4 out of 5 people 'put off' by the Church

A survey in the U. K. showed that four out of five people say that the church puts more people off Christianity than attracts them. Does this surprise you?

Yancey: I’ve seen those survey results, which duplicate the pattern I see in the letters I get from the U. K. For so many people the church proves to be a block in our path to knowing God, a filter that misrepresents or distorts God. I note, for example, that in the Gospels the moral, upright citizens of the day felt threatened by Jesus whereas the moral outcasts and social rejects were attracted to him. The church has exactly reversed that pattern. Why? And what can we do about it? I’m an advocate of the church, not an enemy, but I do try to treat with honesty the obvious fact that we in the church are not communicating well the love, forgiveness, and grace that lie at the core of Jesus’ message.

Read more of the conversation on Philip Yancey.com

God gets the blame for what His people do.

What do you reckon?

Why is this so?

What needs to change?

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