The campaign for the White House is picking up steam. The November deadline is drawing closer, and as it does, the term “attack dog(s)” has come into wider use by the media. The term describes the often hostile attacks leveled at, and sometimes by, the candidates for President and Vice President. We have become too accustomed to this tactic among politicians. It disappoints us less than it should.
Don KirklandI performed a Google search recently. I simply keyed in “attack dogs.” Quickly I was confronted (not attacked, mind you) by more than 700,000 results. My curiosity waned long before I reached the end of that exhaustive (and exhausting) list. It did not take me long to get the gist of it all. Some of the articles were about – well, attack dogs. Four-legged. Sharp teeth.
Most of the articles, however, had a political edge to them. Most, but not all. One that caught my eye was a piece published in “Christianity Today.” Its author was journalist David Aikman.
Here, in part, is what he said in the essay:
“What disturbs me is the extent to which some Christians have turned themselves into the self-appointed attack dogs of Christendom. They seem determined to savage not only opponents of Christianity, but also fellow believers of whose doctrinal positions they disapprove. A troll through the Internet reveals Web sites so drenched in sarcasm and animosity that an agnostic or a follower of another faith tradition interested in what it means to become a Christian might be permanently disillusioned. The attacks, moreover, are not reasoned or modestly couched in criticism, but blasts of ire determined to discredit beyond redemption the targets of criticism.”
In closing, Aikman asked an obvious question: Whatever happened to gentleness, modesty, kindness and love that is to define Christian living?
Of course, Christian leaders, and Christians in general, are not immune from criticism. All are accountable for behavior that is inappropriate for a believer and for beliefs that are unacceptable based upon biblical standards.
What ought to stop immediately are assaults by Christians on each other – attacks whose tone, intensity and intent lie outside the realm of reason and beyond the limits of New Testament teaching and the spirit of Christ.
The non-believing world is to know us by our love for them and for each other. Our Lord will be “lifted up” and given the glory he is due when his followers bear the imprint of Christ on their lives. The imprint of Christ. Not teeth marks inflicted by other Christians.