PraiseNet Essentials are a collection of essays and rants wherein I tilt futilely at the windmill of religion, attempting to separate religion (man’s search for God) from spirituality (man’s relationship with a higher power). Most people familiar with my comics work tend to avoid my Christian ministry, likely suspecting (as many people instinctively do) a Jerry Falwellian dogma that does not exist in my writing. I’m not trying to sell Jesus to anybody and I don’t tell people how to live. I tell people how *I* live, which is where my responsibility ends.
Just the mention of my Christianity puts people off as they immediately associate me with the nutty ultra-low-information conservatives killing doctors to prevent abortions, suppressing the vote for political gain, opposing even modest gun legislation while relentlessly attempting to write hatred and bigotry into law. These people have made the face of Christ become the face of intolerance, racism, homophobia and hatred. it is most often a scowling face routinely masked by a phony, plastic Joel Osteen smile for the TV cameras.
Write this down someplace: Those People Are Not Christians. They do not know God, they do not love God. If you hate, you are not a Christian. If you lie, you are not a Christian. Please don’t confuse me with those idiots. For that matter, please don’t confuse the Christian experience with whatever the hell that is.
So, what you’re saying is that being a money laundering operation would be a step UP for most megachurches?
Most megachurches already ARE money-laundering operations 🙂
I’m reading your collection and have made it as far as theses 65. My wife has her own copy so we can read and discuss your ideas together. Your work afflicts me in my comfort, and challenges me to compare my Christianity with Christ, not with non Christians. Thank you.