To be entirely honest, I don’t have a religious bone in my body. I don’t feel comfortable around lots of religious people (not all, but lots). And I think a great deal of the things Christians do are at once soul-witheringly boring, sanctimonious, crazy, and stupid. I’m only a Christian because I think Jesus Christ is Lord. And so, for me, to be a Christian means one thing and one thing only: to be thankful that Jesus Christ is Lord, and to try to confess this thankfulness with one’s whole life.

This confession can, of course, involve the sort of living that [some think] it means to be a Christian. In fact, I’m sure it does, and I’m sympathetic to lots of what [they] say. But [they] fall prey to the temptation that always threatens everyone who tries to think about what it means to be a Christian. It’s a two-step process, and it goes like this:

First, identify some abstract good (justice, community, love, happiness, the emancipation of women, advancement of the nation, criticism of the nation, eradication of poverty, creation of wealth, traditional values, gay rights, emotional health, conservative politics, liberal politics, the existence of a metaphysically supreme being, the creation of a certain sub-culture, whatever); second, affirm Christianity to the extent that it is helpful in securing this good.

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   this is my life right now

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