfect but that's ok because Jesus already died for us so we can go ahead and do whatever we want
Although it's not a case of doing good to get into heaven, we endeavour to be more like Christ because he paid the ultimate sacrifice for us, and because of the gift of God's grace, (Ephesians 2:8-10).
We judge others all the time
Although we can identify sinful behaviour, as Christians it's not our place to judge others. When a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, he said: "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7)
We're no fun
Living as a Christian doesn't mean that we're stripped of our personalities. Christians can be just as much fun as anyone else. The Bible is full of examples of joy and although we're not always happy, we have a lot to be happy about.
We spend our time plotting to convert everyone to Christianity
Sharing news of God's grace and love is important to us as Christians but it doesn't mean that we spend every waking moment constantly figuring out how we can turn every single person we come across into a believer.
We're anti-science and we believe everything in the Bible in a literal sense
Most Christians believe that science and Christianity are compatible. Francis Collins, the Christian scientist who was appointed head of the National Institutes of Health by President Barack Obama, sums this up well: "I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome." Some Christians interpret the Bible in a literal sense but many understand the Bible through a mixture of literal and figurative interpretation.
We only read the New Testament
The Old Testament, along with the New Testament, is crucial in revealing to us God's nature and helps us understand the whole story of God's love and grace.
We only go to church on Sundays
There are many Christian denominations and not all of them attend church on Sundays. For example, Seventh Day Adventists celebrate the Sabbath on Saturdays and Catholics attend Mass on Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings. In between all that Christians go to church throughout the week for various reasons.
