When I was in the Army Security Agency we were constantly reminded that we represented the United States and the Army even though we seldom wore uniforms.  We were expected to live up to the traditions of the military and the country we represented.

Chuck Colson, that fine example of Christian honesty, wrote recently, “There are 1.9 billion Christians in the world today.  You cannot judge Jesus Christ by the behavior of any one of them or any group of them, for that matter.”

No, we can’t judge Jesus.  We can’t even determine from historical evidence if he really existed.  But what we can do, Chuck, is judge your religion based on the behavior of its followers.

I get tired of hearing all the excuses put forth by Christians.  “We can’t live up to the standards in the Bible, we’re sinful and imperfect.”  Bullshit.  You can’t live up to those standards because they’re unrealistic, absurd and idealistic.  They are the projected concepts of goat herders who lived thousands of years ago.

Still, if you want to belong to that club, there’s no getting around the fact that the merits of that club will be judged by the behaviors and attitudes of its members.  There’s no reason that non-believers shouldn’t evaluate the claims made by Christianity, Islam, Scientology and the rest by looking at that religion’s believers and the way they conduct themselves in society.

Just because your religion gives you a pass in your holy book for failing to live up to the standards of that group doesn’t mean the rest of us are going to.

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