Excellent example of what evangelicals complain about David! The writer of this obituary broke from a professional discussion of the facts into biased commentary on things of which writer knows very little. The editors are also remiss for not intercepting this tacky little diatribe.

Could it not be that the obit was calling attention to the fact that many pastors’ wives experience deep emotional struggles that often go unnoticed by the pastors themselves, let alone the congregants?
http://www.parsonage.org/articles/A000000065.cfm

I remember when my sister was married and the two sides of the family arguing between Ephesians and I Corinthians over just these details. All the missed nuance is rightly grating and genuinely patronizing.
All of that said, though, there’s no need to say or do anything for large numbers evangelical Christians, christian conservatives and conservatives to feel patronized, victimized, neglected and misunderstood. I’ve see altogether too, too much of my brothers and sisters rending sackcloth, covering themselves in ashes and wailing about the heavy hand of pharoah with no provocation or pretext whatsoever.
The real offense of such a perfunctory obituary is it misses the fact that Ruth Bell Graham didn’t.

I have read much historic Christian literature, and most writers present grace amidst suffering and persecution which should put today’s conservative Evangelical to shame. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
Why present this as the face of Christianity? Thin-skinned, easily offended, complaining, whiny? Please, what else is the world supposed to do but misunderstand? The public face of Christianity in America exhibited by conservative christians is of petulant crybabies, who control so much wealth, resources, access to power, time, luxuries and yet still whine: “Look how they treat us. They don’t respect us! That makes us mad!”
Spend more time with Christ, learning to grow in grace and not take offense at slights which are part of being a disciple. The world wants to see Christ in evanglicals. Your citizenship is in heaven, not in the conservative party.

Christians “thin-skinned?” Why not try that insult on the same-sex promoting crowd, or the abortion salesmen? They rant, rail, and rave over the wind insulting them. If Christians spent the time trying to deal with the media insulting them every time it happened, they would need a corporation with a thousand employees working overtime to do it.
This is why I have such a low opinion of garden-variety lefties. Ever notice the virtual silence from the “Evangelical” Christian community over this kind of journalism? You should have let it go David. Why wallow with pigs?
I am not even going to equate it with they typical garbage life of promiscuity, guilt and regret lived by most anti-Christians.
Suffice it to say, there is a real war on Christians and this junk journalism proves it yet again. Look what happened to Falwell.
donnyresponse@yahoo.com

I find Donny’s self righteous hate so disturbing I can no longer read this blog or comments. I know well informed atheists on christian matters who are hundred times more ethical, moral and kind then some so-called Christians. And David you wonder why CC hate the media. Well welcome to the club- I listen to Bill O’Reilly whine about people trying to destroy the Christian White Male power structure. And who said they should be in charge? Jesus was a swarthy Jew after all. That kind of arrogance and sense of entitlement is repulsive and destructive and I think wholly anti-Christian. White people did not create christianity they have just co-opted it for their own gain. I would be happy to see a person with no religious affiliation and good ethics and moral run the country. Listen to Bill Donohue of the Catholic League and see someone who uses Christianity to spread intolerance. For me I am done with it. Done.

Right on, Metropolis! I think one of the biggest problems among Christians is this idea that they are supposed to “understand” us. Well, of course they are not going to! Jesus himself said that gospel will be offensive to the world. You can’t expect someone who doesn’t believe that there is “freedom through Christ” to understand why a wife would “submit” or “obey” her husband as he submits to the Lord. It is impossible.
I think if the biggest thing that Christians face about there faith is reading a opinion piece in the paper that makes fun of them, then we are some really lucky (and blessed) folks. I think a lot of Christians here really DON’T understand how good we have it compared to the persecution that many Christians face in places in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
I will GLADLY take reading a column or hearing a comedian making fun of my faith over being jailed, tortured, raped, disowned by my family, etc. anyday.

Amen Susie! I agree 100%. In fact in many ways conservative Christians are their own worst enemies. They come across as self-righteous, arrogant and hateful. Is it any wonder that the secular world mocks them? Remember, not too long ago, when the Southern Baptists were making a big deal at their convention about women “submitting” to their husbands? They rightfully got lampooned by the secular media. Frankly I just shook my head in shame. Of ALL the things for the SB’s to get worked up about the wives submitting to their husbands controversy was foolish and a waste of time.
As for Falwell, he got what he deserved. He denounced the civil rights movement in the 50′s and 60′s. He supported the apartheid government in South Africa. He doesn’t care about the fact that the Israelies are treating the Palestinians brutally. He put out a video that claimed–without any proof–that the Clintons were mass murders.
He has also said hateful, homophobic things and was generally an egotistical, self-righteous bully.

