Ravings of an Angry Evangelical March 26, 2010
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Christian witness, Communication in the Church, Core Values, Religion in the U.S..Tags: Evangelism, Values
9 comments
Our country is being destroyed by ignorant, narrow-minded, arrogant, self-righteous Christians. They call themselves evangelicals, but throughout history they have been known by other names: tyrants, despots, hate mongers, fools…
David Carlsson, Message to America, 2009
Hold on. I confess that there are ignorant, narrow-minded, arrogant, self-righteous Christians out there — but there is a fundamental flaw in the following logic that makes me incredibly angry. And not just angry at the David Carlsson’s, but at all those who try to pidgeon-hole “those” who have ruined the word “evangelical.” The slim segment of ultra-conservative, neo-fundamentalist Christians who have redefined evangelicalism in the United States are not the whole story (and, by the way, it is not ONLY far-right Christians who are ignorant, narrow-minded, arrogant and self-righteous — there are some pretty obnoxious left-leaners as well. Just labeling your meanness “progressive” doesn’t help anything, either.) What also bugs me is that all of this labeling, re-labeling, defending, finger-pointing, and blaming moves us in exactly the WRONG direction. I am amazed how easy it is to get sucked into the “who is wrong/who is right” negative spiral. As I read such statements as Carlsson’s, I feel the stress rise within me, and my immediate reaction is to reply in kind. But anger — and acting out in response — will never move us to a better place. How can we rise above the maelstrom and find a place of peace and stability.
