How can Christianity be called a religion of love if Christians condemn those whose lifestyles and views differ from their own?

from http://www.explorefaith.org/views.html

………………

‘I might be a Christian except for the Christians I have met.” That or a similar statement is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Compiling a list of individuals or groups who have misappropriated the mantle of Christianity is a monumental task. The names listed would be familiar to most. Many of the vast numbers that have pillaged, cheated, abused and defiled in the name of Christ are among the legends of our western civilization. The task is further burdened by the many more that have, with pureness of hearts and the highest standards of contemporary morality, proselytized in the name of such “Christian” causes as the “white man’s burden” and “manifest destiny.”

Add to the list, those groups that validate their particular brand of Christianity by distinguishing their beliefs and practices from even the slightest variance in the beliefs and practices of all others. A Christian is not someone who is “saved” through the rubrics of membership or the mere ascription to beliefs.

Being a Christian is not about exclusion. Being a Christian is not about separation or discrimination. Being a Christian is not about deciding who may be right or wrong. Being a Christian is not about securing what is rightfully yours or imposing justice on or even for others.

Jesus left us a final gift. It is a peace that needs no guarantee of security. You cannot build a wall around it and it cannot be sold or earned. You cannot even attain it by the most zealous adherence to the Golden Rule. Think of the most abhorrent individual. It is not enough to forgive him, you must embrace him. Not when he is penitent, but when he is most adamant in his abhorrent behavior.

Admittedly, there are few among us that can pass that test. At best, we try or we struggle with the concept. Fortunately, there is no litmus test for admission to the Christian church. Christians today are burdened with the same doubts, fears, bigotry and arrogance that have betrayed and divided the church for almost two-thousand years. Still we persist in gathering in worship. We persist in calling ourselves Christians. We persist, as individuals, in the face of repeated failures.

Ultimately, being a Christian is less about answers than it is about questions. Being a Christian is less about the final destination than it is about the road we travel. Being a Christian is about a journey of discovery. Being a Christian is about taking that journey together. — Bill

………..

As Christians we are called to have compassion for people in situations that we may not understand. However, when a lifestyle in any way harms you or others, it then becomes unacceptable. A wide breadth of belief is the foundation of our Episcopal denomination. I believe this acceptance and inclusion to be exactly “what Jesus would do.” – Louise