These people are crazy

I just finished reading a NYT article for tomorrow about a pastor who has alienated the white, suburbanite, conservative base of his church by lending a more moderate tone to his sermon. Though Rev. Gregory A. Boyd has so far lost a fifth of his 5,000-strong congregation, it is claimed that his is now a more ethnically- and economically-diverse one.

Both unsurprisingly yet astoundingly, the more shrill ex-members of the church are taken aback at the notion that one can be Christian and have differing views than that of other Christians. Said one woman responding to a book written by the pastor:

“So why NOT us? If we contain the wisdom and grace and love and creativity of Jesus, why shouldn’t we be the ones involved in politics and setting laws?”

I think it really is about time we started to define the word "we." As much as liberals want God out of the American system altogether, this is, in the end, a Christian nation. A very large Christian nation. To imply that "we" speak as one voice is just ridiculous. In my family of five, we didn't even agree on what to have for dinner sometimes. How is it possible to get a consensus, let alone unanimity, among the American Christian community on issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the death penalty?

If it were up to me, I'd say simply to let God handle it in the end. Letting the church handle it is just way too risky.