There is this person that seems to make fun of me for having a religion — Catholic or not (this person used to be Lutheran), this person believes that people who go to church are all hypocrites. I just try and hold back my tears. How can I let this person know, not to generalize people by the actions of some? Besides, we are, after all, imperfect beings.<\/p>\n\t
When people use words like “all” to categorize people, they are often inaccurate because few attributes can be applied to all people. To emphasize this, ask this person if all atheists are bad people. Then ask if some atheists are bad. Then ask if he can see individuality in one group, why can’t he see it in other groups?<\/p>\n
The Bible calls people like this “scoffers.” It means that they are people who refuse to believe anything. You can’t correct such people directly because they automatically refuse to believe anything you say. “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you<\/em>” (Proverbs 9:7-8). But it also means a scoffer tends to be basically ignorant because their lack of belief means they won’t learn. “A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands<\/em>” (Proverbs 14:6). Scoffers tend to think their arguments are iron-clad and sophisticated, so they refuse to believe anyone who points out they are illogical. Sometimes the best answer is just not to deal with people who won’t think. “Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease<\/em>” (Proverbs 22:10).<\/p>\n Why answer such a person? The reason is not for the scoffer, but for all the other people listening in. Others can see the flawed reasoning if it is pointed out, and they will learn from it. “Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge<\/em>” (Proverbs 19:25).<\/p>\n In other words, don’t think it is your job to change a scoffer’s mind.<\/p>\n However, it’s also worth keeping in mind that while we are imperfect, it doesn’t mean we accept imperfection. A Christian always strives to improve.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: There is this person that seems to make fun of me for having a religion — Catholic or not (this person used to be Lutheran), this person believes that people who go to church are all hypocrites. I just try and hold back my tears. How can I let this person know, not to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[418,671],"class_list":["post-39122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-hypocrites","tag-scoffers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39076,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-know-that-there-are-bad-people-in-churches-and-being-in-church-wont-save-them-but-why-does-god-threaten-to-punish-the-good-people-who-dont-worship-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":39122,"position":0},"title":"I know that there are bad people in churches and being in church won’t save them, but why does God threaten to punish the good people who don’t worship Him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a religious Catholic, who has never been swayed by any sort of religious persecution or negative commentary, whatsoever. I believe that we should not judge other people because that is not our job to do. We are taught to live as good people on this Earth, no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27529,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-hypocrite\/","url_meta":{"origin":39122,"position":1},"title":"What is a hypocrite?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is it to be a hypocrite? I remember a time when one friend wanted me to give him more attention, but there was a friend of his who was always talking to him, and he just ignored him.\u00a0So I said, \"You want to get attention from me but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18082,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kind-of-oil-should-be-used-for-anointing-during-fasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":39122,"position":2},"title":"What kind of oil should be used for anointing during fasts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you please explain Matthew 6:17? It says \"But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face\" but many people say something like do not take this verse literally, anointing one's head is not really important, what really matters is his\/her attitude towards God. But I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2502,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hypocrites\/","url_meta":{"origin":39122,"position":3},"title":"Hypocrites","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: James 3:13-18 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How often I have been told, \u201cI don\u2019t like going to services. I know that so many of the people there are just hypocrites. They say one thing, but they don\u2019t live it.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is true. In religion, hypocrisy is a major problem. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But before we can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85576,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/letter-from-an-inmate\/","url_meta":{"origin":39122,"position":4},"title":"Letter from an Inmate","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson In a file folder labeled \"Hypocrisy,\" I found some correspondence I had forgotten all about. It was a letter from an inmate and my reply to his questions. The inmate's letter: There is a whole bunch of guys here who read their Bible and go to church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32077,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-to-publish-your-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":39122,"position":5},"title":"Is it proper to publish your prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Pleasant good morning, I'd appreciate some guidance, please.\u00a0I have observed prayers in the comment section under news articles of tragic incidents. When tragedy strikes I could, in the privacy of my home, say a prayer for those involved, and believe that God hears my prayers. However, others are posting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39122\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}