Why such darkness?

[PloverWing]

Plenty of fake Christians, as Scripture predicted......

You seem to be speaking of a minority of Christians here. Which I must say is usually the problem. One comes across the darkness of the worst of "Christians", rightly in quotes... and so "becomes" an atheist, and so on.

Obliquinaut can speak for himself about the exact political and theological leanings of the obnoxious Christians he has encountered. But for myself, I'll say that it's inaccurate to dismiss the offensive CF-ers as "fake Christians". From what I can tell, a number of the CF-ers who strongly and loudly condemn other people are genuinely Christian, and they see condemnation of others as part of their Christian calling, as a way of serving God. That's part of what troubles me about it.

Maybe you're right that this strain of Christianity is in the minority; I hope so. Obliquinaut said that he knows a number of Christians personally who are kind and caring people; so do I. Maybe social media brings out the worst in some people. But I'm concerned that this offensive minority is still a large and significant presence in the Christian community. If, in our churches, we're communicating to our members (either deliberately or inadvertently) that harshly condemning other people is the best way to proclaim the Gospel, and that an attitude of condemnation is spiritually healthy for Christians, then that's something we need to pay attention to as we pass on the faith from one generation to the next in our churches.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Going back to basic matters of darkness and light, it's good to refer to passages such as John's First Epistle chapter 1, where the difference between walking in light and darkness is stressed.