Hey, have you heard about that preacher from Denver a few weeks ago? Phony as a $3 bill. Telling people to behave while all the while he’s running around with another fellow, doing drugs. That’s exactly why you’ll never get me in your church, mister. The whole church is full of phony baloneys just like that guy.”

“Then I take it you’re no longer eating vegetables?”

“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, back in September the FDA determined that 204 people got sick from fresh spinach contaminated with E. coli. Based on your logic, I’ve got to assume that because there’s a bad batch of spinach out there, you certainly aren’t going to be eating any vegetables anywhere ever again.”

“OK, wise guy, I catch your drift. But you’ve got to admit that there’s a whole lot of hypocrites in the church these days, and always have been for that matter.”

“You’re right.”

“So why would I want to be part of a crowd like that?”

“You already are.”

“What? You calling me a hypocrite!?”

“We’re all hypocrites to one extent or another. We all try to make ourselves look better than we really are sometimes. There are corners in every one of our lives that we probably wouldn’t be real proud for others to see. It’s not very fair to just define a hypocrite as ‘someone who is not himself on Sundays.’ Even those who never go to church on Sundays can be hypocritical.”

“But I’m talking about serious hypocrisy. Think of all the people who have fought wars in the name of religion. Millions have died because of that sort of foolishness. Thousands of old ladies have been scammed by religious hucksters. And look at the boys whose lives were ruined by those priests.”

“Yes, you make a powerful point. Which is why it’s a very good thing that, ultimately, the Christian faith is based on Jesus, who is perfect, not on the behavior of his followers, who are not. The Bible advises us to fasten our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).”

“That rather sounds like an excuse to me.”

“Not really. I’m not excusing anyone. Jesus came down quite hard on hypocrisy. And God is going to judge hypocrites very strictly one of these days (Matthew 24:51).”

“Well, I have nothing against God. It’s his fan club I can’t stand.”

“To what fan club do you belong?”

“I don’t believe anything, sir. I’m not the religious type. I never got caught up in all that do-gooder Sunday school business, thank God.”

“Thank God? Hey, you remind me of the man I once heard screaming at his teenage son: ‘Kid, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times – don’t exaggerate!’ But who among us are 100 percent consistent? Who among us always walk our talk and practice what we preach? Just as surely as there are hypocritical Christians, there are also hypocritical Buddhists, hypocritical Muslims, hypocritical atheists, and even hypocritical politicians.”

“You know of some hypocritical politicians?”

“Sure. I remember reading an actual headline back on August 27, 2002, from a newspaper in Johannesburg, South Africa. It said: ‘Delegates enjoy champagne, lobster & caviar nosh at meeting on starvation .'”

“Yeah. So what’s your point?”

“My point is that hypocrisy in particular, just like sin in general, is common to man. That’s just the way it is. But why should those who violate their profession determine what I believe? Why should I leave the church over a fallen preacher in Denver or Baton Rouge or Bangor, Maine? Benedict Arnold was a hypocritical, traitorous American. But I’m not planning to leave the country over it.”

“Well, you still haven’t convinced me to join your church. There are too many hypocrites in the church.”

“OK. But remember, if you ever change your mind, we’ll be glad to move over. There’s always room for one more.”

A young college student from India by the name of Pashi once said to Ruth Bell Graham, wife of international evangelist Billy Graham: “I would like to believe in Christ. We of India would like to believe in Christ. But we have never seen a Christian who was like Christ.”

Ruth Graham says that she consulted Dr. Akbar Haqq about what might be the best response to Pashi’s challenge. Haqq answered, “That is quite simple. I would tell Pashi, ‘I am not offering you Christians. I am offering you Christ.'”

As Maj. W. Ian Thomas once said, “Christianity is Christ.”

The Rev. Daryl E. Witmer is founder and director of the AIIA Institute, a national apologetics ministry, and associate pastor of the Monson Community Church. He may be reached at DEWitmer@aol.com or AIIA.ChristianAnswers.Net. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.