They got tired of Republicans bashing Democrats as using 'government for benevolence' when the Republicans are using 'government for evangelism'. They got tired of Democrats calling those who disagreed with them 'racists' and 'intolerant' while Republicans called those who disagreed with them 'terrorists' and 'unpatriotic'. They have come to realize that Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat. Jesus is Jesus. To the sinner and ex-Christians, it comes down to the plain and simple brass tacks, they saw Christians act like sinners and Christian leaders getting away with it and justifying their actions and poor choices while they were held to a hypocritical standard where perfection without exception was the only tolerable behavior. All of this done of course, 'in the name of God' and done 'in Christian Love'. We have failed to realize that the Government is not the issue here, the 're-legalisms' we add back on ourselves is not the issue, a false miracle with a true claimer is not the issue. The issue here is show love and compassion to the sinners, the outcast, poor, and widowed.

How did I get these answers from these people we call 'sinners' or 'ex-Christians'? Very simple, I 'burst' out of the 'bubble' of the Christian subculture that I was a part of. Yes, I took a risk of hearing answers that would make my blood boil in anger and attempt to rise up a righteous indignation to defend. I did the same thing many years ago while the 'official Christian perspective' was arguing whether the Internet was the "Antichrist technology', I was developing a web page. When I stated earlier that Christians underestimate sinners in reference to their intelligence, we as Christians have failed to listen with rationality to their side of the story detailing their experiences. We therefore deem these people as 'embittered' all in the name of Religious Right Rationalization as to why we need our bubble of Christian subculture to conquer and destroy all other subcultures. My main purpose as a Christian is not to take over and conquer the world, I am just here to help make the world a better place for both saint and sinner by fulfilling my call via enacting the Great Commission the best way I can through the grace and supernatural power of God. It is not that the Christian subculture does not understand the mentalities of the sinner, It is that the Christian subculture refuses to make an attempt to understand the mentalities of the sinner because they fear that the ego kingdoms they built up in God's name will be exposed as wrong. Why is it that many Christians deny any negative news or any problems within their own religion until the problems fester and blow up? Simple, fear of realizing that we might have been wrong about our perception and definition of God and that it took God sending in our midst a sinner (whom Christians view as inferior with an attitude similar to racism) to expose our weaknesses in Christ. We feel by not being perfect, Christianity will die because of our imperfections.

Neil Peart of Rush wrote this interesting last verse in his song 'Hand Over Fist' from the CD 'Presto':

Take a walk outside myself
In some exotic land
Greet a passing stranger
Feel the strength in his hand
Feel the world expand

I feel my spirit resist
But I open up my fist
Lay hand over hand over...

It is what I did. It's also what we Christians will need to do if we ever want to impact a world for Jesus. By busting the bubble of the Christian subculture and leaving the Christian subculture (I did not say I left Christianity) and taking the risk of asking the hard questions, I learned something not only about human nature, and another person, but about myself. The exotic land mentioned in the verse above was the world outside the Christian subculture. Like the Tod Lubitch character played by John Travolta eventually did at the end of The Boy In The Plastic Bubble Movie by leaving the sanitized world of the safe and familiar plastic bubble to experience and see the world, I had to leave the sanitized world of the safe and familiar 'plastic' bubble called the Christian subculture via the Internet and new friendships and go where the Church did not want to go and see the world that may not like me, but we together must learn to live in coexistence while myself following the commandments of living in the world but not of the world. It took those conversations and handshakes at a baseball game, at the public golf course, at the table at Hooters watching Wrestlemania and eating hot wings, and seeing a movie at a theater in order to shake another person's hand as the both of us took a risk to get to know the other person. As it was a risk for me to meet that new friend and began relational friendship and evangelism, it is an equal risk for the new friend to meet me and begin a friendship.

Naturally inside myself and the new friend, the resistance of meeting a new person and seeing a new microcosmic world with the bigger scope of life on planet Earth happens. We, together, opened up our fists, let down for a moment, the defensive walls inside of us and shook hands. If you ever notice when most people walk, look at their hands. The hands are either in their pockets or are partially balled up in a fist swinging in the same motion as their arms. This behavior really shows the defensiveness we show to others. The hands in the pocket can reveal the remote possibility of a weapon in that pocket to use if an attack occurs. The hands in a partially closed fist while walking can reveal the remote possibility of the capability of tightening the fist to use as a weapon if an attack occurs. Therefore, we can easily see that it is a natural reaction within human nature to be defensive around unfamiliar territories of unfamiliar people.

We Christians love to brag about a missionary encounter and brag about how God got us through the 'hostile resistance'. I understand that in a gang setting between the bloods and crips in Los Angeles or going into a remote African savannah plain with natives that there would be weapons and strangers (on both sides) fearing an attack on their life as we / they know it to be. But in a open setting like at a restaurant or a baseball game, is the 'hostile resistance' we brag about to make our story appear more melodramatic really just basic human nature and instinct coming out into the open? We fear the gangstas taking out our life through cold blooded murder and get defensive physically while the gangstas fear us taking out their gangbanging lifestyle through warm blooded relational gospel presentations and get defensive physically. Two groups build up two walls of resistance. There is fear on both sides that is really why we need the perfect love of Christ in order to cast out the fears on both sides.

I easily saw that in the bubble of Christian subculture, the film and membrane of our protective environments were filled up with air. Usually, it was 'full of hot air' with opinions made Gospel ranging from how short the skirts of the ladies should be, makeup and jewelry, whether or not we should go to the bowling alley, who to vote for, can we watch sports or movies, etc. The dislikes of the "official Christian perspective" leaders became the sin while the likes became the standards of righteousness instead of the sins and blessings that the Bible defined. What ends up happening as the subculture becomes powerful is that the leaders really get to the point of believing that God actually needs them and them alone to propagate His message via the interpretations of the subculture. Without their leadership and the subculture, they really feel that Christianity will die when the entire New Testament gives us proof that it was not the subculture that kept Christianity alive in an environment, philosophy, and government that disliked them. It was the earth moving, fire baptizing, mighty wind, healing from snake biting power of God that intervened to where the people were saved, jailers repented, and divinators burned their occult books and potion powders. God showed mercy on these people mixed with the fear of a God who means business. John Fischer in his book Fearless Faith on page 182 summed up the Christian subculture bubble:

God doesn't need a subculture - even a Christian one - to speak for him. He has indicted clearly throughout history that if he can't find a man or woman to speak through, he will use a donkey. If he can't find a donkey, he will use a bush. If he can't find a bush, a child can speak. If the children are silenced, then the rocks will cry out. Certainly this same God would not find himself limited to what we now label as "Christian" to make his presence known.

Please Click here for part five of this article.