Let me start by saying that Gandhi did some very good things in his lifetime, but that isn't what characterized his life.
And his criticism of Christians is especially hypocritical and unjust. Read on and you will read about his bigotry toward blacks, his involvement in sexual perversion, and some of his hypocritical and contradictory claims.
According to numerous sources, Gandhi was interested in learning more about Jesus, but he was refused admittance to a particular church that was only for high caste Indians and whites.
“He was turned off by the sin of segregation” and said, “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.” Sources vary in the exact wording of Ghandi's claim but this story is repeated so often that it was very likely true. For example: source, source, source, source.
It’s abhorrent that a Christian church would follow the caste system, but Hinduism created the caste system. So it's quite hypocritical that Gandhi, a life-long Hindu, would judge Christians for using something his religion created.
"Manusmriti, widely regarded to be the most important and authoritative book on Hindu law and dating back to at least 1,000 years before Christ was born, 'acknowledges and justifies the caste system as the basis of order and regularity of society'." (source)
In an interview Gandhi was asked how he felt about the Hindu origin of the caste system and he excused it saying, “Do not take men's imperfect interpretation, as you see it, for the real teaching of any great faith.” (source)
He excused Hinduism for creating the caste system, but he rejected Christianity because a Christian church used it. That's pretty extreme hypocrisy.
In addition, while Gandhi spoke out against the caste system's lowest category called “untouchables” who Hindus regarded as only fit for cleaning toilets. His beliefs and practices were contradictory in regard to the overall caste system and gender issues (source).
But the greatest error in this story is the belief that Gandhi or anyone else might have become a Christian were it not for bad Christian examples.
If Gandhi actually rejected beliefs based on bad examples, he would have rejected every faith including Hinduism.
Bad examples may impact our search for faith, but anyone who rejects Christianity is rejecting Christ, not Christians. Please read "Thank you that I'm not like other people" to better understand this common excuse for rejecting the gospel.
Furthermore, when Gandhi was asked about Christianity in a recorded interview, he did not claim that he rejected it because of the poor example of Christians. He said it was because all religions worship the same God.
Interview transcript in Gandhi's own words (source)
Beginning of quoted material:
Gandhi: I did once seriously think of embracing the Christian faith. The gentle figure of Christ, so full of forgiveness that he taught his followers not to retaliate when abused or struck, but to turn the other cheek - I thought it was a beautiful example of the perfect man.
Millie: But you did not embrace Christianity did you?
Gandhi: No. I studied your scriptures for some time and thought earnestly about them. I was tremendously attracted to Christianity; but eventually I came to the conclusion that there was nothing really in your scriptures that we had not got in ours, and that to be a good Hindu also meant I would be a good Christian...If a man reaches the heart of his own religion, he has reached the heart of the others too. There is only one God, and there are many paths to him...Hinduism teaches the same great truth, and Mohamedanism and Zoroastrianism, too.
End of quoted material
This is either a dishonest excuse or an extremely uneducated one. Anyone who has studied different faiths knows they are completely incompatible with vastly different ideas about God's character and purposes. For more on this, see Why Muslims Can't Believe Jesus was a Prophet, Can All Religions Coexist? and Jesus is Who the Bible Says He Is.
Gandhi's Bigotry and Sexual Perversion
As I said at the beginning, we can appreciate the good things Gandhi did for India, but he is not a valid critic of Christianity or Christians.
Here are a few examples of Gandhi's strange, hypocritical, and ungodly behavior:
It
is well documented that Gandhi carried on ungodly sexual practices. He
claimed that celibacy was godly, but he regularly bathed and slept with
naked women and young girls as part of his religious rituals and
“experiments.”
