Day in and day out, both in the press and in the pulpit, leftists try to use our Christian faith to justify political or economic ideas loved by secular elites, which seem to us wildly unnatural or outrageously impractical. These range from socialism and open borders to “welcoming” gender “transitions” and sniveling pacifism in the face of jihadi aggression. (For specific examples, see: Everything Pope Francis Has Ever Said on Any Subject, and: Whatever Christianity Today has published since Donald Trump threw his hat into the ring.)

When we raise rational objections to such wild claims, we get accused of being “worldly,” “selfish,” or even “racist.” This puts us on the defensive. We don’t want to seem like the stodgy Pharisees or the Prodigal Son’s smug older brother. And we certainly don’t wish to be stigmatized and ostracized, or surveilled as “domestic extremists” by our local FBI. So we might well be tempted to club our reason into submission for the sake of feeling better about ourselves, plus avoiding scorn and spitting.

And that’s how so many Christians ended up spouting fashionable nonsense, as Megan Basham documents in her new book Shepherds for Sale.

My friends, I’m here to help. A gift I think I was born with is an excellent nose for gangrene. Like those dogs that can sniff out cancer, I can scent within seconds the poison coated in spiritual candy.

You know the logical stratagem of reductio ad absurdum, where you patiently go through somebody’s argument, step by step, to show that however appealing it seems at first, it inexorably leads to an insane or absurd conclusion? Yeah, my mind does that almost instantly, like some kind of portable woodchipper. Show me your nice little “holiday” tree all strung with pretty lights and shiny ornaments, and I’ll show you … a pile of pine shavings and pulverized glitter.