Well, it seems that no good deed goes unpunished has a reciprocal – no stupid plan goes unrewarded!

Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who was going to burn the Koran to mark Sept. 11th will receive a brand new car from a dealership in New Jersey. Now, to be fair, the dealer promised he would as a means of getting Jones to abandon his plan and, like any good Christian, he’s keeping his word. My problem is with a) making the offer in the first place, and b) by calling to collect on the deal Jones continues to reveal his true nature.

It’s no wonder the world at large has such a distorted view if Christianity. The original plan laid out by Jesus, as I understand it, was to create a fellowship of believers that were different from the world around us; different even from others who claimed to follow the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. It was His intention that the world would notice us by the fruit of His Spirit within us: love, joy, peace, etc.

And yet, time after time, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and everyday believers demonstrate no difference at all between them and the world they oppose. Hatred, egotism, bribery, distrust, violence – all these are far too often the tools the “church” uses to spread the gospel. Is it any wonder that so many people see no reason to consider Jesus.

Why would they when they look at his followers?