[Also published at Huff Post.] I had Christianity all wrong — I thought Jesus didn’t want you to sin.
Yes, if you did sin, He would forgive you. But the baseline was, Jesus was anti-sin.
Well now Christian supporters of Roy Moore and Donald Trump have shown me the error of my ways.
It turns out His forgiveness isn’t an exception — it’s a license.
Stalking little girls? P***y-grabbing? Do it! All you have to do is show up in church of a Sunday, and you are good to go, Monday through Saturday.
Sin-sin-sin-sin-sin-sin-“I love you, Jesus!”-sin-sin-sin-sin-sin-sin.
Defending Roy Moore, Pastor Mark Burns explained it to Joy Reid Saturday morning: “Morality isn’t the only quality that makes a good leader.” Even King David, he explained, had been quite a sinner, and Jesus was the only perfect man ever to walk the Earth.
And Jesus’ job is to forgive the rest of us.
I feel so stupid for not getting how this really works — and how you can work it.
The good news is, this revelation has led me to a new business idea — and I’ve been checking out the Prosperity Gospel, too, so I’m sure I’m on the right track here.
I’m calling it the Car Wash for Souls™.
Check it out. You see, it’s great that all this sinning is allowed, but there’s no need to make it so inconvenient. In the Car Wash for Souls™, it’s all right there for you.
As you enter, they’ll stick a drink in your hand and a pretty girl in your lap. And just like that, you’re off, working through all the sins you can ask Jesus to eat: lust, intemperance, lying, cheating, stealing — you name it.
There’ll even be some you don’t want to name. We’ll call the really embarrassing ones Mystery Sins™. They’ll happen in a dark room, and no one ever has to know.
But the kicker comes at the last stop on your way out: We’ll have a pastor right there to forgive you! Won’t take a minute; he can do it while you pay.
It can’t miss.
And if it does, well sorry, investors, and I love you, Jesus!