janc@uofm-cv.UUCP (Jan Wolter) (04/06/84)
[Response to C. Michael Holloway: why people attack Christianity] It is a mistake to attack Christianity wholesale, because there is much variation in belief and doctrine among Christians. There are, however, certain doctrines and beliefs which have been expounded by Christians which humanists justifiably perceive as direct threats. It would be wiser to attack these beliefs, real or imagined, without imputing that they are held by all Christians. Some of the harmful tendencies that disturb me are described below. Many of these were more pronounced in the past than they are now, but their influences still permeate western society. In some cases reactions against these doctrines have been extreme, causing problems just as large. Historically, Christianity has tended to be anti-life. In the extreme, all the joys and beauties of life are rejected as sinful. We have seen pious Christians who claim it is sinful to dance, laugh, love, or sing. It has been called a sin to heal the sick or to study the natural sciences. It seems that a good man must, by definition, be a miserable man. (see the life of almost any saint.) The path of virtue is a narrow one which we must tread carefully, eyes fixed on our feet, denying all else. This is the diseased of an emotional and intellectual cripple. Many Christians reject this view now, but there are still those who would have us reject life in favor of an unprovable afterlife. Compounding this is the denial of man's goodness. We are born sinful, and no number of good acts can redeem us. Only submission to Christ can redeem us, and most of us will fail in that and be punished by eternal torment. Good acts are often viewed as irrelevant. You are still evil. (There is a wonderful old women in India who has devoted her life to helping the poor there. Some fat-head TV evangelist said she would burn in hell because she did not follow his particular brand of Christianity.) This viewpoint tends to discourage people from doing good. Denying virtue, we see only darkness and can do only darkness. There has been a tendency among Christians to look outside themselves for morality. The Church defines morality, and often grants itself the responsibility to judge or absolve sins in it's own name or in the name of God. By training people to turn to authority for direction, the Church turns people into mindless soldiers, easily manipulated by the corrupt. We see wars where both side are assured that God is with them. We see cult groups manipulating vulnerable minds. Again, this tendency is less than it was, but some Christians have told me that I can have no morality because I have never been a member of a Church. I believe, on the contrary, that a moral man must make his own judgements, and take responsibility for his own actions, otherwise he is only a tool. Less important than the above, there has been a tendency in Christianity to advocate twisted reasoning. Partly in an attempt to reconcile the contents of a book which is thousands of years old with modern physics, and partly to prove faith correct (a weird concept), Christians have originated some of the most twisted, ill-founded logical arguments known to man (e.g. all proofs of the existence of God). In a world where men badly need all the rationality they can muster, we don't need minds clouded by pious pseudo-rationality. Dark strands similar to these exist in most organized religions. The reason Christianity in particular is being attacked by many people is that certain political groups are trying to use it as a platform for personal power. They hope to institute these twisted ideals in the law of the nation, riding the support of well meaning Christians into political power. Mixing politics with religion harms both the religion and the state. Let me repeat, that I am well aware that many (probably most) Christians do not advocate the above ideas--certainly not in the extreme degree stated here. However these ideas exist, and they are being aggressively pressed on us. Certainly some violent defense is called for, though much of what we see has been ill-directed and poorly formulated. Jan Wolter University of Michigan
aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent) (04/12/84)
David Norris has replied to several pieces of Jan Wolter's article. I just
wanted to add a few thoughts.
Many pious but misguided people seem to forget that Jesus said "I have come
that [you] might have life, and might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Several times Jesus refer's to the disciples' joy being full; and the apostle
Paul says "Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice!"
The only reason that it seems that a good man must be miserable is that some
(many; all, really) of us, by nature, have a hard time doing good. Thus,
initially (and for some time, as I've found out), doing good is doing
something we don't want and don't like to do. But if we stay with God long
enough, we will be changed into Christ's image, and we will begin wanting to
act as Christ would, at least partially because we like to.
Good works are good (this is a tautology, isn't it?), but it is true that the
main point is whether we choose to submit ourselves to God or continue to go
only our own way. In fact good works are not only encouraged, but virtually
demanded, by the apostle James, who wrote "Faith without works is dead"
(James 2:26).
Perhaps the Church has at times sought "mindless soldiers". God does not wish
to make such poor specimens. He wants people to be the best people they can
possibly be; and that includes having their minds in top shape. (One has to,
in order to survive in this group!)
Alas, it is possible that some people are, in a sense I hadn't thought of
until now, "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof", as
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:5. The way I've usually thought of this (which I
think is the traditional interpretation) is that people may go to (or even
be in charge of) churches, but not preach anything about the power of God
to save sinners; and that is certainly happening. But it is possible that
another interpretation might be that Jan suggested: Using Christianity, not
to allow God's power to work in one's life, but to gain temporal power for
oneself--i.e. dealing in the wrong kind of power, rather than just ignoring
power altogether.
--
-- Jeff Sargent
{allegra|ihnp4|decvax|harpo|seismo|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
One man's data are another man's garbage.