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A Rebuke for the Hurters

by Schuyler Peterson

October 1, 2012

What a strange book. The author obviously comes from a journalistic background, writing in an engaging and personable style. His ability to relate information (and sprinkle it with humor) is certainly a gift. When Bad Christians Happen to Good People is thought-provoking and relevant. With that said, the title and the marketing of this book is misleading. These questions appear in bold on the cover: "Have you been betrayed by a Christian friend? Are you disillusioned with the church?" The reader who can answer these with a resounding YES picks up the book only to find...there are no answers to these questions. What I keyed into pretty quickly is that this is not a book for the HURTING, but for the HURTERS! Most of the chapters take aim at easy targets:

1) Churches that discriminate against special needs children 2) Church schisms 3) The Southern Baptist Disney boycott 4) Hell House outreach events 5) Jesus trinkets 6) Westboro Baptist Church

All of his arguments are presented with excellence, but I certainly did not need to be convinced of their merit. Any Christian with a measure of grace would agree that there are certainly hypocritical church people who have misrepresented the faith. I was hoping for comfort for those afflicted by the established church. There are three brilliant chapters in this book (one which draws heavily from John McWhorter's Losing the Race). And it is a good read - for those who know what they're getting.