I listened to Beth Allison Barr’s conversation with Pete Enns and Jared Byas on The Bible for Normal People this morning, while I was making coffee and sorting out tax forms, because I read her book, and I was interested.
Her ideas are not what produced the dismay.
What caused me dismay was hearing, towards the end of the podcast, about the way people – “Christian people” supposedly – have responded to her on social media. And hearing Enns relay that another woman he knows, who’s recently published a book evidently with some “controversial” take on some point, has received at least one death threat on account of what she’s written.
And that leaves me wondering … where in the Sermon on the Mount, between “turn the other cheek” and “go the extra mile” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” do we find the “send death threats” instruction?!
WWJD = who would Jesus death threaten??
Who are the Christians who think it is fine to send death threats??
How are they making that work for them theologically???
I may not really want to know the answer to that question.
But it makes me think we are flunking Christianity 101.
Image: “Angels and Jesus Christ,” Image of a fresco, 17-18 century icon painter [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Matters of Interpretation 
2 responses to “Dismay”
So very sad
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There is so much in contemporary Christianity that isn’t Christian at all—at least not as I understand Jesus. Sometimes I don’t even want the Christian label applied to me because of what is being done under that banner. Our banner. But Jesus-follower is too much of a mouthful and disciple has denominational overtones. I kind of like FOJ…pronounced fodge? Friend of Jesus. But yeah…this militantly intolerance is worrisome.
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