The Tragic Death of Danny Orlis

As most readers will have discerned, I was raised Evangelical, many decades ago when evangelicalism was consistent with the merciful and joyous “good news” of a “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild”. Those days are long gone, but memories of them remain.

A standby of growing up evangelical was the Saturday edition of the Radio Bible Class, featuring the dramatized reading of the Danny Orlis story. Orlis was the all-American teen hero, but close enough to Canadians with his Angle Inlet roots north of the 49th Parallel.

Danny was everything that a good Christian teen should be back in the day, rural, athletic, principled, kindly, courageous, and devout. We all wanted to be Danny Orlis, to tell the truth, to give sacrificially, to fight off wayward bears, to honour our parents and families, not to smoke, drink, swear, or gamble, and to keep ourselves pure for our future God-selected spouse (who, it went without saying, would be of the opposite sex and virginal). No lying, no cheating, but rather respecting our parents and God-given authority, early to bed, early to rise.

But somewhere between then and now, Danny Orlis became ill and died. Corners were cut, excuses were made, and little by little the ends began to justify the means. The merciful and liberating message of Jesus was replaced by rules and dogmatism. Today’s evangelicals have a bad name, and justly so. Not universally, of course, but in sufficient numbers that decent people don’t want to be seen in their company.

Evangelicals have become obsessed with political power, intent on legislating the New Jerusalem. Powerful sects within the movement have developed bizarre Dungeons and Dragons nightmares of angelic and demonic warfare and capturing the Seven Mountains, as if Christ’s simple message of joy and liberation were some kind of video game.

And most sadly of all, very, very few Evangelicals, even the good old-fashioned nice ones, are willing to speak out against the Antichrist slander which has engulfed the movement.

In those simple days, many decades ago, Evangelicals were known for sacrificial charity, no strings attached, for personal piety and integrity, and for simple, quiet, and honourable lives. For those of us who were young in those days, Danny Orlis was our model.

Too bad he got ill and died.