“Worldly people know what Christians should act like better than Christians do. They know when you’re not living like a Christian!”

This is an oft-repeated bit of fundamentalist lore and like most fundy lore it contains a smidgen of truth…but only a smidgen. Surely most unsaved people would say that Christians shouldn’t shoot people in cold blood or steal from their employer but that’s not generally the point that the fundy is trying to make.

Indeed, many fundamentalists seem to think that deep down most unsaved people really think that women should only wear skirts, that the movie house is a wicked place, and that the J.C. Penny catalog is just as bad as pornography. Yet even though the unsaved know all these things are evil they just purposely ignore their own better judgment and do them anyway. It’s just like the days of Noah minus the fountain of youth water vapor.

Since the unsaved person has all these fundamentalist values emblazoned on their conscience, a Christian who breaks any of the legion of fundy rules might drive them away from Christ. After all the lost person KNOWS what the Christian should be doing and they’ll think they’re just a hypocrite and never listen to the gospel ever again! And all this because in a moment of weakness a Christian wanted to see the latest Disney film in surround sound.

For shame.