There's a passage in Peter's first letter to Christians that says:
"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear their threats, do not be frightened.' [quoting another source] But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to given the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."
I think about that a lot when I observe American evangelicals, many of whom seem to get every single sentence of that wrong.
I don't think bad translation is really the problem, and I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it. Even with things spelled out clearly in a chapter that begins "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble," people still claim to be living as Christians while not being sympathetic or compassionate or loving, or humble.
Jesus once responded to a question by saying that the two very most important things, the things on which everything else depends, were to love God, and to love your neighbor. Since so many "Christian leaders" I see don't seem to be doing the second thing, it's hard for me to believe they're doing the first thing well, either.
