May 29 2023 - A cowardly preacher

When I was a teenager I almost decided against becoming a Christian. The preacher in our small farm-country Methodist Church preached that Christians were never supposed to practice violence, no matter what. After church daddy waited until the congregation had left and asked the preacher, “Would you commit violence to stop a man from raping your wife?” The preacher said “no.” “What if he were raping your daughters?” “No, I would just pray for him.” Daddy looked at him and said,  “I never thought you were much of a preacher, but now I can see you’re not a man either.” At that point I wanted to be a Christian. A Christian like my dad who would love his family enough to defend them. 65 years later I’m witnessing this kind of cowardly behavior in other so-called Christian pastors. And cowardly husbands, and dads. I pity their families who want to feel safe.