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So Pitts isn't aware of any good works done by Christians. All they do is fixate on keeping gays in their place.* Doug

Sure Mr Pitts is very much aware of the bad works of some name Christians such as Pat Robertson and the so-called Religious political repub right. After all how many Preachers are calling for a CIA hit team to zap a constitutional elected president of another Nation?

At the national level, Pitts is quite right, and although he didn't say so explicitly, I believe that was the context in which he was speaking. Rightly or wrongly, "Soujourners"-style Christians can't get their calls returned from this White House.

I've noticed that Pitts tends to have good days and bad days when he writes his columns. I have not yet read it, but today's column may indeed

I admit freely that I am a Leonard Pitts Jr. fan and never miss his commentaries. Sometime I don’t agree with him, sometimes it is only a partial agreement and sometimes like today it is with a heartfelt : AMEN BROTHER! Christians are responsible for most of the good done in our country, but the Christians who are DOING aren’t the ones spouting selective quotes from the Bible and chastising others because they are too busy doing what needs done. That is what Mr. Pitts was alluding to today. You who hide behind calling yourself Christians to defend your uncharitable views are hereby challenged to put your money where your over large mouth and feeble brain is.

Doug, I had not considered the way you interpreted Pitts' column until reading your post. Reading it again, I understand why you read it as an overly broad condemnation of Christians.

I took Pitts' column to be directed at those who tend to yell the loudest, those who tend to condemn others, and those who sometimes seem the most self-righteous.

I agree with Lex; Pitts states up front that he's "had it up to here with the moral hypocrisy and intellectual constipation of Bible literalists." I read Pitts as complaining that these people don't represent Christians or Christian beliefs well or honorably or accurately -- a complaint that goes hand in hand with yours, Doug.

Yet you're right that his concluding paragraphs contain a glaring oversight, and what I would take to be a misstated overreach given the concerns he expressed in the rest of the piece.

And as Patrick said, I hadn't thought of this angle until you pointed it out.

I should have, though, given the recent sad news about Tom Fox, who is the religious polar opposite of hatemongonering "Christians".

Doug,

Would you start a strand regarding today's editorial (Judge Manning)?

If Mr. Pitts would travel to some third world countries he would find most of the humanitarian work being done by Christian organizations. They don't boycott, march, or protest; they just quietly go in harm's way doing the Lord's work and helping their fellow man.
(Doug, this in no way demeans the work of your son's Peace Corps, just so you know.)

jaycee, I agree. As for the Peace Corps, certainly it is a secular, U.S. government enterprise. Yet, many of the individual volunteers in Andrew's group -- whom I feel I know through their blogs and the emails passed among a little network of parents over here -- are very committed Christians.

"(As far as pushing Congress to provide health care for the poor, well, Christians are supposed to do their own charity work, not ask government to do it for them.)"

Your overall point about Christian charity is fair enough, but I disagree strongly with the statement quoted above. In our diverse, continental, modern, free-market democracy, there are many things a compassionate society grounded in Judeo-Christian morality must do--such as providing health care for the poor--that have not/cannot/will not be done by private charity. In those cases it is entirely appropriate that Christians and others with similar values petition their government to address those needs. Christians pay taxes, too, and are entitled to participate in the political debate about how those resources are used.

Thanks, Patrick. I agree with your statement, although Christians should not think the government relieves them of their own charitable responsibilities.