(source)
He was obsessed with bowel movements and diet. (source)
He refused to let his wife have the “alien medicine” (penicillin) that would have saved her life from pneumonia. Shortly after she died, he took the “alien medicine” quinine to cure his malaria. (source)
Gandhi “believed menstruation was a manifestation of the distortion of a woman's soul by her sexuality.” (source)
Known as a person who fought bigotry, he actually participated in it while in South Africa:
“While the movie [Gandhi] accurately depicts Gandhi's successful organization of Indians in South Africa against the state's apartheid laws, it skirts a key issue: what about the Africans? It turns out Gandhi's concern with racial discrimination was limited to Indians--in fact, he offered to organize a brigade of Indians to help the English colonial rulers crush an African rebellion. On a related note, we never see how Gandhi (Sergeant-Major Gandhi) earned a War Medal from the British Empire for valor under fire while assisting the violent suppression of South African Blacks.” (source)
Considering Gandhi fought against black African's rights, it's quite ironic that Dr. Martin Luther King praised Gandhi as “the guiding light of our technique of nonviolent social change” (source). I think this illustrates the distorted image most people have of Gandhi.
Gandhi fought bigotry against his people and fought in favor of bigotry against black Africans. He judged a Christian church for adopting the Hindu caste system but excused Hinduism for creating it. He lived a perverted lifestyle and needlessly let his wife die without available medicine.
He has no business judging Christians, so let's quit using his hypocritical quotes.
Instead, let's quote someone like William Wilberforce who spent his life fighting against slavery. I think this Wilberforce quote is a fitting warning to us when we fail to identify "deeply flawed" arguments like Gandhi's. And it is a fitting response to Gandhi's criticism of Christianity:
“Christianity has been successfully attacked and marginalized…because those who professed belief were unable to defend the faith from attack, even though its attackers’ arguments were deeply flawed.” ― William Wilberforce, Real Christianity (source)
Image public domain wiki commons
In a world so full of human ideas and loud voices I can only hang on to knowing that Christ does not need to be defended. The doesn't need protectors and he can do without missionaries.
ReplyDeleteThrowing verbal dirt on others does not make us cleaner.
I'm sorry thinking about all that is done in God's name by any religion.
There is a comfort in the thought that only God can and will judge one day.
With respect we go further and reach higher than with critique.
You call this article "verbal dirt" - It contains direct quotes from Gandhi and documented sources of his behavior of which he was proud. If someone is throwing verbal dirt on Gandhi, it is Gandhi himself. There is no rumor or slander in this post.
DeleteAnd, if you believe it's wrong to write or teach or preach in defense of Christ and the Gospel, then you are judging all believers who obey Christ's commands to preach and teach in His name (Matthew 28). You are judging the Apostles who were beaten and imprisoned for defending the Gospel as missionaries, fighting the false pagan religions of their day.
You say you are "sorry thinking about all that is done in God's name by any religion." If you can only see bad things done in Christ's name, then you have chosen to do so.
And please note this important point:
You claim that only God can judge and you claim that we should "go further and reach higher than with critique" but your comment judges all Christians, all missionaries, all who defend the faith, and this article.
If anyone has thrown verbal dirt without respect for others, it is you, dear Unknown.
Nicely put, Miss Gail!
DeleteWhenever anyone uses that odd " logic" that its' all one God, with many paths" kinda thing, I just think of Jesus saying that " I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father but through Me."
You cannot get anymore concise than that. Now its either, as I believe C.S.Lewis stated, that Jesus IS who He says He is - the Son of God; He is a patholgical liar; or He is insane." There is NOT ALOT of " wiggle room " in there. That, and to consider the the Apostles - who lived with Him and watched Hom for 3 years, all ( save John) died HORRIBLE DEATHS rather than to simply renounce Him!
These two points sum it all up for me, at least.
Btw..Thank you AGAIN for the incredible " yeomans work" of your ministry. I am sure I speak for hundreds ( or more) of others who do not write in much, if at all, but get great joy and insights from your posting part of your ministry. God be with you and yours, now and always.
Thanks again.
Always, in His service, Bob Lyness.
Thanks so much, Bob. I appreciate your insights and encouragement.
DeleteThank you so much for your time and effort to be one who carefully and prayerfully researches these topics to defend the faith from attack and encourages us all to do the same.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victorian Farmhouse, your encouragement is a blessing after the judgmental critique above.
