A friend said, “My favorite breed of dog is Rescue”. I have had a couple of rescue dogs; they are like Christians, you never know what you are going to get.

Our first rescue dog was in 1971. We called her Pal. She was a pal, snuggling and warm and loving. She had black curly hair and was less than 25 pounds of mixed breed. She was also a pain in the rear. She barked at everything and everyone. If someone came in the house she attacked. Her bite was as bad as her bark. Our second dog was a black lab; we called him Pyeff. We purchased our first home in 1975 and moved the two children and the dogs. My wife said we had to take the children with us – they wanted the dogs – so what can you do? We took the dogs. Our children were primarily house children but they did like to play outside when the weather permitted. The dogs were outdoor dogs but they liked to come in the house on occasion.

It was an old neighborhood, a block and a half from the elementary school. The children would be able to walk to school. The back yard was fenced but this was in the time before dog leash laws. Pal was kept in the fence because she could not be trusted to behave herself. Pyeff easily jumped the chain link fence and roamed the neighborhood at will. Pyeff was a lab and the neighbors loved him.

We had a neighbor lady a couple of doors up the street who was such a good Christian that she took on the responsibility of being the head of the local Humane Society. In 1976 her son and daughter were eight and ten years old. These may have been the two meanest children I have ever encountered in my life. These were not poor children. They had a nice home, food, good education, and a Christian mother. And they loved to tease and harass Pal. The dog, Pal, did her usual barking and attempting to bite ritual at the fence whenever any children walked by. These two children would poke Pal in the face with sticks. They reached over the fence to smack her with sticks. One day this harassment was not enough so they opened the gate to achieve a better striking angle. The boy wanted to give the dog a really good lick with a sturdy stick. The boy entered the yard and Pal was too quick and bit the boy. Pal chased the boy and girl home, barking and snipping along the way.

They told their mother the story and she was outraged. She came to my home to tell me what a horrible person I was for keeping a vicious animal. She called Animal Control and they were required to take the dog into custody for ten days of observation. I had to pay her occupancy bill. In the ten days that Pal was incarcerated I built a pen inside the fenced yard. Pal’s freedom of movement was forever restricted. She came home to yellow ribbons and settled in to her new accommodations.

The humane children were not to be denied. They opened the gate and came into the yard and reached over the pen to beat the dog with their sticks. Pal responded in the only way she knew how. When the boy reached over the pen fence Pal jumped up and bit the boy again. Again, the boy ran home to report on the vicious dog. Pal had to go up the river again, a two time loser. When she came home I put her on a leash, inside the pen, inside the fenced yard. The leash kept her back from the pen fence.

Those children would not surrender. They went in the yard. They opened the pen. They went in the pen to beat the chained dog with their sticks. Emboldened by the cowering dog the boy moved closer and Pal struck again. The children ran home to report the boy had been bitten again. The Animal Control folks showed up and I showed them the containment configuration in the yard. Two fences and a leash! No matter. Children are expected to be children and dogs are to be civilized. Pal was now a three time loser. I paid for her third trip to the gulag.

My wife was the sweetest, most loving person in the world. She was not loving because of Jesus – she was loving because that was her nature. She did not boastfully lead the Humane Society while telling the world about her Christian values of love and kindness for all creatures – she just loved all creatures equally. Her nurturing qualities were unrivaled. Even she could see that our situation could not go on. Pal did not fit in the humane world of people. (Pal did not fit inside a house – she was constantly destructive and could not be trained to pee outside.) We were not going to sell our home and move, and neither was the Humane lady. My wife began looking for a home for Pal. Alas, no one wanted a three time loser with a criminal record of violence. She called Animal Control and surrendered the dog to their judgement, hoping they could find a home. Of course, we told the children the dog was going to live on a farm with other happy dogs. That was what we did back then.

Presently I have my second rescue dog. Sophie has been with me for almost three years. I rescued her from a Missouri puppy mill. The veterinarian estimated she was seven years old when she came to live with me. At 18 pounds she is an overweight Shih Tzu. I know very little about dog breeds but Sophie is the most cuddly loving creature I ever met. She does not chase balls or cars, she does not retrieve anything. She plays no games. Her only skill is in being a lovable creature. She is a master of her one skill.

Christians and Rescue dogs are similar creatures. Pal could be loving and warm and caring one moment and then when anything even appeared in any way to threaten her she became vicious and nasty. Sometimes she became nasty for no apparent reason. Sophie has no concept of nasty.

I guess I don’t know about all Christians – but I have some observations about American Christian Evangelicals. They are very much like Pal. When in church on Sunday, or Wednesday night prayer service, or Saturday for some, they are loving and warm and caring. They form committees to help others. Recently the Head Deacon of a prosperous local Baptist church told me they had a fund to help people with their utilities. A person simply had to show up at their meeting and present their unpaid bills along with an explanation of how they were working and trying to be responsible. If the petitioner seemed legit they would give her $50 toward her $300 unpaid bill. They were careful, he told me, to not encourage irresponsible behavior. What I interpreted was this, “Come and bow before us and may give you a few crumbs from our table”.

The Christian Evangelicals run to the fence barking every time a person of color wearing a hood walks by. They bark at anyone holding hands with someone of the same sex. A Muslim with a burka is like poking them in the face with a stick. When threatened they act like any proper rescue dog. Maybe I am insulting rescue dogs with this comparison but that is not my intention.

There seems to be a line of reasoning that goes something like this: Jesus brought forth the great nation of the United States. American was founded by followers of Jesus. That great nation was founded by white Christian heterosexual men. The founding included slavery – thus apparently sanctioned by Jesus. White men were given dominion over the land. Nature and animals and slaves were created by God to serve the white man. Thus it follows that any perceived affront to that founding is a threat to Jesus himself. What other explanation is there for defense of the confederate flag. Why else assault Black Lives Matter protesters? Why build monuments to leaders of the Confederacy? Why do the Christians oppose health care for all people? Why do Christians demand a powerful male dominated heterosexual military? I am trying to figure out the logic.

OK – not all Christians are barking dogs. But current statistics note that 70+ percent of evangelicals act as described in the previous paragraph.

I have known a lot of Christians. There was a time when I was closely associated with Christian churches. I taught Sunday School. I was a youth sponsor. I was a Church Camp Counselor. I was on all the Church committees. I did a three month internship in hospital chaplaincy. I studied the history of Christianity at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. I have volunteered most of my adult life in the fight against homelessness, substance abuse and domestic violence, and for women’s rights, LGBT rights, Civil Rights, and protection for abused children. I have done long term studies in feminine and masculine maturity. Most, not all, but most of those endeavors were in spite of the local Christian churches.

Presently I have a part time job as a fly on the wall of a faith based community to provide permanent housing for the most difficult-to-house homeless. It pleases me that Sophie Christians run the place.

There are Pal Christians and there are Sophie Christians. Rescue dogs teaching us how to act.