Should Christian be held to a higher standard?

[nobspeople]

It likely has been asked before, but should they?
Christians aren't perfect - I don't think anyone would legitimately make such a claim and expect to be taken seriously. But, by their own admission, Christians worship a perfect, all loving (some say) being and have a direct line to him (for lack of a better term). They even claim to 'know' what he wants (assumingly all the time?).

You'd expect a law enforcement officer to follow the laws more often/stricter than a lay person.
You'd expect a priest to be less likely to commit adultery than a lay person.
You'd expect a professor to be more learned about a specific topic than a lay person.

So should we expect a Christian to be a more upstanding citizen? More moral? Less likely to lie, cheat, steal?
Christians often times want special treatment (in the USA, they are part of a group which can't be legally discriminated against), some want their view on evolution taught as science in public schools, some want groups they 'don't like' to be able to be discriminated against so should they be expected to live their lives to a higher standard than 'regular' people?

Or is this ideal not based in reality?
If not, why?

[Miles]

It likely has been asked before, but should they?
Christians aren't perfect - I don't think anyone would legitimately make such a claim and expect to be taken seriously. But, by their own admission, Christians worship a perfect, all loving (some say) being and have a direct line to him (for lack of a better term). They even claim to 'know' what he wants (assumingly all the time?).

You'd expect a law enforcement officer to follow the laws more often/stricter than a lay person.
You'd expect a priest to be less likely to commit adultery than a lay person.
You'd expect a professor to be more learned about a specific topic than a lay person.

So should we expect a Christian to be a more upstanding citizen? More moral? Less likely to lie, cheat, steal?
Christians often times want special treatment (in the USA, they are part of a group which can't be legally discriminated against), some want their view on evolution taught as science in public schools, some want groups they 'don't like' to be able to be discriminated against so should they be expected to live their lives to a higher standard than 'regular' people?

Or is this ideal not based in reality?

It's real. IMO it's the Christian fundamentalists who have the hardest time dealing with those who don't go along with Christianity. Be it homosexuals, evolutionists, or liberals, these people seem to strike fear in the fundi heart. Fear that these issues will undermine their religion, which may actually be the case. The decline in Chrisianity has been stupendous. In Europe it went from 68% in 1900 to 25% in 2010. And in the USA the it dropped 13% in the last eleven years.
source source

And honestly, I haven't found Christians to be particularly more upstanding citizens than anyone else; although, the Quakers I've known have, on the whole, been nicer and more congenial folk than the average Christian.


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[Difflugia]

It likely has been asked before, but should they?

Christians aren't perfect - I don't think anyone would legitimately make such a claim and expect to be taken seriously. But, by their own admission, Christians worship a perfect, all loving (some say) being and have a direct line to him (for lack of a better term). They even claim to 'know' what he wants (assumingly all the time?).

For the following discussion, there are two uses of "expect" that are often confused and need to differentiated. The way you asked the question, we're talking about "expect" meaning that there is a standard that we actively enforce, like through harsher punishments. The second meaning that often gets conflated with that is whether we have reason to think that one exhibits specific conduct in practice. I'll call these expect₁ and expect₂.

You'd expect a law enforcement officer to follow the laws more often/stricter than a lay person.

Law enforcement officers are given much broader license than the general public to behave in ways that endanger the public when abused. Since we should try to minimize such abuse by more strictly enforcing the boundaries that remain, we should expect₁ greater legal compliance by punishing transgressions more strictly and harshly.

Whether such measures are effective and we can therefore expect₂ an officer to behave legally in practice is an entirely different question.

You'd expect a priest to be less likely to commit adultery than a lay person.

I assume you mean "minister" (most Protestant clergy members aren't "priests"). If a congregation wants a minister that leads by example, then it's something we should expect₁. Adulterous ministers are typically removed from their positions if detected, which is reasonable.

Since those in positions of power are in fact more likely to be adulterous, however, we might also expect₂ members of the clergy to have more adulterous affairs than normal.

You'd expect a professor to be more learned about a specific topic than a lay person.

Someone that we are trusting to teach a subject should be held to a higher standard of knowledge than those they are instructing. Additionally, such knowledge is easy to demonstrate, so it's relatively easy to detect those that fail to meet the standards. At decent institutions, we should both expect₁ and expect₂ professors to be more knowledgeable than the general public.

So should we expect a Christian to be a more upstanding citizen? More moral? Less likely to lie, cheat, steal?
Christians often times want special treatment (in the USA, they are part of a group which can't be legally discriminated against), some want their view on evolution taught as science in public schools, some want groups they 'don't like' to be able to be discriminated against so should they be expected to live their lives to a higher standard than 'regular' people?

