photo by Joe McCarthy
When you meet someone new or are just enjoying discussions with other people, are you ever surprised when you find out they don’t share your views? I keep having this experience! Tonight while at dinner with a group of women, one of them mentioned her pre-teen son being baptized at their church since he just “got saved” and how excited she was. During her story, I kept expecting a punchline—as if she would suddenly laugh and tell a story about going skinny dipping in the baptism dunk tanks. But no, she was totally serious, and nothing’s wrong with that.
It made me wonder: Do we assume the people with whom we get along are going to think the same ways we do? I think I do! For instance, I’m skeptical about the paranormal; I do not believe ghosts exist. A friend of mine gabs constantly about ghost hunting and the supernatural, and all the while I laugh and think she must be joking because, hell, who honestly believes in ghosts? Well, she does. Why am I so surprised? Is it my ego?
I remember feeling this way as a Christian as well; If I met someone who wasn’t a believer, it was like a trip into a different world. They were strange, foreign, and mysterious. How could they not believe in Jesus? Of course, Christianity is so popular that it’s sometimes difficult to find people who openly identify with something else—at least in my area. So why am I walking through life as part of the atheist minority assuming everyone else thinks Satan is silly and God is a figment of our imaginations? I have no idea! I guess I think I’m normal!
Is there such a thing as a Christian Atheist? Robert Jensen, a non-believing attender of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, Texas, claims to be exactly that. How can this be? Why did this non-theist join a Christian congregation and even later preach sermons and lead prayers?
[Jensen recently] returned from a trip to South Africa. Folks there, he said, put a high premium on ubuntu, the concept that people become fully human by living within a community and recognizing the humanity of others.
In his mind, that’s crucial in trying to address problems such as racism, imperialism, sexual exploitation, environmental destruction and economic injustice.
…”I joined a Christian church to be part of that hope for the future, to struggle to make religion a force that can help usher into existence a world in which we can imagine living in peace with each other and in sustainable relation to the non-human world,” Jensen writes. “Such a task requires a fearlessness and intelligence beyond what we have mustered to date, but it also requires a faith in our ability to achieve it.
“That’s why I am a Christian.”
No, sir, you’re a good-hearted humanist in sheep’s clothing.
Having hope, living in peace, recognizing humanity in those around us, and using community to achieve it does not rely upon religion nor upon Christianity. The church may be one avenue that’s currently open to spreading good to this world, but it certainly doesn’t need to be the only one. And it could do a lot better.
Bettering humanity is a task for each of us. I agree with that concept of ubuntu; humans are community-oriented creatures. As a Christian in my past, and now as a freethinking atheist, I heartily believe that we become the best of all possible beings when we’re in community with one another. Being together crafts us into better people who can change the world.
We can all do these amazing things; we just need to build more avenues that are open to more people (and–may I say–avenues that don’t rely on mystical ghosts and superstitions to light the way). What better way to serve the world than to have secular communities that neither rely on ancient myths or supernatural motivations to do good, nor have to fit into the limited model that is “church”. Sure, it would take creativity, time, and hard work, but perhaps we could create a community of communities that could better serve those around us and the world than what’s been done before.
We don’t need to try to fit into an old, dusty model that’s too stuffed with misdeeds and mystical nonsense. We can make something new!
I haven’t been around much lately since I just moved to a new place, took a vacation, and work just got a hell of a lot crazier. But, by the power of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, I am here to provide you with some literary entertainment! Who else is in the mood for sassy teenage love, exorcisms, and fashion advice?
Claudia Mair Burney, a Christian fiction author, released an interesting novel in 2008 titled The Exorsistah. The book has received five 5-star reviews on amazon. The cover reads, “If you think the streets are mean, meet Emme Vaughn, demon-huntress.” Oh yes, folks, this is a golden example of contemporary Christian literature. Don’t ask how I got it; just sit back, relax, and wonder along with me how writing like this gets published.
Let’s hear some quotes, shall we? Starting with the opening paragraphs:
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