{"id":57539,"date":"2005-01-02T16:32:00","date_gmt":"2005-01-02T22:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=57539"},"modified":"2023-01-02T16:33:50","modified_gmt":"2023-01-02T22:33:50","slug":"is-it-right-to-criticize-another-persons-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-criticize-another-persons-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It Right to Criticize Another Person’s Religion?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Kevin Kay\n

It’s not only right to criticize false religion, no matter whose religion it is; it’s the faithful Christian’s responsibility. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men<\/em>” (Matthew 15:7-9). Paul criticized those who tried to bind the shadows of the Mosaic law on New Testament Christians (Colossians 2:16-23). Peter warned that false teachers would “secretly bring in destructive heresies<\/em>” (II Peter 2:1-3). Elders and preachers are to rebuke sin and false doctrine (II Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:10-14). Christians are to “contend earnestly for the faith<\/em>” (Jude 3) while having no fellowship with sin and error (II Corinthians 6:14-18).<\/p>\n

Today many people have the mistaken idea that if someone believes in God and worships Him sincerely from the heart, it’s unkind, unloving, and unchristian to criticize his religious practices. But false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), ignorant worship (Acts 17:23), and vain religion (James 1:27) do exist, and all the sincerity, zeal, sacrifice, and devotion in the world will not make wrong things right (Acts 26:9-11). Many sincere, zealous, religious people are going to be very surprised on Judgment Day when they are rejected by the Lord (Matthew 7:21-23).<\/p>\n

Actually, the sincerely religious person who is unknowingly following the commandments of men is in greater spiritual danger than the irreligious reprobate in the gutter, because at least the reprobate knows that he’s lost. To save those who are in religious error, someone must speak the truth. Obviously, he must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) but speak the truth he must.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Kevin Kay It’s not only right to criticize false religion, no matter whose religion it is; it’s the faithful Christian’s responsibility. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9). Paul criticized those who tried to bind the shadows of the Mosaic law on New Testament Christians (Colossians 2:16-23).…<\/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":[27],"tags":[794,1277,713],"class_list":["post-57539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-criticism","tag-denominationalism","tag-judging-others"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59556,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-criticize-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":57539,"position":0},"title":"Should We Criticize Others?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The nature of truth is that it exposes error. In a world fueled by a politically correct presentation of non-offensive language, criticism is not accepted. This is especially true when this criticism speaks of religion. Challenging the teachings and beliefs of others is perceived as a personal\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":93352,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/clouds-without-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":57539,"position":1},"title":"Clouds Without Water","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Peter spoke of change agents as false teachers who creep into churches, promise liberty from the old way of doing things, but they \"despise authority\" (II Peter 2). They are \"clouds without water\". What does that mean? It means they have no real substance to their\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":62163,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/curing-a-headache\/","url_meta":{"origin":57539,"position":2},"title":"Curing a Headache","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: James 1:21-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When you see a problem, how do you solve it? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If you have a headache, how do you get rid of it? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I suppose one could get a guillotine. After all no head, no headache \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Instead, we find a reliever to lessen\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":25633,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/only-an-appearance-of-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":57539,"position":3},"title":"Only an Appearance of Religion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Amos 4:1-5 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When you look at the religious world, there are many odd ideas about what constitutes a religious person. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Exhibitionism as Religion \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some people judge how religious a man is by the religious things that he does in public \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Matthew 6:1-6 - Some people\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":35403,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-while-i-encourage-christians-i-end-up-encouraging-members-of-a-false-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":57539,"position":4},"title":"What if, while I encourage Christians, I end up encouraging members of a false religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have recently finished another article about letting our acts and voices continue to confess Christ throughout our lives.\u00a0 I was wondering though, what if I end up encouraging someone from a false religion to do more for their denomination?\u00a0 My aim is to encourage Christians, but it's always\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":55550,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-peter-saying-that-the-backsliding-cannot-be-forgiven\/","url_meta":{"origin":57539,"position":5},"title":"Is Peter saying that the backsliding cannot be forgiven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings! I have a question concerning II Peter 2:20. Is it teaching that backsliding cannot be forgiven or is the \"overcome\" part speaking of someone who has completely fallen away and, in this case, they were overcome through the deception of these false teachers? Thank you! Answer: \"For speaking\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\/57539","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=57539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}