Christians are very good at not having ears to hear when it comes to understanding dealbreakers in their own faith. I’ve no doubt they’ve noticed how often hypocritical Christians show up in ex-Christians’ stories and how often non-Christians talk about the topic. But they haven’t really figured out why Bad Christians are a problem.
In 2006, Randall Balmer accused evangelicals in the Religious Right of wrecking evangelicalism. But they didn’t. Christianity itself did.
Authoritarians hate a lot of people. But they hate apostates far more than anybody else. An apostate is a threat and a danger, one which must be eliminated immediately and with as much force as can be mustered.
While exploring my new hometown, I caught sight of a sign for a churchy-sounding financial-planning ministry. Its name was so vague that I had to get my phone out right then and there to figure out what it really was. And I soon did. They’re a financial ministry, you see, Read more
In the military, with its huge, life-altering penalties for insubordination and disobedience, it’s more important for military leaders to firmly and decisively rein in these overreaching authoritarians.
Jesus-ing harder doesn’t fix anything. It just keeps Christians chasing a dragon they can never actually catch, then blaming themselves for never catching it.
Today, let me show you what discernment is, and why Christian leaders must teach their followers to use discernment instead of real critical thinking skills.
The world is vastly different today from when I was young. For one thing, selling pious frauds has changed dramatically. In some ways, it’s a lot harder to sell these lies-for-Jesus to the gullible. But in many others, it’s gotten even easier. Today, let me show you some popular pious Read more
Christians love callings that represent a complete reversal of expectations. They enjoy stories about unexpected, inverted expectations. However, these stories must end the correct way.
When I was just a teenager, some evangelical set this over-simplistic equation in front of me: Pick your master, because you’ll always be a slave to something.