Superb essay, with a very even-handed assessment.

Tragically, the biggest problem with American evangelical Christianity is exclusiveness. While evangelicals preach that God is love and that Jesus — represented by his dead, cross-bound outstretched arms — is inclusive, Protestantism is generally far from that. It’s mean, hateful, self-centered and clearly indignant and self-righteous. It promotes, indeed enjoys, judgment and crucifixion.

The best hope for this form of Christianity is that it dies, along side similar forms of angry fundamentalism.

Stop talking abut Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He’s become despised for all the wrong reasons. It’s not about Jesus, anyway. It never has been.

The Jesus of the evangelicals is perfect, but there’s no such thing. This unattainable perfection is at the core of the deeply dysfunctional fundamentalist movement: perfectionism and infallibility. How can you have a conversation with perfect, infallible people?

The spiritual hunger that exists in humanity is not resolved by exclusivity. That just takes you further away from the goal. If it’s not inclusive and universal, it’s not Godly, it’s not natural. If it’s not inclusive and universal, reject it.

Billy Graham represented a major force within fundamentalism who reached for inclusiveness. Despite his shortcomings, he reached. His son, Franklin, preaches anger and exclusivity. The King is dead, and his heir is turning back the clock. And people all said… Amen.