Deanna, a guest poster over at Neil’s Godless in Dixie blog,
has an excellent post up about the
narcissism of preaching. She paints an all-too-common portrait of members
of the clergy. I have trouble finding fault with it. My only counterpoint would
be to suggest something I’m sure she’d have no problem admitting. That is that
not all preachers completely fit that mold. Certainly some folks will be able to think of
exceptions to many of the otherwise spot-on characterizations she puts forward. The take-away for me is that this particular career path
undeniably shapes and attracts certain people that find great success, acclaim, honor and monetary
gain as a reward for traits like narcissism and megalomania. Of course there are
exceptions. There are probably some decent people in politics too. How does the
system treat them, though? Who fares better?