Matt Walsh: No, Jesus didn’t ‘hang out’ with sinners
I was recently informed by a fellow Christian that it’s perfectly OK for a follower of Christ to march in a gay pride parade because, as he explained it, “Jesus hung out with sinners.” It was far from the first time that I’ve heard a clearly objectionable act justified on these grounds. This is just one of the many dubious slogans that has overwhelmed and suffocated the faith in our country. For many of us, our faith is really nothing more than a collection of these empty mantras, which we confidently shout over and over again, hoping repetition will make them true.
Of course, “Jesus hung out with sinners” is a loaded statement. There’s always some erroneous insinuation or conclusion attached to it. “Jesus hung out with sinners, therefore [xyz].” Jesus hung out with sinners, therefore it’s OK for me to do whatever it is I’m doing right now. Jesus hung out with sinners, therefore I need not follow whatever commandment or moral teaching we’re currently discussing. Jesus hung out with sinners, therefore this sin that we’re discussing isn’t as bad as you suggest.
I’ve heard “Jesus hung out with sinners” as a sincere justification for going to strip clubs and gay bars. I’ve seen “Jesus hung out with sinners” trotted out during debates about pornography. Somehow “Jesus hung out with sinners” tends even to enter discussions of abortion. “Jesus hung out with sinners, therefore killing babies is alright.” Generally, whatever the application, the argument is always that Jesus “hung out with” such and such a sinner, which means He didn’t mind such and such a sin.
Last week I wrote a piece about misconceptions around the idea of Christian compassion, and many of the critical responses hinged on this theme. One example:
“Matt, this was nothing but a badly disguised anti-gay diatribe. Jesus would have hung out with the people you are judging. Jesus wasn’t judgmental and in your face like you. He didn’t shove religion down people’s throats. Jesus hung out with sinners….” Etc. and so forth.
Leaving aside the bizarre contention that any discussion of Christian morality is automatically “anti-gay” (I didn’t mention gays in the post at all), what we have here is just your standard “Jesus hung out with sinners” formulation. Jesus “hung out” with people who sinned, ipso facto Jesus had no problem with the sins they committed. And if it were true that Christ merely “hung out” with people, this line of logic would hold a little water.
After all, “hanging out” is an inherently accepting, or at least indifferent, act. It’s casual and trivial. It has no purpose beyond itself. The phrase “hanging out” is almost never used to describe a deep, meaningful, or intimate interaction between two people. We use it precisely to signify the opposite. “Oh, we just hung out.” In other words, there wasn’t much going on. There was no agenda. We were just sort of occupying the same space together.
There’s a reason why many people in my generation, as deathly afraid of commitment as we tend to be, will often reject the term “dating” and instead say of our romantic partners, “We’re just hanging out.” Meaning, this isn’t necessarily going anywhere, nor do I intend it to. So, if that’s the only reason Christ came to Earth — to “just hang out” with us — then, sure, I guess your favorite sin isn’t so bad. If the Son of God didn’t mind “hanging out” around it, how terrible could it be?
But that’s not what happened. That’s not what Jesus did. Jesus didn’t hang out with sinners, and since we’re all sinners, it must be said that Jesus didn’t hang out with anyone. This is not semantics. The phrase has certain connotations, and those connotations are dangerous and misleading. Let’s look at the two most dangerous implications of this popular saying:
- “Hanging out” implies approval or indifference.
If I first learned about Jesus from the people who typically put forth this vision of the “hanging out” Christ, I’d com[ATTACH=full]99794[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]99793[/ATTACH]