People Reject What They Don’t Understand
How I learned that my prejudice against Christians was holding me back from growth
“People reject what they do not understand because it makes them feel small. They would rather believe in some other reality, even if it is only an illusion, so long as it makes them feel bigger.” — Suzy Kassem
Christians are crazy people
Growing up, I couldn’t stand Christians. They didn’t make any sense to me. I had one Christian friend in particular who seeemed to deter me from faith entirely. In my high school biology class, she sat out during the evolution unit because it conflicted with her religious beliefs. ‘What in the world?’, I thought. ‘How are you going to just deny evolution, with all the evidence we have? What about fossils, vestigial structures, and microevolution?’. To be completely honest, I assumed that her parents had brainwashed her into some science-denial cult, thought she was a bright girl.
Since my biology class in my sophomore year of high school, I continued thinking that Christians were crazy people until about my junior year of high school. At this point, one of my childhood friends had recently found Jesus, and was unashamed in his conviction and beliefs. But, wisely, he didn’t force them upon me. He didn’t tell me that I needed to find God as well, or that I was going to hell for being a nonbeliever (someone actually told me once, ‘It’s your afterlife you’re risking’ when I said I was an athiest). He was patient, and understood that forcing his beliefs on me would only deter me from faith entirely.
This change in my friend’s faith made me reevaluate my own beliefs, about God and about Christians. For the first time in about four years, here was a non-cultlike, patient, accepting Christian. Maybe every Christian isn’t so bad.
As I began to accept the notion that Christians are not (always) crazy, I started to have more conversations, and realize that my prejudice against Christians was just as bad as someone forcing their beliefs on me. I started talking to more God-believers, going to church occasionally, and trying to find truth for myself. I ended up meeting two really great friends who helped grow in accepting and respecting others’ beliefs.
Realizing my own prejudice
As I talked more with my now-Christian childhood friend and my two new Christian friends, I began to see that my worldview on Christianity was a lot smaller than I thought.
The first thing I realized is that every Christian was not like the evolution-denying friend I had in high school. Each person I spoke with had a different story of how they came to know God. Some were raised in Church, and some found Jesus at a low point of struggling with drug abuse and addiction. Others found Christianity on their own. No two stories were the same.
I learned that there is much more to Christianity than denying science (if that can even be considered a part of it). There is community, teaching, morals, prejudice, counseling, prayer, faith, argument, and much more. Trying to describe Christianity in a single sentence is meaningless. As my worldview and exposure to religious people grew, I realized that not all Christian’s are crazy, I was just generalizing one story to an entire population of people.
No two Christians are the same
Scratch that; no two people are the same. If you don’t believe me, watch Jubilee’s ‘Spectrum’ playlist on YouTube. Each video groups people from a subculture (like women, millionaires, and plus-sized people) and interviews them on their beliefs. It is really one of the best series on YouTube for learning not to generalize anyone.
My friend that found Jesus in college is different from my friend who found Jesus while struggling with substances. She is different from my friend who grew up Christian and denied evolution (who has grown an incredible amount in her acceptance of others and her own beliefs in the years since). People are layered, and every human has a different experience. That is what makes every human voice intrinsically valuable. We all have something different to say.
Final Thoughts
Being ignorant about something may cause you to reject an idea that could change your life. Growing up, I thought Christians were crazy. As I grew, I had listened to Christians sharing their stories. I learned that people reject what they don’t understand; I didn’t understand Christians and so I wanted no part in believing that their beliefs were valuable.
It is natural to have prejudices as a human. None of us are perfect, and we all reject certain ideas, people, and things in some capacity. If you catch yourself saying something that generalizes a population to your perception of them, like “conservatives are the reason this country is falling apart”, or “Islam is a dangerous religion”, expose yourself to more people in that group and have conversations.
If we aren’t aware, we can’t understand. If we can’t understand, we will reject. If we reject, we miss opportunities for connection, acceptance, and peace.
Sincerely,
Ross Heilweil
