LETTER FROM A SKEPTIC

Continued from previous page discouraged by the results of a recent poll regarding the use of torture on suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. Sixty-three percent of Americans agreed that torture is either “often” or “sometimes” justified. The demographic group that polled most strongly in favor of torture were white, Evangelical Christians.

I have difficulty picturing Jesus waterboarding anyone, let alone condoning the practice among his followers. During the centuries of Inquisition, suspected heretics were tortured in the pursuit of a confession. Many of the torture devices were inscribed with the motto “Glory be only to God.” Protestants are quick to blame the Catholic church for these atrocities, but when it came to killing heretics, even Protestant reformer John Calvin approved of their deaths.

Pro-life, Antiscience

This brings me to the subject of life. Christians claim to be “pro-life.” They say they are concerned about the rights of the unborn. This is a reasonable ethic. But what about the newly born?

Millions of innocent children have been the victims of collateral damage in wars that the majority of Christians enthusiastically support. Christians seem mostly OK with such unfortunate, “acceptable losses.” I find it difficult to believe that Jesus would be OK with this. Shouldn’t Christians be the most reluctant

Hroughout History

of all people to go to war?

As I understand it, the creation story occupies a single chapter in Genesis, which is just one of many books in the Bible. So how is it that Christians are so preoccupied with the “creation versus evolution” debate? My uncle insists that the earth is only 6,000 years old. This point seems essential to the integrity of his faith. It is a BIG deal to him. Do I have to accept literal six-day creationism in order to be a

Christian? I think many Christians would answer that with a “yes!”

I don’t rule out the possibility of a creator, but is it possible that parts of the Bible deploy myth or metaphor to convey God’s creative work in words that ancient people could understand and relate to? Even if the Bible is infallible, the way we interpret it is not.

What I’m objecting to is the general Christian inclination to distrust science. I’m not suggesting that science is infallible either. I guess I’m reacting to the antiscientific bias I see in Christians.

Take global warming. Surveys show Christians as being the most likely group to deny global warming. Is it somehow Christian to pretend that humans are not destroying the very creation the Bible says they are stewards of? Is it because Christians believe they are about to be evacuated soon anyway? Or is it because Al Gore, a despised Democrat, popularized the issue in his book An Inconvenient Truth?

I care about the planet. I want my children to care about the planet. For me this is a moral issue. Again, shouldn’t Chris-

Let me answer your question with one word: Yes!

BY DICK ALEXANDER

Dear Friend, tians be the most vocal group when it comes to environmentalism?

Thank you for writing. You have made a concise critique of Christianity—a large part of which I wholeheartedly agree with. And you’ve asked a serious question that deserves an equally serious response. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to do that.

Troubling Attitudes

I find that many Christians hold attitudes about the poor, about immigrants and refugees, and about social injustice and racial reconciliation that are troubling. Just this week I saw a poll that surveyed people on their perception of the racial problems in America. Would you like to guess which demographic was least likely to believe the incidences of racism experienced by black Americans? White, Evangelical Christians. Again.

The Christian God seems to me to be a very threatening God, preoccupied with judgment and even willing to turn good people over to Hell for eternal torment. Do Christians really believe that billions of people are headed to Hell, many of whom have had nothing but hardship while they toiled here on earth?

Not long ago a hero of mine, Elie Wiesel, passed away. As an Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camp survivor, his books have taught the world powerful lessons on love and forgiveness. Hitler sent Wiesel to the death camps because Wiesel was not a Christian.

Is he now laboring in an eternal concentration camp, sentenced by God to Hell for the crime of being Jewish? This hardly seems just or good. In fact I would say it is sadistic and cruel.

I am not presenting an academic thesis here, and my space is limited, but the whole subject of homosexuality, gay marriage, and LGBTQ issues is such a “hot button” in the culture, I must comment before I sign off. I think Christian attitudes toward the LGBTQ community have only served to further alienate me (and a large number of my peers) from Christianity.

I may not be a Christian, but the teachings of Jesus lead me to believe that the God he represents would show love and compassion toward gay people or anyone who is struggling with gender/sexual identity. When we are talking about the LGBTQ community we are talking about people God loves—people with basic human dignity and rights.

In the city where I live there is a sig-

From your original question, “Can I be a Christian and be good?” a number of other questions followed. I’d like to add an implicit corollary question—“If Jesus is so good, then why are Christians so bad?”, and I’d like to begin there. Your criticism of the Christianity you’ve seen in action targeted white Evangelical Christianity. I would narrow that a bit further to white Evangelical American Christianity since the middle of the 20th century. In my opinion, there are many ways this corner of the global church has veered off the path God intended, and as a result has often misrepresented God.

In the middle part of the 20th century, churches in America were growing, new ones were starting, and masses of people were involved. People who didn’t go to church were favorable toward the church and thought that’s what good people did—go to church. If they ever cleaned up their lives, they would do that too.

Government was warm toward Christianity, and it was considered not just acceptable, but in many cases desirable, to be known as a Christian. Many spoke of America as a “Christian nation.” Even though that wasn’t true, to think of it that way was dangerous. The church wasn’t meant to seek or exercise political power.

Misguided Approach

Then came the cultural turmoil of the 1960s. Church people, not knowing how to respond, withdrew and became harshly critical of the culture—this was the beginning of the “culture wars.” What Christians had not been able to accomplish through gentle persuasion, they tried to accomplish through nificant Muslim population. Occasionally voices from the Muslim community call for Sharia law to be adopted in our civic laws. I bristle at the idea of one religious group trying to legislate their values on a free society.

I think that should also apply to the church. I do not believe Christians have been commissioned by God to enshrine their understanding of sexual ethics into the law codes of our country.

Do Christians really believe that in order to be faithful to their convictions they must depend on the state to pressure those who are not followers of Jesus to act like they are? I support laws that “preserve human rights,” even the rights of non-Christians to act unChristian.

Is there room for someone with convictions like mine to be a Christian? Can I be a Christian and be good?

The writer has compiled ideas from a thoughtful nonbeliever into this essay. This piece summarizes that person’s concerns and convictions, as well as those from others the writer has encountered.