DeleteGod bless you.
But Gail you handle the judgmental commenters so well!
DeleteThank you, JC.
DeleteThank you for sharing this, Gail. We so often stand with nothing to say because we do not know the facts. Jesus said that His people perish for a lack of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement. I've gotten mostly positive feedback but Just this morning decided to explain my purposes for writing this to my discussion group.
DeleteMaybe if I share them here on your encouraging comment, it will help other readers will better understand:
First: Christians need discernment in choosing our heroes. I've heard Gandhi quoted by Christians as if he is a good example, and he is not. He worshipped a pagan god and as this article explains, some of his beliefs were perverse and his life involved a great deal of hypocrisy.
Second: I didn't simply choose a random person to critique. I'm responding to Gandhi's harsh criticism of the Family of God - my family.
Third: I am judging one man by biblical standards, using well-documented sources of his professed beliefs and lifestyle, not rumor or slander. In contrast, Gandhi judged millions of Christians based on some bad examples he encountered.
Fourth: Gandhi is praised for his non-violent methods of achieving equality for all races. And most Christians don't realize that he didn't believe in equality for all races and nationalities. Nor was he always opposed to violence. He was awarded honors in the military in South Africa fighting to oppress black Africans. In the multiple resources I used none said he ever apologized for his violent racism.
I believe these are reasons to address the legend of Gandhi versus the reality.
Christians must face our errors and sins without excuse, but we also must realize that some of our adversaries have flawed arguments.
Jesus came for the individual
ReplyDeleteThat's why He said, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life
Christianity, started when believers formed subsequently
Ultimately, EVERY Individual must be saved by Jesus alone
Not any organisation or system
While Gandhi might have said what he said about Christians ,
ReplyDeleteIt would have been wise if the Christians around him had told him in a way thought right that Jesus still loves him, no matter how he has sadly percieved the church itself.
That Jesus had died for sinners, so whatever he percieved was possible but God sent His son to die for all mankind
I think it's very likely that Christians did just what you are suggesting, Josh. But Jesus told us that the highway to destruction is wide and the gate to salvation is narrow and few find it. When a person judges the Gospel and rejects it based on some bad Christian examples, they are judging and rejecting Jesus. No one goes to hell because of bad examples.
DeleteThis is a sad truth. Jesus told us that we are the salt and light of the world... i light not meant to be hidden.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a song:
May all who come behind us finds us faithful, may the fire of our devotion lights their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe and the life we live inspire tgem to obey.
Shalom!
When you refute Gandhi, because of his own failings, you deny the atrocities committed in the name of Christianity - for more than 2000 years. And now Evangelical "Christians" judge Jesus’s teachings weak, "too woke" and not relevant in today's world (see e.g., Russell Moore, Losing Our Religion). I am a 74yo Protestant and I am horrified at all that is accepted or even perpetrated by so-called Christians, while "good Samaritans" (i.e., despised races and religions) are vilified - so unlike Jesus. I agree with Gandhi.
ReplyDeleteDear Bevrain,
DeleteDid you read this post before commenting?
Please tell me where it "denies the atrocities committed in the name of Christianity"?
And where in this article are Jesus' teachings judged as you claim? If you are saying that Jesus didn't judge false religions and false prophets like Gandhi, then you have bought into the world's version of Jesus. Yes, the world has created a Jesus who judges no one, but he is not the Jesus described in God's Word. The true Jesus judged false religions and He judged sin and sinners. For example:
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Matthew 24:4-5: Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
Matthew 7:13-15: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
In Matthew 10:14-15, he told his disciples: "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."
When His unbelieving brothers talked to Him, He said, "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil."
You, dear lady, have given in to Satan's propaganda if you think Christians are the villains in our world. That is exactly what Satan wants the world to believe and Scripture tells us Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4). I have lived all over the world and I have met 1000's of Christians and had fellowship in probably 50 churches. And I have never met a single person who "despised races" - Are there some? I'm sure there are. But they do not represent Christians.
