On the religious web site Patheos, a Christian writer going under the pseudonym Captain Cassidy tries to explain the problem that Toxic Christianity poses for struggling Christian churches. Only 1 in 20 Americans now regularly attends church, and according Cassidy, Christians themselves are to blame. CC writes:
“The Christians who need to clean up their act the most have the least interest in doing so. They’d rather be toxic to the very end than be slightly nicer and maybe help their Dear Leaders hold onto just a few more sheep… There’s simply not a way for any Christian leader to curb the behavior of even the most toxic members of the group. If anybody even tries too hard to do that, their sheep will get furious and leave.”
The goal is to help Christian preachers hold onto just a few more sheep? Ouch.
Certainly, it’s true that Christian churches can be very unfriendly places, but is referring to church members as herd animals likely to help with that?
There was a time when people didn’t blink an eye when hearing the metaphor inherent in the title of church “pastor”. A pastor is a pastoralist, a person who specializes in guiding animals, making sure they go where they need to go and do what they need to do. A pastor is someone who directs the lives of others for their own good, because only the pastor is intelligent enough to know what’s best for them.
The followers of church pastors are, in this metaphor, too stupid to take care of themselves. They’re like sheep who need to be herded. And so, if the church pastor fleeces them every now and then, to keep his pastoral scheme running, well, that’s all for the greater good, isn’t it?
Of course, it isn’t for the greater good.
When even a Christian reformer like Captain Cassidy doesn’t see the problem inherent in the toxic metaphor of Christian pastoralism, you know that the problems of Toxic Christianity run deep.
It’s a strange thing, that Christians on the one hand claim to have the best story ever, given by an all-powerful god who knows everything and has given them the most foolproof formula for good living… and on the other hand, they keep on shrinking in numbers because try to manage people as if they’re herd animals.
