Why is Christian Despised?

Recently, I read an article (中国大学生为何信仰基督) about why Chinese college students are becoming Christians. I think it is a good article. It talks about how lost the young generation is and how they try to find belief in a society with all kinds of problems. Believing in Christianity has given them a new way to look at life and live their lives. The rapid growing young Christians in China actually owes to the China government. The no-religion policy throughout 1950s to 1970s cleared out all other religions and made a way for Christianity to prosper in China.

What shocked me is some of the comments for this article. Some people say that the college students who believed in Christianity are stupid or insane. Some say that only losers would believe in Christianity. Some say that Chinese christian are not truly believing but using Christianity as a pretense for following trend, or finding girls, or their worship of western culture. Clearly, the world is not very kind to Christians.

In the contrast, the world is becoming so tolerable with any other things: you can be gay, you can do abortion, you can be a playboy, you can live whatever life you want to. It is only a matter of choice. Many people would say: "I may not agree with such living style, but I respect other people's choices."

The reason that Christians are not respected, not understood is because Christianity is not a life style. It is much more radical. It says "whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life, who do not believe will be condemned to hell."  This idea is simply too scary. They feel angry---who are you to say that I should go to hell? They feel judged---why you Christians feel you are better than me? So they resort to resent Christians. Surely, they find many ways to justify themselves. "Look at those weird Christians: they are believing in some stupidly insane stuff, they talks all about God, and they try to drag you to their church and conform you to be one of them." I personally felt judged by other Chinese students when I told them I am a christian. They look at me with contempt and think to themselves: "stay away from her, now she is a disease."

But all the judgement from the world is fine with Christian. The joy of knowing Christ prevails over all the sufferings in this world. The hope of being with God forever in heaven is so overwhelming that we can endure through pains and tears in this short life.