And I have never once heard a single Christian or pastor claim that Jesus was "too woke."
For you to judge Christians as you have judged them in your comment is pure bigotry. What you are saying about Christians is no different than a white supremist saying all blacks are bad. Your bigotry against Christians is very clear and if you agree with Gandhi after reading that he followed a false religion that created the caste system and fought against black people's freedoms in South Africa, that means you must support some racial bigotry as well.
But I won't judge all Christians by you because I know that the majority are godly, fair-minded people.
I don't understand how this article lifts up the name of Jesus. Bevrain mentioned atrocities committed in the name of Christianity maybe to suggest that this blog is not balanced and focused on an individual's flaws without acknowledging significant failings of individual Christians. For instance, many churches and people who call themselves Christians have supported slavery, Jim crow laws, and segregationists yet their oppression of Black Americans is not mentioned either.
ReplyDeleteWe're all sinners. I think I would have thought differently if this article presented how appealing Jesus' message was for someone with flaws...like all of us. Did Gandhi criticize Jesus or people who call themselves Christians? Does the distinction make a difference for you? Here are a couple of verses that have helped me.
Luke 6:42 NIV
How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Mark 9:38-41 NIV - 38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us. Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
Allyoops,
DeleteIf me judging Gandhi makes me a hypocrite, then you judging me makes you a hypocrite.
If you believe a Christian cannot defend their faith against a pagan who judged all Christians by one bad church, then you are not only judging my article, you are judging much of the Bible and the Apostles who wrote that we should contend for the faith and expose false teachers and false teachings.
If you think every time a pagan is criticized the author must include bad examples of Christians, then you are unrealistic. And if you think that the bad examples in Christianity are just as bad as the bad examples of pagan religions, you have bought into our culture's anti-Christian lies.
You can defend Gandhi and criticize me if you choose. I will defend Christians, the majority of whom are good people.
BTW: I have written about the evils of slavery on my blog and I address Christian problems and sins in multiple devotions.
And we also have an Indian Bible Love Notes with an Indian translator who grieves over the Christians being murdered in the name of Gandhi's pagan gods in her country. I’m sure she would not understand your defense of Gandhi.
So, if you don't understand how this article lifts up Jesus and you only desire articles that include criticism of bad Christian examples, and you don't believe Christians should defend our faith, then you will be better off finding another blog. You won't be happy on Bible Love Notes.
Gail
DeleteI appreciate your quick response. For the record, I do not judge you. I disagree that detailing one man's flaws supports the message of Jesus. If you feel judged by Jesus's words then perhaps I did a disservice by presenting them to you in this context. I will never defend sin nor ask others to defend my sins. I don’t believe that I criticized you or your writing. I stated that it was not balanced which you admit is accurate.
The verses that I offered truly have helped me because they direct me to consider my sins before I focus on the failings of others. I asked a serious question of you about how an article that criticizes Gandhi lifts up Jesus. After all Gandhi admired Jesus, and it was likely not just one bad church experience that made him think differently about Christians. He also never claimed to be a Christian prophet so the scriptures regarding false prophets don't apply. If we're living right then God will defend us.
I think an article about one man should be balanced and not just tick off his worst qualities.
Finally, what I desire is the truth and grace as taught by Jesus. I look for Christians to both love and offer mirrors to each other as encouragement to move away from things that distract us. I don’t blindly support or defend people who claim they are Christians nor would I state the vast majority of people who claim to be Christians are good people. I don’t know what that means or how you know what's in their hearts.
I will always defend the choice that God gave each of us to seek and accept his invitation of salvation through Jesus Christ and thus be transformed.
Allyoops,
DeleteSo many statements in your comment are not Scriptural and I hesitate to respond because I don't think you're genuinely open. But I'll share a quick response for other readers:
Claiming we're only supposed to identify false teachers who identify as Christian is not Scriptural. In both Old and New Testaments the prophets and Apostles and Bible authors addressed paganism, idol worship, evil leaders, and other evil people.
