But peace is way more than a nice feeling that most Christians don’t really understand. It’s also a way for the more toxic of Christians to dehumanize and look down on their tribal enemies. Today, let me show you how they do it–and more importantly, why.
We’re still on Chapter 7. Here, we look at a very common modern-day evangelical practice: overstating the stakes, then declaring victory even when they’ve completely lost their manufactured squabble. Today, Lord Snow Presides over evangelicals’ weapons-grade cognitive dissonance.
To start this section, today we’ll be looking at how Christians try to make ‘Christian peace’ look superior to that which they imagine exists elsewhere.
Just in case the back-to-school doldrums are leaving you at loose ends, here are some past posts that can help keep you occupied.
Today, let me show you the dark side of the false promise of Christian peace: a false division between what Christians think they have versus what they think non-Christians can attain.
In this installment, we get our first real look at one of the other villains in the book–the pastor of the other church in town. Today, Lord Snow Presides over evangelicals’ disgust for one of their tribal enemies: excessive coziness with other denominations and religions.
As I showed you last time, Christianity brought me anything but peace. Today, I’ll show you where I actually found peace–with no thanks to false beliefs like Christianity.
The promise of peace is nothing but yet another false promise that leads to yet another bait and switch by these hucksters. And y’all, I found that out the hard way.
Christians love to claim that their religion brings believers a state of peace–and not only peace, but a specific sort of peace: a peace that passes all understanding. Over time, this claim became a popular marketing slogan! Today, let me show you what the slogan means, how I tested it, and how it fared in those tests.
In the first half of the chapter, two Christians play a rousing hand of Happy Pretendy Fun Time Gaming, we learn a bit more about Hank Busche’s church, and Peretti lays out the stakes for an upcoming central conflict. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the accidental pastor of an upside-down church–and what Hank Busche’s entire situation means to Frank Peretti’s target audience.