Now Deepak Chopra?!

Is it new, or am I just noticing the rash of powerful commentaries on the dismal state of Christianity of late? A couple of days ago it was a Presbyterian pastor who induced me to write my first fan letter to a man in his line of work (he wrote back, too, bless 'im); today, it's a meditation on Christianity from Deepak Chopra, "Who Owns Christianity?" It first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, but you can see it on the Common Dreams website. Some excerpts:

"Did Christ teach love or is that just a liberal bias? In the current climate, it's hard to remember, but one thing is certain: Once a tight cabal of fundamentalists takes over any denomination, Christ's teachings go out the window. The reversal of Christianity from a religion of love to a religion of hate is the greatest religious tragedy of our time."

He notes that fundamentalists have corrupted Islam, Hinduism and Judaism as well, and laments that the tolerant in Christian churches have largely "stayed silent and stayed home. But that tactic failed. As healthy as it is to nourish your own devotion and faith, it's disastrous to allow extremists to take over the church, because the statehouse, the board of education, the Congress, and eventually the presidency are next."

Lastly, and I promise this is it: "American finds itself in the sad plight of being the world's most prominent secular society hijacked by sectarians."

No, I'm not writing him a letter (he makes an uncomfortable parallel between gays and sinners early in the piece), but I am glad that people with some prominence are taking on the Christians who, in a terrible misunderstanding of the Bible, are seeking to recreate the world in their own image, not God's.

Of course, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and others are likely engaged in the same.

Have people always been this insane, or are we just blessed to be living in "interesting" times?

Just wondering....