Every segment of society has its members of the lunatic fringe, but Christianity seems to have a disproportionately high percentage of them. This fact wouldn't present any problems if Christians kept a low profile. For example, we're sure the Amish have a few wackos in their midst, but they don't get up in your face with billboards that hint at your eternal destination, and they don't try to impose their moral criteria as a filler on the public airwaves. Of course, the Amish don't use electricity, and that contributes to their cultural obscurity. But at least the goofballs remain an Amish problem that isn't inflicted on the rest of us.
Unfortunately, many Evangelical Christians don't have the unassuming qualities of the Amish. They are bold and brash with their oddities. They seem intent on exposing and publicizing their own peculiarities. The most weird among them rise to public prominence. Shouldn't the natural tendency be for Christians to keep their most bizarre brethren (and sistern) locked in the church basement? We could only hope so. But no, they are free to roam society, subjecting all of us to a veritable religious freak show. You're probably already familiar with the cast that we're talking about.
The clown (literally) who sat in the end zone seats at every Super Bowl. He was easy to spot. He wore the rainbow colored wig, and he held up a large "John 3:16" sign when the television cameras set up for a field goal attempt. Did he really think that people would stop watching the game on TV so they could look up that scripture in a Bible that is conveniently nearby on the buffet table between the Budweiser and the pork rinds?
The televangelist who harangues his cable-network congregation with fund-raising solicitations, sounding as if the Almighty God of the universe is impatient to keep the network going unless Granny signs over her monthly social security check. "Jesus wants to save you, but He can't afford to do it for free!"
The Christian plumber who advertises in the yellow pages with a big fish symbol displayed prominently in the ad. The sign of the fish was an affective secret symbol among Christians in the first century AD, when being identified as a Christian meant being used as lion bait in the Roman Coliseum. But 20 centuries later that fish symbol means this: "Hy, come to me for your plumbing repairs. I may do a lousy job cleaning you clogged pipes, and I might charge you more than the other guys, but at least you'll be reamed by a fellow Christian."
"Faith healers" who can cure diseases and ailments that people don't even know they have. Is their supernatural power divinely bestowed on them only during the hours of their television crusade? If they posses the power continually, why don't they spend a little time walking through the corridors of their local hospital (or curing their own comb-over)?
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Finally,allow us to make three more points of clarification. First, we really don't harbor animosity for any Christians in particular (or people in general). Our criticism is directed at the dumb things Christians do, not who they are. We are convinced that Christians are for the most part well-intentioned, although a few of them are often misguided. That leads us to our second point of clarification. Our criticism is primarily directed of the behavior of Christianity's lunatic fringe. We are never ashamed of God, but Christianity's overzealous extremists often make us embarrassed to be dressed in the same uniform they are wearing. So, for the most part, references in the following chapters to Christians refer to those in the tribe who are standing on the wobbly edge of rationality.
Rightly or wrongly, we exclude ourselves from this group. And that last statement provides a convenient segue to our third and final point. We realize that we ourselves are frequently guilty of behavior and attitudes that most embarrass and grieve God. We are probably most critical of others who have our same failings. That's why we can so easily spot the flaws. So why are their actions the target of our derision? Because they somehow manage a public display of their faux pas. We, on the other hand, have succeeded i keeping most of our ungodly conduct private - unless this book counts as conduct unbecoming a Christian.
So, to our Christian brothers and sisters we say, let's learn to laugh at ourselves, and let's learn from what we're laughing at. To those outside our Christian family, we say, much of your criticism against us is well-deserved. But don't blame God. He agrees with you.
sorry, don't follow you.