FoG replied to me: *To wit: you complain that Christians (at least conservative Christians who share the particular brand of Christian values that you support) are often portrayed negatively in the media. But when others complain about negative behavior on the part of actual self-identified Christians, such as […], you simply respond dismissively that “those people aren’t real Christians.”
Read back over it. I never said they weren’t real Christians, I just cast doubt on the assumption that they were. Anyone can say they’re a Christian. One of you who are atheists could claim to be a Christian. I read an unintentionally hilarious article at a friend’s house one time … it was in one of those women’s mags, don’t ask which cuz I don’t recall … but I happened to notice a cover article on going undercover in the abortion wars … and it was about a woman who pretended to be a Christian and joined a church and prayer meetings and the whole nine yards, just to get inside info. It was funny. My point: I’m not saying they weren’t backslidden Christians, just that you shouldn’t assume they are. *
I see. And by the same token, you shouldn’t assume that all the Communist officials who are persecuting Christians (and other religious sects) in the People’s Republic of China aren’t really devout Christians who are pretending to be opposed to Christianity so that the news of their oppressions will mobilize the army of the faithful and destroy the power that tyrannizes over them. This is just as likely as the proposition that most self-identified Christians who do hateful things might really be undercover atheists. Which is to say, both suggestions are equally absurd.
No, FoG, while I agree with you that it is wrong to portray Christians in the media just through negative stereotypes (though like most other posters here, I dispute your claim about the extent to which that’s really happening), I cannot agree that fairness to Christians requires us to refrain from assuming that the vast majority of self-identified Christians who behave in a negative way should legitimately be classified as Christians. A “bad” or “uncharitable” or “un-Christian” or “backslidden” Christian is not the same thing as a **non-**Christian.
In other words, they may be bad apples but they’re still in your barrel; you must bear the burden of dealing with them as co-religionists, however unworthy or misguided they may be, rather than attempting to duck it with suggestions that perhaps they’re not really your co-religionists at all. Don’t try to palm them off on me, I have enough to do bearing the burden of dealing as co-religionists with all the bad and uncharitable and backslidden atheists. 