Oh, my –
There probably isn’t anyone here who disagrees more with Donny than I do. But, I claim to be a Christian and one of the things I must reject is the gathering of the mob. Feels good to find others who find someone outside the fold, doesn’t it? All that righteous anger over another poster? One of the issues we have in Christianity is that we claim to follow Jesus and then find ourselves acting just like the Phariseees and Sadduccees. To gather in our righteousness around our profound dislike of another is to miss the boat completely. We’ve spent 2000 years in that adolescent place (I’ve got the right belief and you don’t – nananaanbooboo) We’ve burned women because they were smart, hung prophets because they made us feel guilty and castigated holy people who perhaps had not yet developed a sense of God’s love that includes everybody. James Joyce used to refer to Catholics as “here comes everybody” – it is messy to be a Christian – messy and you have to love your enemy and even those you just plain ol dislike. Damned hard if you ask me. I want to join iin the chorus – I really do want to prove my righteousness against that of another, but I can’t. It doesn’t work anymore.

Two words: Who cares. Why get all riled up over something as minor as this? Does it really matter? Donny was right on this, just let it go.

Are you suggesting that nobody considers the conservative Christian directive that wives be submissive to be “oppressive?” Honestly?

Drina,
Have you ever gone to an Evangelical Church?
Submissive does not mean wimp. It means order. Christian wives are the power of good families and run everything. Read the whole New Testament and see for yourself what’s going on. If I love my wife like Jesus does the Church, she’s going to have it better than if she’s living together with some Liberal.
That is why the gardenvariety Leftie hates Christians. We believe in order, they believe in “do as thou wilt.” Now, I’m sorry if this offends you, but I really want to know if the children I’m raising that “my wife gave birth to” are REALLY MY children.
In the words of a great fictional hero: Savvy?
And for those that think my opinions are hateful. I place my email here so you can prove to me how. My guess is that you will stay in your cloudy world of apathy and permissiveness.
It is far past time for Christians to stop caring about our adversaries in the insane world of Liberalism and Progressive sodomy and get on with helping each other. Let the dog return to its vomit and you’ll avoid getting puke on your shoes trying to stop it.
Forget about those that rail, rant and denigrate us. We won’t have to put up with them for long once eternity is our dwelling. IT IS ALL ABOUT CHOICES.
Remember that Westernized Christianity ruined much of the Church. Of course. But not all of it.
donnyresponse@yahoo.com

David,
Notice the poster’s comments about threatening to leave your blog?
Proof that Liberal/Progressives DOES NOT mean nor do they allow tolerance and diversity. They want 100% lock-step submission to their Marxist/Progressive-totalitarian agenda. Notice also that I present the New Testament writers as the backup of my positions and ANY person could “test” my positions using the same source.
Paul writes that he opposed Peter to his face on a certain subject “as” Peter was clearly wrong. I would love to see a Leftist try that and back it up with Biblical truth at the same time.
This is not the Leftist way. They will find some sneaky or aggressive/legislative or insulting way of NOT dealing with things that go against their demands, or accuse others of being un-nice and scurry back to their club-members for support.
If anyone has a dissenting opinion of Liberal/Progressive doctrine notice that they do not allow that “in reality.”
donnyresponse@yahoo.com

I don’t think David pointing out an example of why Christians “get ticked at the media” is “whining” or acting as if this misunderstanding of the Bible is on par with the persecution of Christians in other countries. He’s merely making a point. Some people here need to calm down. I don’t know how the “white male power structure” got woven into this discussion either. Again, calm down.
Donny, I don’t know what this has to do with liberals and conservatives. I think it has more to do with the ignorance of many in the media about what Christianity is.

David complains about a rather weak, left-handed comment that barely rises to the level of an insult toward right-wing Christians, and yet continues to publish the hateful rantings of Donny toward lefties. At least 3 of such postings here. Doesn’t he think it is hurtful to read such deliberately hateful junk? What is really upsetting is that those tirades are spoken in the name of Christ, one who preached love. Maybe that’s what gets non-conservatives ticked with the right, to paraphrase the title of this piece.

