Readers’ Forum: Get Thou Over It!

I read the letters section of Christian magazines for fun. I like to see who was insulted at what part of the last installment.

When I saw a not-quite-kissing couple on the cover of the “Britney Spears issue” of Christianity Today ( Kissing Promiscuity Goodbye ,” July 10), I could not wait to see readers’ responses.

I was not disappointed; apparently, though, lots of others were. And dismayed. And appalled.

We believers are the most offended, wounded, upset, shocked, thunderstruck, consternated, and (the enduring favorite) outraged group of people on the planet. Is there something in the baptismal waters that makes Christians thin-skinned? Once I even read a letter from a correspondent that began, “My wife … was disturbed.” Well, pardon me. Didn’t mean to disturb the Mrs.

And the letters we get to read are only the ones that made the editorial cut. What do they do with the leftover outrage we never see on page 3 of our favorite religious rags? You could fuel enough furnaces for a Minnesota winter if scientists could find a way to convert all that religious indignation into a useful energy source.

Outraged by blunders?

Perhaps we are moved to outrage more by cultural sway than theological concern. We practice our Christianity in the land of litigious opportunity: spill a cup of fresh hot coffee in your lap and win a $2.9 million settlement from a hamburger chain. We cannot bring civil action against a fellow believer and stay on the good side of 1 Corinthians 6, but we sure can be downright uncivil to each other.

Maybe it’s something even less noble. Some of us get bent out of shape by an author’s opinion not because it is a core issue of the gospel but simply because we happen to know something about it. You read an article on Schleiermacher’s sitz im leben, which just happened to be the topic of your dissertation in 1973, and before you can say “theological precisionist” you’re firing off a letter that begins, “Dear Editor, I’m outraged.”

Gentle reader, get thou over it. If we bang out a letter to the editor every time some author doesn’t spell shiboleth correctly, how are we going to respond when someone denies something really crucial like, say, the Incarnation or the Resurrection? (By the way, shibboleth has two “b’s.” Did you catch it?) If we can’t read a Christian magazine without being offended, how can we survive in this vulgar, Philistine culture? Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners without getting his robes in a ruffle. Can’t we handle a few faux pas from the forgiven?

Some worry that, in this age of moral pollution, outrage has become a nonrenewable resource. They point to the virtually countrywide yawn that greeted the recent Washington scandals. “Isn’t anyone offended by anything anymore? Have our moral reserves run dry?” If so, maybe it’s because we went to the ink well one time too many. We wasted our supply of outrage fussing at each other.

Why don’t we extend a little mercy to Christian authors? Jesus countered the raw immorality and theological imprecision of his day not with sharp-tongued outrage but with whispered grace.

Sure, he kicked over a few temple tables now and then. But he didn’t do it every Sabbath. And I can’t imagine Jesus dashing off a quick and angry missive to the editor of Judaism Today. In fact, the only writing he ever did was in the sand. There may be a lesson there.

I am fully aware that by submitting an article expressing outrage at our rampant outrage, I have become a flaming hypocrite. I’m going to sit right down and compose a scalding letter of my own:

“Dear Editors,

I cannot believe you published that offensive article I sent you.”

Jody Vickery is preaching minister for the Campus Church of Christ in Norcross, Georgia.

Related Elsewhere

Read some of the angry letters Vickery is referring to about the photos used for our cover story ” Losing Our Promiscuity .”

For those of you—like me—who didn’t know that a shibboleth can mean a catch phrase, slogan, empty saying ,or a peculiar way of distinguishing a class of persons, check out it’s biblical foundation . Read the whole story in Judges 12 .

Last year a Baltimore columnist asked Christians to stop reading her column if they were going to write angry letters about her negative remarks about religion. Two Christians did write in and their responses were considerably milder than the hyperbolic headline the paper’s editors ran over them: “Why doesn’t she just shoot herself?”

Copyright © 2000 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

Anonymous Are the Peacemakers: The Nobel Peace Prize has brought fame to many peacemakers, but many unsung Christians have thwarted warfare by quiet, prayerful work.

Cover Story

Anonymous Are the Peacemakers

Briefs: North America

Quotations to Contemplate

Guest Columnist: Andy Crouch Crunching the Numbers

What Is Truth (About Pilate)?

Humility's Many Faces

Southern Baptists: Cracks in the Convention

Georgia: Can Jimmy Carter Say 'Farewell'?

Updates

Sexual Politics: InterVarsity Group on Probation

Bitter Pills

Intelligent Design: Design Interference

Outreach: More than 12 Steps

Chile: Leveling the Playing Field

Philippines: Hostage Drama Exposes Christians' Vulnerability

Briefs: The World

Uganda: Ebola Strikes Again

India: Christians Scorn 'China Model'

Messianic Ethiopians Face Discrimination

Not Just Another Megachurch

Wire Story

Jubilee 2000: Grassroots Activism Delivers Debt Relief

Review

The New/Old CCM

100 Years of Beatitude

Fellowship Without Borders

Reclaiming Santa

The Evolution of St. Nick

The Kinkade Crusade

The Making of an Original

Wire Story

Ariel Sharon: Mideast Peace Process Is Dead

Between the Temple Mount and a Hard Place

Brazil's Surging Spirituality

Kingdom Prodigy

The Business of Resurrection

Using Wesley's Old Playbook

From the CEO: Who's Who on the CTI Masthead

Real Political Realism

The Artist as Prophet

View issue

Our Latest

Wonderology

Wonderology Trailer

Check out a preview of Christianity Today’s newest podcast about the intersection of science and faith.

News

As Shutdown Strains Incomes, Church Ramps Up to Feed the Hungry

In suburban Detroit, a $50,000 ministry grant helps families keep food on the tables during furloughs.

Review

‘Roe v. Wade’ Eroded the Church’s Historic Pro-Life Consensus

It was already unraveling by 1973. Repairing it today won’t be easy.

News

Kenyan Churches Struggle to Support Childless Couples

One Christian woman hopes to destigmatize infertility.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Lecrae Moore: Why Lecrae Won’t Be Silent

Exploring faith that acts, how the gospel grounds justice, why silence wounds, and what hopeful, everyday courage looks like.

Taylor Swift Makes Showgirls of Us All

Something compels us to perform our relationship with the pop star’s music. Maybe that’s her secret to success.

Public Theology Project

The Loss of One Forgotten Virtue Could Destroy the Country

We’ve all become numb to this unserious, trivializing age.

The Russell Moore Show

Benjamin Watson and Russell Moore on The Just Life

Christian justice, gospel-centered living, and faithful action

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube