From time to time on this here blog, various folks leaving comments have suggested that I appear to hate the religion of Christianity and the people who call themselves Christians. So, I thought I would take the time today to offer my analysis of this supposition. Am I a Christian hater?
From my perspective, the answer to that question is a resounding NO...but yes. How's that for stark ambiguity?
From my humble standpoint, the very idea that there's an elderly-looking bloke high in the sky who gives one iota about you or me is nonsensical, at best, and wholly delusional, at worst. Such beliefs would seem to me to be the bastion of an irrational and weak mind.
That said, this is solely MY perspective and I certainly would not expect you to hold this opinion just because I do. While I may certainly urge others critically to reexamine such beliefs with a more rational eye, if said beliefs provide you with comfort and a sense of stability in a chaotic world, I'm okay with you holding onto them.
So, from that particular standpoint, I don't dislike the followers of Christianity (or any religion) at all.
My great distaste arises when you decide that your rigid and nonsensical beliefs are the ultimate truth and, by gum, everybody else must believe as you do or else people like me are social pariahs or worse. When that happens, my sentiments start tilting closer to the hate column.
I realize that, whatever a person's spiritual or religious beliefs are, this will filter into the manner they interact with the world around them. If, for example, you believe that homosexuality is a mortal sin, you will have trouble interacting with gays and lesbians in a productive manner. As long as this remains a personal issue, I may simply feel sorry for you, but when you make it a community issue -- supporting laws that reflect your personal religious beliefs -- I start going a bit berserk.
This is the crux of my anger toward the Christian religion. It's not enough that Christians hold irrational beliefs close to their hearts, but they want to make these beliefs universal through laws and societal mores.
Even worse, there is no room for cogent discussion! In order to have a scintilla of conversation, you must first accept all of their crazy notions as unmitigated fact and, if you don't, then the discussion ends (because you're a heretic or a pawn of "the devil"). It's a top-down authoritative system that eschews any type of questioning or skepticism.
So to sum up. If you want to believe in concepts that I personally think are ludicrous, that's your right. I certainly won't despise you for it because I realize that not one of us knows the answers to life's most basic questions. The truth is probably either a conglomeration of all beliefs or we're all so far off-base that it would make every head spin.
You will earn my ire, however, if you postulate that what you believe is the ultimate universal truth and all creatures great and small must kowtow to your version of reality. This is the mindset of evangelical (fundamentalist) Christians -- heck, all orthodox religious followers.
I do not like you. I will fight you tooth and nail. If that makes me a (fundamentalist) Christian hater, then I'm guilty as charged!!
From my perspective, the answer to that question is a resounding NO...but yes. How's that for stark ambiguity?
From my humble standpoint, the very idea that there's an elderly-looking bloke high in the sky who gives one iota about you or me is nonsensical, at best, and wholly delusional, at worst. Such beliefs would seem to me to be the bastion of an irrational and weak mind.
That said, this is solely MY perspective and I certainly would not expect you to hold this opinion just because I do. While I may certainly urge others critically to reexamine such beliefs with a more rational eye, if said beliefs provide you with comfort and a sense of stability in a chaotic world, I'm okay with you holding onto them.
So, from that particular standpoint, I don't dislike the followers of Christianity (or any religion) at all.
My great distaste arises when you decide that your rigid and nonsensical beliefs are the ultimate truth and, by gum, everybody else must believe as you do or else people like me are social pariahs or worse. When that happens, my sentiments start tilting closer to the hate column.
I realize that, whatever a person's spiritual or religious beliefs are, this will filter into the manner they interact with the world around them. If, for example, you believe that homosexuality is a mortal sin, you will have trouble interacting with gays and lesbians in a productive manner. As long as this remains a personal issue, I may simply feel sorry for you, but when you make it a community issue -- supporting laws that reflect your personal religious beliefs -- I start going a bit berserk.
This is the crux of my anger toward the Christian religion. It's not enough that Christians hold irrational beliefs close to their hearts, but they want to make these beliefs universal through laws and societal mores.
Even worse, there is no room for cogent discussion! In order to have a scintilla of conversation, you must first accept all of their crazy notions as unmitigated fact and, if you don't, then the discussion ends (because you're a heretic or a pawn of "the devil"). It's a top-down authoritative system that eschews any type of questioning or skepticism.
So to sum up. If you want to believe in concepts that I personally think are ludicrous, that's your right. I certainly won't despise you for it because I realize that not one of us knows the answers to life's most basic questions. The truth is probably either a conglomeration of all beliefs or we're all so far off-base that it would make every head spin.
You will earn my ire, however, if you postulate that what you believe is the ultimate universal truth and all creatures great and small must kowtow to your version of reality. This is the mindset of evangelical (fundamentalist) Christians -- heck, all orthodox religious followers.
I do not like you. I will fight you tooth and nail. If that makes me a (fundamentalist) Christian hater, then I'm guilty as charged!!
Ah c'mon, RT, tell us how you REALLY feel.
ReplyDelete;)
I certainly don't think you hate anyone, Christians or otherwise. You have your opinions, your own way of looking at the world, but there's no hate in it.
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me most about contemporary evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity is that it has worked itself into an existential corner and has turned mean and nasty. The idea of righteousness (which I take to me "right relationship with God") has turned to self-righteousness ("how dare you disagree with me?!").
It bothers me to no end that the evangelical mainstream never lets up on things like homosexuality, "secularism," and abortion here in the US, but turns a blind eye to the suffering of the homeless and those suffering under brutal regimes around the world. I don't see many evangelicals speaking out against Darfur, for example.
Evangelicals are caught up in their own cultural biases, and because of their self-righteousness, they refuse to see these as biases. Which makes them imminently unpleasant. Maybe one day, maybe, they will see this.