Last year I posted a notice on Craigslists all over the country saying ... well, exactly this: "I'm about three months away from finishing a book I'm writing for a large, established, reputable Christian book publisher. [I had to say this true thing so that people would take it seriously.] It'll be my third published book. This one is about the relationship that generally exists between Christians and non-Christians. In it I want to incorporate maybe thirty 100-250 word statements wherein non-Christians--in their own words, in casual, straight-ahead, first-person style--say what they think of Christians generally--and specifically how they feel about the dynamic wherein Christians try to convert them. I want to be very clear that this is NOT a Christian-bashing book; I wouldn't have sold it to such a prominent Christian publishing house if it were. It's coming from a place that only means well for everyone. Thanks."

Within about four days I had in my inbox over 300 statements from non-Christians. I found they made for some seriously depressing reading. Here are some of them:

“The main thing that baffles and angers me about Christians is how they can understand so little about human nature that when, in their fervor to convert another person, they tell that person (as they inevitably do, in one way or another), 'You're bad, and wrong, and evil,' they actually expect that person to agree with them. It pretty much guarantees that virtually the only people Christians can ever realistically hope to convert are those with tragically low self-esteem.”— E.S., Denver

“I feel that Christians have got it all wrong; it seems to me that they’ve created the very thing Jesus was against: Separatism.”— T. O., Denver

“I am often distressed at the way some Christians take as a given that Christians and Christianity define goodness. Many of we non-Christians make a practice of doing good; we, too, have a well-developed ethical system, and are devoted to making the world a better place. Christians hardly have a monopoly on what's right, or good, or just.”— C.R., Seattle

“Christians seem to have lost their focus on Jesus’ core message: ‘Love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”— R.M., Tacoma, WA

“I have no problem whatsoever with God or Jesus—only Christians. It's been my experience that most Christians are belligerent, disdainful and pushy.” — D.B., Atlanta

“Whenever I’m approached by an evangelist—by a Christian missionary—I know I’m up against someone so obsessed and narrowly focused that it will do me absolutely no good to try and explain or share my own value system. I never want to be rude to them, of course, but never have any idea how to respond to their attempts to convert me; in short order, I inevitably find myself simply feeling embarrassed—first for them, and then for us both. I’m always grateful when such encounters conclude.”— K.C., Fresno, CA.