I was raised by intelligent Christians. Although I now consider myself an atheist (another story for another time), I bear no ill will at all towards Christians or any other religion for that matter.
More below the doodle.
Discussions of religion are always problematical, and I certainly hope this one doesn't turn into a pie fight. I just want to share a couple of thoughts with you.
What got me thinking about this was a column in today's online Indianapolis Star about the Casey Anthony trial. I don't know why I even read it because I know almost nothing about the case other than what was inescapably thrust upon me by the media. Maybe the headline on the page intrigued me: Casey Anthony trial reveals disturbing truths. I am always interested in "disturbing truths."
It turned out to be the website's Faith Forum page. Knowing the conservative predilections of the Star, I almost clicked away. But I clicked down a page and read the question posed:
How should a person of faith view the outcome of the trial and how it was handled?
Father Anastasios Gounaris of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Indianapolis wrote one of the replies. As I read his column, these words jumped out at me:
Have we considered that "there, for but the grace of God, go I?" and that any of us might be driven to a lonely, desperate and/or depressed state that would render us capable of a similarly callous act?
The selfish clamor for tax cuts during the worst economy since the Depression is resulting in the wholesale slashing of society's safety net -- recreational, transportation, educational, medical, mental health and other essential human services. Do we seriously believe that this state-sanctioned callousness will not lead to the creation of future Caseys, or Jared Lee Loughners? When that happens, won't society be responsible for the next Caylee eulogized by the tabloid press?
The cowboy, "pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps" ethos in vogue in America can only produce more victims. Our nation needs a return to genuine societal values -- not to a deranged and mythical Ayn Rand world. This means helping the least and most broken amongst us. And this just so happens to also be the teaching of our Lord, Jesus Christ
.
I wanted to shout Hallelujah. Ayn Rand as the AntiChrist? Right on, bro.
Obviously, I share the good Father's political viewpoint. But I also appreciate that he is what I call an intelligent Christian because he understands the philosophy of Christianity. I am not a theologian, but I do know something about Christianity, having been raised by intelligent Christians.
When I was a kid, we were at the First Methodist Church every time the doors opened: Sunday school, Sunday service, Sunday night service, Wednesday night pot luck supper, MYF meetings, choir practice. You name it, I was there--even church camp in the summer. I was, you might say, indoctrinated in Christianity. I took a religion course in college called Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels. I can quote a lot of Bible. I think I "get" what Christianity is all about.
See, Christianity is supposed to be all about the teachings of this guy Jesus of Nazareth. Some people think he is God. Personally, I don't, but I don't mind if you do. That's because, philosophically, Jesus is right on target, IMO. I consider Jesus at the pinnacle of philosophical thought. That's because he had the insight to sum it all up in three words:
Love one another.
That's it. That's all there is to it. However, in my experience, a lot of Christians don't get it. When you turn that page in the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament, you cross over from Judaism to Christianity. Now, I am not knocking Judaism. My father was an Austrian Jew who converted to Christianity after he came to America and married my mother. Personally, I think he did it for the music (he was choir director at church and a music teacher by profession). He never talked much about religion; he just lived a Christian life, in the best sense of that phrase. I suspect he didn't buy the mystical part of it anymore than I do, but he loved my mother, he loved music, and he agreed with Jesus' philosophy.
But I digress. I don't know much about Judaism really, but I do see a distinct difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. I have criticisms of both books, for sure, and find wisdom in both books, too. But it's Jesus--the Christ, the Messiah, the Word Made Flesh, the Son of God, according to believers--whom I admire. Not Moses or David or Solomon or John the Baptist. Certainly not Paul of Tarsus.
I like red letter editions of the Bible--you know, the ones that highlight all of Jesus' words in red ink. If you just read them, you get some pretty fabulous stuff: The Golden Rule, the Beatitudes, the parables, and words of forgiveness, nonviolence, and anti-materialism. The great insight of Jesus' teaching is that we are all human, that, in the most fundamental sense, we are all the same. We are our brother's and our sister's keeper because we are our brothers and our sisters. We are fellow humans.
So what does it take to have an intelligent religion? Two things:
1. The religion should be based on love for our fellow human beings.
2. When it comes to politics, apply your religion.
The metaphysical stuff? That's all faith, which by definition is believing in that which cannot be proven. Since it can't be proven, it is outside the concern of reasoned discussion. Philosophy, on the other hand, is reasoned discussion. I love to argue philosophy. Faith, not so much.
Personally, one of my favorite questions to ask when it comes to public policy is
What would Jesus do?