Jesus addressed the false teachings and hypocrisy of Jews who definitely didn't identify as Christians.
Ephesians 5:8-11 and other passages tell us to expose evil and darkness.
If Ghandi liked Jesus, he didn't know who He is. Because Jesus condemns the pagan practices of Hinduism and He only saves those who believe in Him. And Ghandi maintained his Hinduism throughout his life.
You said you didn't judge me, but this is a very judgmental statement:
"this blog is not balanced and focused on an individual's flaws without acknowledging significant failings of individual Christians."
I addressed some of your other beliefs in the previous comment.
Perhaps the thing that really confuses me is your low view of Christians claiming the majority are not good people, and your defense of Gandhi, a man who was sexually perverted, racist, a member of a pagan religion, and a man who mocked and criticized the Christian faith. And people of his religion are now killing your brothers and sisters in India. But you defend this man and judge Christians.
1 Corinthians 10:20-21 : "The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons."
Galatians 4:8-9: "Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?"
2 Corinthians 6:14-17: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.."
Hi Gail
ReplyDeleteAgain I appreciate your willingness to respond and share scriptures that are meaningful to you. What I should have stated before is that I commend you for taking action with your faith. I should have offered more grace in my initial response to you as well. I am sorry for that mistake. I also thank you for challenging me. It is okay if we disagree.
I stand corrected about who can be seen as a false prophet. I still don't think that title applies to Gandhi. Great points though. I'm not sure what else you mean about my comments not being scriptural.
One clarification when I stated this blog was not balanced, I was referring to the specific piece on Gandhi. Also one note I found interesting was the quote that Gandhi did not like Christians was a paraphrase in a Harvard publication. Gandhi did not state that he didn't like Christians but rather their actions. His assessment of Christians treatment of him was accurate, and I don't recall him criticizing Jesus. He called us out as not living according to our own standards. While it might sting he's right on that point. Jesus calls me out by pointing out my flaws.
Is it not judging you to state this piece of writing about Gandhi is not balanced. That is factual and you defend not needing to be balanced.
I know many wonderful Christians. I am troubled for the church because there is this strange thinking that your identity as a Christian is not based upon a growing relationship with Christ and how you treat others but rather how you are treated or whether you attend church on Sunday. The Christian nationalism movement scares me. Christians defending a Trump bible and
believing that it is a good thing for any man to put his name on the Word of God. I acknowledge as Jesus and Paul did that people are flawed and good intentions do not equal righteousness. When Jesus called Peter out as Satan that demonstrated that people who fervently believe in Jesus can do things that are not condoned or acceptable to God. Jesus reprimanded Peter. So when Christians do the wrong things in His name, wouldn't Jesus would have done what Gandhi did - call out the wrong behavior?
I'm not sure that I understand the pagan-related scripture references the way it is presented here. I am not turning away from my faith nor am I accepting/upholding pagan practices by stating that Gandhi praised Jesus and criticized Christians. We probably have more in common than I do with Gandhi. I believe that Jesus died for me, saved me from sin and is tirelessly working to transform me to be God's vessel. Moreover, the willingness to see the righteous potential in others while not falling in with their sin allows us to follow Jesus' model with "outsiders" - Nicodemus, tax collectors, the woman at the well, etc. How many gentiles were part of Jesus' miracles? I am always awed by Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan which ends with a question asking who is my neighbor. This coupled with Jesus stating 2 commandments are greatest - Love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself compels us to love more maybe even more so for those who are different from us including those of different faiths. Ultimately, I think tearing someone down for criticizing Christians' poor behavior and doing so in the name of Jesus isn't consistent with Jesus' message.
Thanks again for the dialog. I end with a scripture that always lifts me up...
Phil 4:8-9 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Hi Allyoop,
DeleteI appreciate you admitting to some things you did wrong. I think I underestimated you. But I still see some big contradictions in your comments. I hope you'll this long explanation can be helpful. I've tried to address the various points you made in your comments. And you're right, we can agree to disagree.
