having been raised a christian and hearing repeatedly how some things just have to be accepted on faith colors how i think of so much in life. it's easy for me to see how people get trapped in the fundamentalist sort of religion, whether that religion is christianity, islam, or some other belief system. if we believe certain things without requiring any proof of their existence, it's not hard to move on to deeper and deeper commitments to other unprovable beliefs. for instance, if one insists that the virgin birth is essential to being a christian, then those who call themselves christians and yet think that the virgin birth is a myth can't be true christians. believing in the virgin birth leads to believing other things about jesus: that he is divine, that God violates the rules of nature by becoming a human being, that the purpose of jesus' brief life was to be the ultimate blood sacrifice for humanity's sins and to then come back to life, that jesus could read minds and cure the sick, that jesus could walk on water and perform other impossible feats.
the more committed a believer becomes to these unbelievable characteristics of jesus, the more intolerant that "person of faith" becomes of those who refuse to assent to the jesus-born-of-a-virgin. as i sat in church yesterday and listened to what was being said, i wondered if i should even be there. i didn't subscribe to much of what was proclaimed from the pulpit, primarily by lay leaders who were tasked with bringing devotional messages at certain points in the service. the minister's sermon was easier for me accept as he talked about the inclusion of the magi in the christmas story as a symbol for inclusivity in our own lives, of being accepting of those who were "foreign" to us, just as the writer of matthew's gospel included the "wise men from the east" who were probably astrologers who looked for portents in the night sky.
as i looked around the congregation, i wondered how many others were like me, skeptics of the mythology that passes for truth in christianity. i saw so many kind, caring, generous people, people that it's easy to love, and i knew that many of them accepted the myths without questioning the philosophy that "if it's in the bible, it must be true." few of them are fundamentalists, because the whole reason for the denomination of which this congregation is a part is tolerance for diverse beliefs and a refusal to insist that members of the church accept any specific interpretation of christian orthodoxy. in a conversation with a member of the church not long ago, she recounted how she couldn't accept ideas like the virgin birth and remain true to herself. it was like a breath of fresh air to know that i'm not alone in this group of christians, even though many, probably most, members of the church do accept the tenets of orthodox christianity. the wonderful thing is that people like her and like me can be accepted and our ideas respected even if they are different from what the majority of the others in the church believe.
the disturbing thing is that congregations like this are in the minority in christianity. in most churches, there is no room for those who doubt the literal truth of the bible, no room for those who question, no room for those who don't subscribe to a particular set of orthodox beliefs, no room for those who can't throw logic out the window and accept ideas "on faith." this is the dangerous aspect of christianity, that intolerance is assumed to be the "godly" way to live, and such close-mindedness is what leads to the twisted reasoning that requiring equal rights before the law for gay people is a violation of someone's religious freedom or mandating that all employees have access to birth control infringes on an employer's liberty. fundamentalism and intolerance go hand in hand, regardless of what religion practices the intolerance. islamic fundamentalism and christian fundamentalism are both equally abhorrent.
may we respect widely divergent views, remembering that respect and acceptance are very different things. may we be able to express our own views without fear. may we love those with whom we disagree without allowing dangerous ideas to go unchallenged. may civil discourse lead to greater understanding of and respect for those who believe and live differently from us. shalom.
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