By Their Fruits

By David Crush | | Religion & Politics | 1 min read

Colored-pencil illustration of a small white clapboard country church at dusk under an orange and lavender sky. Its two wooden front doors stand wide open, and warm lamplight falls across rows of empty pews inside and down the wooden steps. On the steps sits a gift box wrapped in gold paper with a red ribbon and bow. To the left, a dirt road winds back through dry grass, and far down it a lone figure walks toward the church.

Jesus gave us a test for telling a shepherd from a wolf: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16) It is not a test of hearts. It is a test of what grows.

This series holds the American church up to that test three times. Part 1 is the church: a gift of power, taken in good faith, and what Scripture says a gift does to the wise. Part 2 is the people watching from outside: a generation that sees the cruelty, thinks it is Christianity, and walks away. Part 3 is one of them coming home. I was an atheist for most of my life, and that part is mine.

The parts list below stays in sync with the published essays — use it as the roadmap.

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