Why would a world-renowned defender of Christianity write about all the terrible things Christians have done?

That’s what I wanted to ask John Dickson, author of the new book, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History. He’s torn about the disconnect between the life and teaching of Jesus and the behavior of his followers. “God’s love must animate the Christian’s love for all,” he writes. “The obvious fact that this moral logic did not translate into a consistent moral history is the dilemma at the heart of this book.”

These days you’ll see many Christians defend the faith by pointing out the problems with others. But owning up to ways the church has fallen short of its own ideals may be the more appropriate path. After all, no one in our lifetime could have invented a more damaging attack on the church than the scandals involving the cover-up of abuse toward children. Those wounds are entirely self-inflicted. And they’re the reason Dickson told me we live in the worst period of Christian history.

“Bullies are common,” Dickson says. “Saints are not.” But I take heart at Dickson’s description of Christians as “cheerful losers.” Christians often go wrong when they think they need to employ ungodly means to protect the church. Trusting God, even when it seems like all else is failing, is the path of perseverance.

“The Lord will not let his gospel go without a witness,” Dickson told me. “In every age, he will raise up someone to say, ‘No, we have compromised. We must get back to the Lord Jesus and look like him and serve the world.'”