I worked for a while as a hospice chaplain.  In that work I traveled all around north central Illinois, visiting the dying wherever they were: in their homes, in nursing homes, and in hospitals.  I tried to give people what they needed.  Sometimes it was a prayer or a song; more often, what they needed was just someone to talk to.

Some people wanted me to sing old hymns; some wanted me to read scripture; some wanted me to lead them in spontaneous prayer; some wanted me to pray the rosary with them.  I did whatever I could.  But one thing I wasn’t really prepared for was the large number of ex-Christians I met in that work: people who had left their churches, and who really didn’t want to hear any more religious BS.  (Now that I’m a pastor, I naturally spend most of my time with people who are still coming to church, so I don’t meet nearly as many ex-Christians!)

Many of these people had been damaged by their former churches.  One had been hounded out of a church for divorcing and remarrying.  One had been told that the reason his young daughter had died was because he hadn’t prayed for her cure with sufficient faith.  One gay man had been told that AIDS was his punishment from God.  One man had been told that his deceased wife was unfortunately in hell, having never been baptized.  And so on, and on, and on.

Someone argued with me today that “progressive” Christianity is just a snare and a delusion — that Christianity doesn’t need to progress, because in its good old-fashioned form it was already just right.  But my experience is quite the opposite.  I’ve seen a lot of damage done to good people by good old-fashioned Christianity.  My feeling is, we have to help it do better.