Christian Hot Take: people who leave the religion are selfish
Breaking down a tweet from the National Next Gen Director of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
When I first saw this tweet from Shane Pruitt on Twitter, I wrote it off as another broad statement with nothing of substance. After it popped up in my Instagram feed because some of my Christian neighbors seem to agree with it, I felt the need to respond. That is what motivates my writing today.
I would like to break this thought down by highlighting the three “quoted phrases” in the tweet.
“Leave Christianity”
Implicit in a lot of Christian thought is the belief that only true Christians remain faithful their whole lives and anyone who claims Christianity and later denounces it was never a true Christian to begin. Sure, this is supported in some doctrine and could be referred to as the perseverance of the saints or once saved, always saved, but it is a fallacy through and through. There is a logical fallacy referred to as the “No True Scotsman” fallacy and I think the subtext of using “quotation marks” to emphasize this phrase is that No True Christian leaves Christianity.
And yet people continue to leave Christianity (myself included) for reasons that apparently escape Shane Pruitt. He dishonestly asserts that anyone leaving Christianity is only doing so because they want to live a lifestyle contrary to Christian teachings. Most often, unfortunately, it’s not because of the teachings that one might leave Christianity, but rather that the teachings seem to have little effect on the loudest and most judgmental Christians.
“Religion”
What Pruitt means by referring to it as “religion” is a mystery to me but I can guess that he might share the attitude of the platitude: it’s not religion, it’s a relationship. Christianity is centered on the person of Jesus, who is considered the son of God, whose death, burial, and resurrection gives hope of eternal life to the believer. Some Christians balk at their religion being labeled as such because their belief system is special, unique, and wholly correct. In nearly every church I’ve attended, I’ve heard Christians refer to specific parts of their beliefs as inspired and set apart from all other religions. Every time I’ve heard this, it’s always been something that exists in other religions (e.g., resurrection is not unique to Christianity and yet it’s been said to be).
Like it or not, Christianity is a religion. It is largely organized and self-governed, and it is religion just like all the others.
“Self”
The most important event of Christian history is the crucifixion of Jesus. His death is viewed as a selfless sacrifice and propitiation for the sins of the world. Pruitt is here emphasizing that someone leaving Christianity wants to worship their self and prioritize their own happiness or satisfaction over the needs and wants of others.
Conclusion
For whom was this tweet written?
It isn’t written to persuade people to consider staying within Christianity. Shane Pruitt seems quite disdainful of the person who leaves Christianity to reduce their choice to a simple selfish motivation and desire to sin. No, this tweet seems to be written for Christians who can’t or won’t fathom that their own behavior drives people away. Christians who agree with Shane Pruitt here are absolving themselves of personal responsibility and shifting the blame to others.
It takes a good deal of insecurity to write something like this.
Challenge
I encourage believers to consider that those who leave the faith or otherwise deconstruct their Christian belief system are simply trying to find and make peace for themselves. It may look like selfishness or pride or the desire to sin, but even so that is not your judgment to make and statements like Pruitt’s only harm.
