Bigots, racists, xenophobes, misogynists, homophobes, and Nazis. Oh, my!

Those kinds of people are all over the United States, and the modern political atmosphere only empowers those people to come out from the shadows and proudly publicize that they fall into those categories. Just look at the rally last summer in Charlottesville.

Despite what the president claims, there were not “very fine people” on both sides, considering one side was made up of literal Nazis.

But, those people have always existed. In fact, many of them can be found in churches all across America because these bigots love nothing more than to quote the Bible in order to defend their bigoted ideology.

“The Bible says homosexuality is a sin! It’s against my religion to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding!”

“The Bible says abortion is murder, so it’s okay for me to assault doctors who perform abortions and throw red paint on innocent women entering a Planned Parenthood because they’re murderers! Pro-Life!”

Obviously very Christian-like, right?

Actually, if you’re a Christian with these anti-abortion and anti-LGBT+ and xenophobic views, then you are in for a rude awakening because being a bigot is actually what is against your religion.

Now, nobody’s perfect — at least, I know I’m not. But, if you have these views, then you are forgetting one very important Bible quote — one that comes directly from Jesus himself in Matthew 22:37-40.

“You shall love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

The dean of the cathedral I attend explained to us when I first heard this passage, that Jesus said this in response to being asked what the most important commandment was. Though it was a trap for Jesus, he knew exactly how to answer and cleverly responded that the most important commandment was not one, but two that went hand-in-hand.

Love God; love your neighbor as yourself.

This is known as the Great Commandment, and according to Jesus Christ himself, it is the most important.

Christian tradition teaches us that we are all made in the image of God, and as the dean told us in his sermon that day the Great Commandment, “Love God; love your neighbor,” tells us that we can’t truly love God without loving our neighbor.

Restricting the rights of women to make their own medical decisions and not valuing their lives isn’t loving your neighbor.

Building a wall to keep people out of your country isn’t loving your neighbor.

Discriminating against and mistreating someone because of their race, gender, or religion isn’t loving your neighbor.

Failing to protect the rights of the disenfranchised isn’t loving your neighbor.

Refusing to help those in need isn’t loving your neighbor.

Keeping refugees from reaching safety isn’t loving your neighbor.

Taking away people’s access to healthcare isn’t loving your neighbor.

Preventing people from marrying someone they love because of their sexual orientation isn’t loving your neighbor.

Valuing weapons more than the lives and safety of innocent children isn’t loving your neighbor.

Judging others by their choices and their sins and taking away their rights to live full, healthy lives isn’t loving your neighbor, nor is it loving God.

These things are against everything Christianity stands for. They’re the exact opposite of what Jesus taught. And using the Bible to defend these bigoted beliefs is almost as bad, if not worse.

It’s absolutely hypocritical, really.

The essence of Jesus’s message and teachings is love. We are all worthy of God’s love no matter what, and that’s the whole takeaway of all of Jesus’s lessons. Which is why we need to treat each other with love.

Don’t just make it look good by going to church and putting money in the offering plate every Sunday; it doesn’t automatically make you a good Christian. Anyone can walk into a church and call themselves a Christian.

Actions speak louder than words. If you truly want to be a good Christian, then do what a good Christian should do by doing good to make the world a better place and loving your neighbor as yourself.

Aid refugees. Help those who are struggling with poverty and homelessness. Support policies that make healthcare affordable for all. Accept people for who they are. Fight for equality. Value the lives that are already here. Honor the military. Protect the rights of the disenfranchised. Help make schools, concerts, churches and movie theaters safe places again. Treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve as children of God.

You would want people to do the same for you, wouldn’t you?

That is what Jesus would do. That is how you love your neighbor. That is how you love God.

But if you’re not going to do any of this, then please, for the love of God, stop using the Bible to defend racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, and other bigoted views. And stop calling yourself a good Christian.

The Bible and Christianity don’t stand for bigotry, and they never will. You’re giving the rest of us Christians, who do try to love our neighbors as ourselves, a bad name by being a hypocrite.

Love God; love your neighbor.