The justification I see offered by Christian bashers for articles such as your first link here (which I didn't make it past paragraph two of; it's that missing sense of humor again!) is, basically, schadenfreude: It's funny because it happened to the enemy camp, it's funny because I've always secretly felt they deserved it, it's funny because it's a sort of comeuppance.

But that doesn't fly, because you can't name a Christian pastor who's written sneering, sniggering articles about human beings who have met unfortunate ends. They don't exist. So it's not comeuppance and it's not payback; it's just petty, vicious cruelty.

Things like this make me long for the days when more people adhered to that rule about not speaking ill of the dead.

I think that it is Proctor who has a real hang up problem because he is hung up on the notion that one has to always preach repentance. I guess he has not read all of the Psalms because they are prayers that cover a vast array of subjects.

As a Catholic I have to feel compassion for the family of Rev. Kyle Lake because of his untimely death. I have to feel sympathy for the congregation who witnessed his death by electrocution. It must have been horrific for all who were present.

On the other hand I can see a somewhat funny side, but from the point of view that there is a lesson to be learned about not mixing electricity and water together. When I say funny, you could say that I mean that the Rev. Kyle Lake was rather "dumb" by doing what he has did.

Now, what do I think about his prepared sermon: the message he gave is clear and convincing "love life". It was not a message about loving worldly things, but "love life". His message is quite important, especially for people who are constantly looking at past events and constantly applying "what if". His message is one that is positive.

Proctor on the other hand is too preoccupied with repentance and being a misery guts so that he has not seen the difference. He is concerned because the homily did not contain the name of Jesus more than once. His own message is one that is totally mixed, and he is the one who misses the point about being a Christian.

In my view both styles of preaching are in fact wrong. One has too little emphasis on the gospel message, and the other is hung up on only a small aspect of being a Christian at the expense of understanding and loving God.

Proctor needs a good kick where it will hurt the most.

Ilyka,

The ironic thing is that it's hateful "Christians" like Proctor who give the Christian-haters ammunition against Christians. And to add to the irony, both sides are chortling over Rev. Lake's death.

Maggie,

I agree...I think people like Proctor and the emergent movement which Rev. Lake was a part of represent two extremes. People like Proctor are the utterly humorless, fire and brimstone types who dismiss as heretics everyone who doesn't exactly follow their fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible.

The emergent movement, while earnest and sincere in their following of Christ, seems too anxious to play down all that negative stuff about sin and Hell. Many in that movement also seem too wrapped up in the whole "social justice" thing, which, to me, is a misguided attempt to create Heaven on a fallen, sinful Earth.

The truth, of course, lies somewhere in between. God gave us this life and wants us to find joy and to enjoy his creation. However, there is also suffering -- and suffering is usually not explained by whether someone "deserves" it or not. There are good people who suffer and die young and evil people who bounce happily through life and die at a ripe old age. However, when you think about it, nobody is really "good". We are all sinners and are all in need or repentance. But repentance and walking the straight and narrow offers no protection from earthly suffering.

Yes, Rev. Lake, was careless and died as a result. We all forget and do careless things. If we are lucky, the most we will get is a bruise or a good scare. But carelessness can also get you badly injured or killed.

And I also agree that Proctor needs a good butt-kicking. Really, he needs to find some humility and repent of that article, or he will be answering for it someday when he meets God.