Are the values we hold 'Christian values'?

[Fayceless]

Western culture, and all culture really, holds the very basic values of not harming others. Don't kill, lie, cheat, steal. Simple.

However there are many Christian values that Western culture, certainly in America, that have gone largely ignored. Forgiveness, tolerance, not being judgemental, going out of your way to help others. Even well-known Christian metaphors are misused and many "Christians" would balk at the idea of actually following the Bible's instructions.

For example:

"Going the Extra Mile" too often is applied to work-related situations or personal relationships, where there's a clear benefit for the individual doing something. The story is of a man who is asked, by a stranger, to carry his stuff for a mile. Instead, the man carries it two miles, just to be a good person. There's nothing in it for him, at all. Today people won't even stop to help someone in real need, sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of contempt and a sense of self-importance.

"Turn the other cheek" - This instruction says that when somebody slaps one cheek, turn the other for them to slap as well. It's a level of forgiveness that almost nobody would rise to today.

"Good Samaritan" - The Samaritan in the story was not simply a man who stopped to help a stranger. He stopped to help a hated enemy. How many "Christian" men today look the other way when a person of Arab descent is harassed? How many say they deserve it? That kind of thinking goes against everything taught in the Bible.

For a country that holds Christian values, we sure pick and choose which ones we like.