Bruce Gerencser points toward a piece written by a pastor’s daughter that is well-written but painfully oblivious. It ends with this arresting declaration:
The narrative of self-fulfillment is an enemy of the gospel. [ … ] Parents, teach your children life really isn’t about them; it is about Jesus.
That’s not bad, and analogous to my frequent criticism that the aim of Christian teaching is self-annihilation — the eradication of self-interest and self-direction because the self is evil.
So, to all of you who think I read things into sermons that aren’t actually there, I haven’t misunderstood Christian teaching; I have rejected it as untrue and affirmatively degrading.