I follow with, “The Constitution isn’t perfect, but it’s better than anything we’ve tried yet.”

I also try to be a “Christian” in the only way that Jesus would recognize, and try to learn and apply what he taught.

I got a little jaded about a decade ago when I went to speak to my pastor (http://www.intheyoke.com/) about my doubts about the canonization of the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus. I felt bad for the guy; I had more questions than he could answer.

Finally he said, “Have you ever accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”

“Yes.”

“Good, that’s good. Jesus is not afraid of your curiosity. Go, and know that He’ll be there and we’ll be here when you’re ready to come back.”

He put his hand on my shoulder and lead me out of his office. I went home and told my wife that I wouldn’t be going to church with her anymore.

I will quote, in defense of the Sermon on the Mount, another portion of John’s gospel: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” That whole believing equals a free pass thing has been debated since the beginning of Christendom, and I won’t step into the fray, though it does seem to me that obedience enters into the equation somewhere. Frankly, all that megachurch rah-rah Jesus stuff scares hell out of me.

Fallacy #1:

At the basest level, it is not important that Christians follow the simple teachings of Jesus. What is important is that they believe that Jesus died as a sacrifice for their sins and has risen (in the flesh) to sit at the side of God.

So presenting anything from Matthew, Mark, or Luke is trumped by John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

“What would Jesus do?” Who cares? say the masses.

‘nuff said.

Fallacy #2:

Torture and other travesties of human rights are anathema to the United States of America. Again, we give this lip service, just ask:

 — the original American Indians (and subsequent generations);

 — the African Negroes (and subsequent generations);

 — female citizens before suffrage;

 — the World War II residents of Dresden and Hiroshima and Nagasaki;

 — the torture victims of our Vietnamese and Korean allies (we taught, never participated *wink*);

 — the families and friends of the students of Kent State;

 — the Branch Davidians or Randy Weaver and his family;

 — the prisoners of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo (and other secret prisons of the War on Terror);

 — and others.

The Colombians have nothing on us.