You shared Luke 6:42 in your first comment about judging, and it is specifically about hypocritical judgment, explaining that if we quit judging hypocritically, we are able to judge others. Many Christians read the first phrase and claim all judgment is wrong. That’s a huge but popular misunderstanding.
I have done extensive study on proper biblical judgment. If you copy this link, it will take you to a collection of more than 30 devotions explaining various aspects of judging as explained in Scripture. https://biblelovenotes.blogspot.com/2009/06/misunderstandings-about-judgment.html
And if you would like a list of Scriptures that tell us who, when, what and how to judge, you can use this link: https://biblelovenotes.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-who-and-what-to-judge-according-to.html
If I was sexually immoral, racist, and pagan, then I would have no right to judge Gandhi. But I’m not. I’m not perfect, nor is any Christian, but God’s Word commands us to judge false teachers in Scripture.
But I also want you to recognize something very important. You told me I should not judge Gandhi, but you repeatedly judged Christians.
“many churches and people who call themselves Christians have supported slavery, Jim crow laws, and segregationists yet their oppression of Black Americans is not mentioned either.”
“nor would I state the vast majority of people who claim to be Christians are good people.”
“I am troubled for the church because there is this strange thinking that your identity as a Christian is not based upon a growing relationship with Christ and how you treat others but rather how you are treated or whether you attend church on Sunday.”
I’m not saying you are wrong to judge God’s people in these comments, but you are hypocritical to judge them and then tell me not to judge Gandhi.
Do you understand that Gandhi maintained his Hinduism till death? And He didn’t simply judge a church. He judged Christians in general.
He is described in Romans 1: 18-25
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
continued in next comment...
Continued:
DeleteHe had more opportunity than most Hindus to accept Christ, but he didn’t. But you defend Him and criticize your brothers and sisters in Christ, based on the bad examples.
Our immoral world highlights everything negative in Christians and Christianity, and it appears that you have bought the lie. Christians and Christianity have done more good in our world than any other faith or secular belief. I am 73 and I have been walking with Christ for 50 years. I have lived in Europe and the United States and known Christians from various denominations and backgrounds. And the majority of true believers are good, fair, serious about their faith.
There’s very little difference between not liking Christians and not liking their actions. Saying a person is bad or their actions are bad means the same thing. Jesus is not honored by a Hindu who criticizes His family, not just bad or fake Christians, but the whole family. And I’m offended because the body of Christ is my family too.
According to your beliefs, you’d be wrong to criticize Hitler or Putin or Biden or Trump or anyone else. Or you’d at least need to include criticism of Christians at the same time.
My blog is biblically balanced. It is not culturally balanced. I regularly talk about our sins and weaknesses as Christians. And I regularly talk about false teachings, false religions, and evil people who influence Christians.
You wrote:
“Jesus reprimanded Peter. So when Christians do the wrong things in His name, wouldn't Jesus have done what Gandhi did - call out the wrong behavior?”
No. Jesus would not have condemned all Christians as Gandhi did. Gandhi was not following Jesus in any area of his life, nor could his actions be compared to Christ’s. He criticized Christians while sleeping with naked young girls. He fought against black rights while defending Indian rights in South Africa. That is hypocrisy in its highest form. He had enormous planks in his eyes while judging Christian specks in comparison.
The pagan related Scriptures were telling us that we should call out pagan lies like Gandhi’s.
And Jesus wants us to judge false religions and false teachers like Gandhi:
1 Corinthians 2:15-16: The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Ephesians 5: 5-7: "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them."
Gandhi was indeed immoral, impure, and an idolator.
Judge Sin
Ephesians 5:11: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
Gandhi’s lifestyle and beliefs were deeds of darkness.
Psalm 101:3: "I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it."
Hinduism is vile, leading people to Hell.
In my first line of my post I said Gandhi did some good things, but those things did not characterize his life.
As I said, we can agree to disagree, but I believe Scripture affirms our need to point out immorality and hypocrisy in false teachers, especially those who have great influence on people.