THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994                  TAG: 9407150028
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   45 lines

IS GOD PLEASED WITH CHRISTIANITY?

I am bothered and concerned about the direction in which I see evangelical Christianity headed. It seems that open season has been declared against President Clinton, the Democratic Party, the ``liberal'' media, gays and lesbians and anyone who doesn't fit in, believe or live the same way evangelical Christians do.

The same leaders who used Romans 13:1-7 to exhort us to pray for Presidents Reagan and Bush feel perfectly justified in attacking and maligning President Clinton. Was it that long ago that evangelicals helped put Jimmy Carter into the Oval Office on the strength of his ``born again'' testimony? Did God change political parties in 1979 when Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority?

I became a (born again) Christian in 1973. I was excited to belong to an extended family that radiated joy, compassion, enthusiastic faith and a desire to serve those who did not ``know the Lord.'' What's happened? Where is ``the fruit of the Spirit'' demonstrated in the animosity, paranoia and contempt being spewed over television and radio, in newspapers and in the political process?

I feel increasingly uncomfortable belonging to a community that appears to hate sin more than it loves God. Is God pleased when we make sure those with whom we disagree are made to feel unwelcome, unwanted and eternally unworthy of grace?

Last time I checked Ephesians 2:8-9, salvation was still a gift. I thought the church was the one institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who do not belong to it.

Any sociologist will tell you, people belong to the group that treats them the best. Do we still seek ``the lost'' or only people of like mind? If we do not want ``those kinds of people'' in our churches, how can we claim to be reflecting the heart of Christ?

C.S. Lewis once said, ``Christians are the best reason to become one; they're also the best reason not to.''

Rev. CRAIG A. BUXTON

Norfolk, June 25, 1994 by CNB