What gets me most are the No True Scotsman arguments, which many Christians who hold decent values cling to in order to make themselves feel better.

Not too long ago, I published a story that went into some depth examining the political and religious environment in Tennessee where a 12-year-old gay boy killed himself (right before Christmas) after Christian bullying.

Response was pretty good, I got a lot of readership, and a lot of Christians were doing exactly what I asked them to do. Examining their beliefs and practices to see how they could treat people more kindly and do better.

But a vocal group of Christians, and I hate to say mostly progressive, mainline Protestants who tend to be LGBTQ affirming, took a different tact. They loudly proclaimed that the Christians in Tennessee who set up that toxic environment, and who are an overwhelming majority of Christians in Tennessee, are not actually Christians or are not "true Christians."

We are not part of them, say the progressive Christians. They are not part of us.

These progressive Christians, ignoring the fact that they are actually in a very small minority of all Christians, hide under No True Scotsman fallacies to avoid personal responsibility and to make themselves feel better.

How much nicer it would be if they owned up to the fact that they participate in a faith system that is usually judgmental and bullying toward minorities.

You can't fix a problem you pretend does not exist.