Negative Attitudes About Christians

I’ve asked strangers and casual acquaintances, “Why do Christians stir up such negative feelings?” Some bring up past atrocities, such as the widespread belief that the church executed eight or nine million witches (a figure that serious historians believe is exaggerated by 99 percent). I’ve heard complaints about strict Protestant or Catholic schools and tales of clergy intolerance—didn’t John Lennon get kicked out of his boyhood church for laughing at an inappropriate time?

Others repeat stories similar to that of Steve Jobs, who left church when the pastor had no answer for his…