Donny is a “proof-texter” extraordinnaire! The space is not available here for me to “proof-text” (cherry pick) all the scriptures which speak of love, the avoidance of judgmentalism, wrathful and hateful speech, etc.

We who are religious live in our own world – the worldview transformed by both text and experience. Often I have found that such small worlds produce a language that is peculiar to that community. i.e. I live in an area that is primarily Catholic -multigeneration Irish – private schools thaat have produced generations of educated young people who speak the language of theology, of transcendance, of God and where most cultural experiences are modeled on that experience. I have many friends who are part of a similar small world that is evangelical in nature and others who live in the small world of Orthodox Judiaism. It is difficult to communicate outside of our small worlds because some words have clear and moral meaning for those who speak like us and live like us. Those same words – simply have less meaning or perjorative meaning for those outside that community. I would say that the culture at large will always see such language in an unflattering light. It is necessary to examine the concepts that seem to upset the culture at large and learn to say it differently. For example, I can claim to be pro-life and that very term has become synonym for close minded religious zealot. I can speak about having a “Seamless Garment” ethic of life and explain what the seamless garment means. I could say that I am pro-choice and would be seen as some sort of wild and crazy feminist who can’t wait for the first opportunity for an abortion. We must be careful with our words. Creating stereotypes because someone is a progressive or liberal or a conservative Evangelical missed the fact that all are created in love. Nobody wants to be without compassion. Nobody wants to be considered a nutcase. We use language that is accusing and violent and therefore cut off the possibility of communication. For me – as a Christian – to be offended by this obituary – is simply silly. It means we have not explained ourselves well – we are comfortable in the language and with the biases of our small worlds. We must stop speaking in our special religous codes and begin to act as if we mean to be Christians. It means loving our enemies. Even the ones who present us with little understanding.

I am one of the Marxist/Progressive-totalitarians that Donny always rails against, and was raised in the Jewish faith, another strike against me, I’m certain, but I’ve always loved the ideals and beauty embodied in the tenets of Christianity, and loved your writing about your faith, David.
Since seeing much of the other side, I realize that hatred trumps all in this religion every bit as much as Judaism and Islam.
David, I will still read your blog, as it emphasizes goodness and caring. My mistake was reading the comments.

There is a thought in Christianity that we must bear all. Donny seems to refuse to bear all- (the other point of view). He doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to. But that also means if a reader finds his words morally, spirtually or emotionally to difficult they too don’t have to bear it either.
A person can find Donny’s comments (or anyones) distasteful and may choose to no longer read them. That doesn’t mean that person is being less of Christian/ethical/moral person towards them. You can love anyone from a distance. If you live in an abused household you can still love the abuser but decide that it is no longer in any one’s best interest to stay.
If we lose people here who deserves are Christian love? The person who is hurt or the person who they feel is hurtful? Both?
I think people might need to take a fast from this blog or anything, as from politics, if what they are involved in is destructive in what ever way it is.

As I read through the comments, I am suddenly aware of the great convicting power of God over men’s hearts. David, thank you for allowing yourself to be used as His instrument of truth.

Drina,
It looks like you are commenting on Paul’s writings on women in the New Testament.
Anyone that thinks that the Evangelical wives of Evangelical husbands are some how submissive like wimps, has never known an Evangelical, nor ever been in an Evangelical Church.
In my opinion, “The Left” conjures up their own delusions about Christians and then believes them. And that’s easy to do seeing how much of the media they (The Left) control.
Sure looks like things are going down exactly the way the New Testament described they would.

What’s my winning lotto numbers for next week Donny?

Donny,
Had you read my comment carefully, you would have understood that I was questioning David’s apparent belief that nobody thinks the obsession with women’s submission is oppressive. Thus, your reply to me was completely off topic. His post took issue with the fact that the author of the piece stated the obvious –that a lot of people don’t like that aspect of Christian Fundamentalism. What the author wrote is entirely true, but David used it as an excuse to say the media was being a big meanie.
“What might seem to many like oppression in fact set her free to shape a life that included, but by no means was limited to, a man she deeply loved.”
Do you really believe that this was intended to be an anti-Christian smackdown, David?

I am not a religious person by any means. But if one wre to describe someone who has been the very description of goodness, honesty , integrity and honour ; they would be talking about the Rev. Billy Graham , who has stood as an example of the highest ideals of humanity all his adult life. With Ruth’s passing ; heaven got an upgrade.