Jim Wallis says James Dobson owes America an apology. I get really depressed when Christian leaders are mad at each other, so I wanted to know what the problem was that was serious enough to break the unity God is so bullish on.

Wallis, author of God’s Politics and editor in chief of Sojourners, takes great offense at a letter Focus on the Family’s Dobson circulated before the election, an anonymous futuristic scenario titled “Letter From 2012 in Obama’s America.”

Can we talk? Because this concerns the question of what is the legitimate and godly use of the power of the pen. Dobson’s letter says that based on the trajectory of Barack Obama’s past actions (which, it seems to me, is a legitimate basis for expectations of future actions) we may forecast certain developments in the next four years:

We have old justices on the Supreme Court. Not much of a wildcard there. Their replacements won’t be made in the image of Roberts or Scalia. It’s not crazy to imagine same-sex marriage as a new “Constitutional” right sweeping all state laws off the books in a single blow. It’s not hard to imagine the court ruling that anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation be extended to private institutions like schools. It’s not whack to imagine public high school “Meet You at the Pole” prayer meetings being banned as “proselytizing” speech. It’s not far fetched to imagine radio programs that air full Bible truth being outlawed as “hate speech.” That’s just the way the wind is blowing.

Wallis’s critique is remarkable for not addressing the merits of Dobson’s case. He just keeps calling it “political incivility” and “negative” and “slander” and promoting of “fear.” But few prophets are cheery souls. And faithful watchmen are almost never loved.