So begins the honest and highly amusing appraisal of Evangelical Christians offered by tag team authors Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz in their new book, "I'm Fine with God, It's Christians I Can't Stand".
Almost every page fizzes with exasperation at some of the Christian family's more embarrassing and - troublesome - members.
Whether they're taking aim at the 'God hates fags' picketers, Christians who categorically reject science, believers who don't bother to read the Bible, or prosperity gospel preachers who "demean God to the status of an ATM", the blurb on the back cover is absolutely right when it says this book will make you laugh and cringe in roughly equal measure.
It will, however, also give you some genuine food for thought. Underpinning the 180-page rant is a very genuine desire to point out all that is amiss in the body of Christ not in order to condemn, but rather to start the process of uprooting certain elements that are causing unquestionable damage to the reputation of Jesus Christ and his followers.
"...Christians are like a family that has a few crazy relatives. No one knows the strange and destructive behaviour of Uncle Norman better than his own family members. And even though they all share a common bloodline, those family members have an obligation to report that he might be a danger to society. Consider this book our report about the eccentrics and misfits in the Christian family," they write.
Much of what they have to say will make you think 'Glad someone else noticed'. Some of it might even have you thinking 'Uh oh, that's me they're talking about'! In which case, Bickel and Jantz are quick to suggest alternative courses of action. You might not always agree with these proposed remedies, but Bickel and Jantz clearly hope they will at least get the mental cogs turning in directions that result in more Christ-glorifying behaviour.
"Christians don't need to revamp the culture in order to regain respect in society. We simply need to start conducting ourselves in the loving manner that Christ intended all along," they conclude.
Writing the book was clearly a cathartic experience for Bickel and Jantz and their directness made reading it equally so. If you want a take on the health of the Christian family that is provocative, witty and unashamedly honest, then this is the book for you.
Author Bruce Bickel, Stan Jantz
ISBN/Ref 9780736921978
0736921974
Publisher Harvest House Publishers
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