One of the most frustrating things about being a Baptist minister is that when you tell someone what you do many times they just back away like you've got some kind of catching disease. You have to try to redeem yourself by saying,"There are Baptists and there are Baptists." There are a whole lot of Baptists I wouldn't be paHave these people ever really read the Bible? Have they ever looked closely at what Jesus said? The point of John 3.16 passage which fundamentalists like to wave around seems to have been totally missed: "God so loved the world..." Now that takes in a lot of territory.Everybody EVERYBODY!
I have worried about the growing tide of atheism which seems to have swept across our culture. As I look at so much of what goes on in the name of religion--I can see why atheism has taken hold in so many quarters. Just like there are Baptists and Baptists--there are Christians and Christians. Remember Holden Caufied in the Catcher in the Rye. He said, "If Jesus came back today he'd puke." This was written fifty years ago maybe. Wonder what Holden would say about the current religious climate? I guess Jesus would have a stroke!
This is why I almost stood up and applauded Frank Bruni's great article on Michelle Bachman and her kind of Christianity. Bruni takes aim at the religious right and puts them in their place. If we had more people understanding the real meaning of the Christian faith I doubt atheism would be growing as it is. Faith matters. Read Bruni's article. It's great.
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