I recently participated in a bloglog on HuffPo in regard to an article about conservative Christians questioning their support of the Republican Party. The article outlined various poll results supporting the author’s initial premise: conservative Christians (a.k.a., according to the blog commenters, “F***ING STUPID FUNDIE IDIOTS!) are deserting the Republican Party because the Republicans have not done as expected.

While the information was interesting, what was really fascinating (in a scary, nauseating kind of way) was the vituperation aimed at the “Christian right” in response to the article. It was intense. You can read the comments yourself here. I personally posted the question: “Fundamentalist Christians as bad as these guys, you think?”, referring to the Obsession movie. And the immediate answer I received back was: “Worse,,,,”.

Whoa! The flood gates (or toilet bowl) of vicious anti-Christian commentary sweeps across the liberal/leftist/democratic blogosphere at the slightest stimulus. It is pandemic, and more than a little frightening. Why is it that followers of Christ engender so much hate? Why are Christians in this country looked upon as equivalent to, or worse than, Muslim jihadists who promise death and destruction to the West at whatever the cost?

Characteristic of much of the postings is a profane and deep-seated hatred of a group of people who are largely classified as lizard-brained zombie-like automatons who are incapable of independent thought. Their crimes, from what I can determine, stem from their apparent support of George W. Bush and the Republicans, and their being pro-Life, pro-Marriage, pro-Family, and most telling I think, from the perception that these Christian Conservatives want to impose these values and morals on the rest of society against its will.

In fact, I think this last point has become the primary reason for the vilification and hatred heaped upon American Evangelicals. They have dared to speak out, in theological terms, about what they view as the evils of modern society: abortion-on-demand, the dissolution of the family, and the denigration of the values that “have made America great”. Evangelicals are being broad-brushed as elitist, holier-than-thou homophobes who delight in the eternal punishment of all whom they deem to be “the wicked” (i.e. anyone who is not a card-carrying member of their faith). The ammunition used in these anti-Christian fullisades have been largely supplied by Christians themselves.

But is this characterization true? I think in part at least, that it is, because I’ve encountered it myself. There are conspicuous, strident voices out there, who claim to represent Christian Conservatives, whose message is less than loving, and whose tone is anything but peaceful. It has been said that the worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the strident, obstreperous voices on this Christian bandwagon are not helping anybody, including their own cause. This is not to say that the strident, obstreperous voices on the other side are any less discordant, disruptive and infantile (pardon the aspersion to infants worldwide). In fact, the anti-Christian side is more negative, more hateful, more divisive, and less reasoned.

It is to say that those who claim to speak on behalf of Christ, are, and should be, held to a higher standard of discourse. Of course, their positions are not helped by despicable displays of so-called Christian behavior all too eagerly covered by the MSM (main stream media): disrupting funerals; condemning protests at abortion clinics; hate-filled rhetoric, etc. My understanding of Christian theology is that Christ did not come to condemn, but to save the world. His teachings were not primarily, or even peripherally, political in nature. He did not try to overthrow the world political system, but he worked within to change it, one heart at a time. He reserved His most eloquent condemnations for religious hypocrites, who proclaimed one thing, but lived another. To frail, humble sinners, He was compassionate, gentle, persuasive and forgiving. It was the goodness of Christ that led people to repentance.

So what is it about Christians today that explains this intensely negative reaction on the left? First, I think that being Christian guarantees enmity with the world. Christ promised that His followers would suffer persecution for His sake; not exactly a feel-good selling point for the faith, but true nonetheless.

Second, it is clear that if you arm a self-righteous, intolerant, religious bigot with the misunderstood claim that he or she is better than someone else because he or she has the good sense to believe the Christian message, then you end up with an obnoxious, intolerant, puffed up bigot who is a reproach to Christ, and a poor advertisement indeed for true Christianity.

The whole essence of the gospel is that human beings are miserably hopeless and helpless creatures who cannot please God, or earn Heaven. Salvation and eternal life are gifts bestowed upon humanity through faith in Christ, the Son of God, who died to make atonement for sin. Christian theology declares that God ordained that the result of sin is death; that all are sinners deserving of death; and that out of love and mercy, Christ, the sinless one, was sent from Heaven to die in the sinner’s place to make propitiation for sin. In short, God declared the penalty for sin, and then sent His Son to pay that penalty on humanity’s behalf. To appropriate that expiation of sin requires heart-centered belief that Jesus, the Son of God, died to settle a debt that no mere fallen human could hope to pay. Further, Christians believe that Christ rose from the dead on the third day, and will return physically some day to rule the earth from Jerusalem.

Nowhere in that creed is it mentioned that Christians themselves are to take over the world, or even the county. Nor are they to compel belief from others in any way; something which their own Scriptures say is impossible, since belief in Christ is a “work of God”.

So, to answer what it is about Christians that results in such negativity, we have to look at humanity’s habitual response to authority: we do not like being told what to do, nor to be held accountable for our choices. Christ’s teachings are steeped in the authority and sovereignty of God, and by their very nature, they opposes the human inclination to cast off the cords of responsibility. This can’t be disguised, for the heart of the message is that the world is accountable, not to Christians, God forbid, but to God Himself.

My advice: Christian Conservatives should back off and be less conspicuously judgmental and condemnatory, and their social agenda should be couched in less threatening terms. This means that in a secular context (like politics), they should keep talk of God out of the equation. It doesn’t get heard, anyway. Unbelievers tune it out and believers don’t need to hear it in that setting. It is possible to be pro-life without coming across as a legalistic fanatic. It is possible to be pro-marriage without coming across as anti-gay rights. It is possible to be an American apologist without appearing to walk in lock-step with a particular (fallible) political party. Christians are to be all things to all people in the hopes that some might be convinced of the truth.

I do not see Jesus aligning Himself with a political action committee. I do not see the Apostle Paul endeavoring to get out the vote, or lobby the Roman legislature. Christian evangelism is primarily a one-on-one thing. The true Christian agenda is to live a godly life, and live peaceably with all men (as much as possible). And if a Christian wants to get out in front of a secular, political activity, I suggest she do so without trumpeting her Christianity, or using the Bible as a bludgeoning club.