Or is this ideal not based in reality?
If not, why?

So, this is a combination of expect₁ and expect₂. The argument for giving police officers license to kill people with a reduced standard of accountability is nominally because it will help to protect the public. Since I can't think of a similar argument for allowing Christians to teach poor science or discriminate, then there's no reason to risk the potential abuse in the first place. In the areas that they do have such license, the best solution is to simply remove the extra latitude rather then try to balance it with an enhanced standard for other rules.

Can we expect₂ Christians to live to a higher standard (moral, ethical, whatever)? By way of snarky answer, I'll quote Steven Weinberg (as quoted by Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion):

Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you’d have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion.

[nobspeople]

[Replying to Difflugia in post #3]

Thank you for the response. It's good you clarified the two different ideals of expect. And I suspect they both work in these cases, even if the outcomes aren't the same.
For example:
Some people think priests/minister/clergy/whatever term we want to use should be held accountable, legally, for anything they do that breaks the laws (stealing, molesting, whatever) when and where applicable.
What actions said church/religious establishment takes on said priests/minister/clergy/whatever, or who others see these leaders after they've been found to be guilty of whatever action(s), may or may not be similar to their legal ramifications of those actions.
Either way, the expectation is that these leaders do or don't do certain actions.

I guess, when one is a Christian, it's expected they don't lie, steal, kill, molest, etc more so than someone who is not a Christian simply because they have 'a better means' of knowing right from wrong.
But then, we have to define what's right and what's wrong and agree totally, which will never happen IMO.
So maybe, because of that, they shouldn't be held to a higher standard?

[nobspeople]

It likely has been asked before, but should they?
Christians aren't perfect - I don't think anyone would legitimately make such a claim and expect to be taken seriously. But, by their own admission, Christians worship a perfect, all loving (some say) being and have a direct line to him (for lack of a better term). They even claim to 'know' what he wants (assumingly all the time?).

You'd expect a law enforcement officer to follow the laws more often/stricter than a lay person.
You'd expect a priest to be less likely to commit adultery than a lay person.
You'd expect a professor to be more learned about a specific topic than a lay person.

So should we expect a Christian to be a more upstanding citizen? More moral? Less likely to lie, cheat, steal?
Christians often times want special treatment (in the USA, they are part of a group which can't be legally discriminated against), some want their view on evolution taught as science in public schools, some want groups they 'don't like' to be able to be discriminated against so should they be expected to live their lives to a higher standard than 'regular' people?

Or is this ideal not based in reality?

It's real. IMO it's the Christian fundamentalists who have the hardest time dealing with those who don't go along with Christianity. Be it homosexuals, evolutionists, or liberals, these people seem to strike fear in the fundi heart. Fear that these issues will undermine their religion, which may actually be the case. The decline in Chrisianity has been stupendous. In Europe it went from 68% in 1900 to 25% in 2010. And in the USA the it dropped 13% in the last eleven years.
source source

And honestly, I haven't found Christians to be particularly more upstanding citizens than anyone else; although, the Quakers I've known have, on the whole, been nicer and more congenial folk than the average Christian.


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The Christians I know, by in large, seem to be a much better citizen than those I've dealt with in here (I would go as far as to say the Christian in here aren't nearly as 'nice' as those that claim no religious affiliation).
It's strange: they read from the same book, they talk to the same god. And yet, they're better people. I suppose that's one more reason why I so anti-Christian these last several years: I was spoiled by being around truly good people and found that, outside that bubble, many 'Christians' are worse than everyone else.
Membership does have its privileges' as the slogan goes.

[1213]

...So should we expect a Christian to be a more upstanding citizen? More moral? Less likely to lie, cheat, steal? ...

If Christians means a disciple of Jesus, I think we should expect them to act like one and remain in the teachings of Jesus. And it means, they should love even their enemies. But, if they fail, I think it does not mean that the teachings are not good. And I think it does not mean there is no hope for them.

But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
Mat. 5:44-45

...By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35

Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
John 8:31-32

[nobspeople]

[Replying to 1213 in post #6]

If Christians means a disciple of Jesus, I think we should expect them to act like one and remain in the teachings of Jesus. And it means, they should love even their enemies. But, if they fail, I think it does not mean that the teachings are not good. And I think it does not mean there is no hope for them.

I couldn't agree more!!
Just because they're a Christian doesn't mean they can't make mistakes from time to time.
That said, I think society expects them to make less obvious mistakes than some others may.

Thanks for the input