This is going to be a short one. Most of you reading these words will already be familiar with what I'm about to say. It may even remind you of thoughts you've had countless times. I'm writing it because some people still need to hear it.
A Christian expresses a hateful and bigoted message. Another Christian, or even a non-Christian, says something like, "How is this Christian?" Everyone's head should now explode in response to such a question.
How can someone ask this question? How is it possible for someone who has had any exposure to Christians to ask it? How could anyone familiar with Christian history ask such a question? Could someone be that unfamiliar with Christians?
I realize that some Christians believe that Jesus wanted them to be kind to others. That's great if it helps them do so. Mustn't they know that many Christians disagree with this take? Are they unfamiliar with Republican Jesus?
And what of the historical record of Christianity? Go back in time long before the birth of Republican Jesus. Go back to feudal Europe. Go back to the Crusades or the Inquisition. Marvel at the atrocities committed by early Christians in the name of their god.
Ride with the Christian colonists in what would someday become the United States. How did they treat the "savages" whose land they stole? Remember manifest destiny? Jump ahead to slavery and see how White Christians justified it.
The historical record does not support our surprise over Christian hate. Our experience with many modern Christians doesn't either. "How is this Christian?" How can we be so unfamiliar with Christians to expect anything else?
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