Today Dirkster42 posted an amazing diary on the invisibility of the religious left. This gay, godless atheist would like to respond. It's late, so my words won't be too detailed, but follow me below the fold if you're interested.
I'm glad to have friends like Dirkster as allies. I want to share the beer with him that he's expressed an interest in sharing on a number of occasions. I suspect that Dirkster and I would have much to discuss and would have a great time. I love the intricacies of theological and religious discussion. When I say this, I don't mean that I love religious debate. I mean I love these discussions. The ethnographer loves the discussion of the hermeneutics of Torah and the Bible. I thrill at the discussion of books in the Torah such as Ecclesiastes, Job, and even the ethnographic analysis of Leviticus. I thrill at the analysis of Paul's epistles and their revolutionary-- contrary to a number of interpretations --messages. I'm filled with joy at the emancipatory message of the Gospels. Yes, Dirkster and I would have much to talk about and we'd have a good discussion. There's not "buts" here.
I don't know Dirkster's metaphysics, so I tread with caution here. There are some things we'll probably never agree on and he'd say so and I'd say so. I'm an unrepentant naturalist in temperament. Like Dirkster, I experience wonder and awe when faced with the mystery of existence. I am awed by nebulae, dark matter, protons, electrons, the deviousness of evolution in solving the problems of existing and reproducing. I am literally stunned by these things and have spent much of my life seeking to understand them. Again, I don't know Dirkster's metaphysics or fundamental theory of reality, so I tread with caution here. I will never believe that there is a God that created all this. I will never believe there is a soul that survives death. I will never believe that the senseless atrocities that take place in this world have some ultimate meaning. I believe that this universe is immanent, that it is governed by its own principles, and that existence, in all its brutality and beauty, is sufficient unto itself. Dirkster might not agree with me here, but I suspect we both share a similar sense of wonder. If he believes that some transcendent entity is required to account for it, we won't agree. But our disagreement will be friendly and we'll both share the same wonder.
Like Dirkster, I suspect that we're also both horrified by the brutality of human existence, the cruelty that humans often exercise on one another, and the senseless suffering that characterizes so much human existence. Again, I've devoted much of my life to both understanding why these things take place and mitigating them as well as I can. In addition to the wonder I experience from the sciences, I've practiced as a psychotherapist, currently teach as a philosopher, and am a social and political theorist. Many of these activities have been devoted to diminishing the suffering of human souls (psychotherapy), assisting in the development and enlightenment of growing souls (teaching), and understanding what it is that leads people to be filled with such dark passions such that they're led to engage in cruelty and are duped to act against their own interests (social and political science). I find much to admire in Dirkster's Jesus and Paul as a result of these commitments, though I believe they were political activists and ethicists, not religious figures. I suspect he'd find much that's congenial in my interpretation.
A number of Christians on the Christian Left here seem to feel persecuted. I agree that there are a handful that address them with hateful language that says there is an irreducible antinomy between their religious beliefs and leftisms. I think this is wrong. By the same token, I also believe that some Christian leftists completely misread the nature of the discussion by seeing themselves as the target of animosity. They fail to see that many of us-- especially GLTB folk and women --have suffered horribly at the hands of those who call themselves "Christians". We are persecuted and need to be able to name our persecutors in order to advance justice and equality. Those progressive Christians who see themselves as being attacked when these repressive forces are being addressed become, in my view, enablers of these forces of persecution. I understand that they do not-- often --share the values and beliefs of these persecutors, but by making it more difficult to name them they make it more difficult for these inequalities and forms of oppression to be corrected. This is why, I believe, so many of us react so strongly to the "Christians are being beaten up" diaries. A true Christian, we think, would immediately side with the marginalized, oppressed, and victimized, would denounce these other "Christians", and would say not "I'm not like that, that's not Christianity", but "I denounce these other 'Christians' in the name of my Christianity." They would not make it about them. When this is done I have no truck with those who find their progressive core in their spiritual beliefs.
There will never be any agreement on the metaphysical issues. Naturalists will never see eye to eye with those who believes there are supernatural forms of causation at work in the universe. However, we can agree on points of values and aims. I really have little concern with from whence someone derives their progressive beliefs. Those are fun discussions to have over beer. I welcome you warmly if you share my political aims and goals and welcome you organizing and forming coalitions in the name of your beliefs. I even beg for it. That's really all I have to say on this beautiful day in which we've witnessed a revolution.