I’ll tell you why

I must say that when it comes to making fun of Christians it’s open season. It has been that way for a long time. Why are people allowed to get away with making fun of the Christian faith?

I found this quote on another blog. I won’t bother to link to it because it has to do with politics and I don’t want this to be a political discussion. Can you answer the question?

I think the answer is that people aren’t really making fun of the Christian faith. They’re making fun of folks who call themselves Christians. Unfortunately, all some folks know of the Christian faith is what they see in our lives, and let’s be frank here, sometimes it ain’t pretty.

I also think outsiders like to pounce on us because we pounce on them. It’s like we’ve drawn this line that makes sin among sinners REALLY bad while sin among saints is “well, nobody’s perfect.” Then we want to come back at folks with “sin ain’t what you do, it’s about the relationship.” Yeah, right. I’m sure they get that and the word they use to describe it is “hypocrite.”

At the core of the issue, I think, is the way Christians dole out compassion. I sometimes feel that our compassion is reserved for other Christians, usually Christians we know personally, and we have very little for the world-at-large.

So I don’t really get bummed out when people mock Christians because sometimes we deserve to be mocked. Many times it’s not them defaming the name of Christ, it’s them calling us out because we’re defaming His name.

I think this relates to our writing as well. How we draw our characters, the situations we put them in, and the way they resolve their issues all speak to how perceive Christian life. I think that’s why there’s such a diversity is what folks call “Christian fiction.” If I call myself a Christian and a book speaks to me where I am in my faith, then to me it’s Christian fiction. You’ll notice the definition is built around the person, not the book.

Anyway. That’s my nickel. What’s yours?