This one is for all you Christianity-hating folks. Well, it’s for all of you, really.
What can I do as a Christian to be a more public voice of Christianity for you? I hear a lot of complaining about how it’s the “bad ones” who are the public voice and face of Christianity, so I want to know how to change that. Obviously I can’t do it by myself, but knowing what you think might work would be a good step.
This is an excellent question.
First off, i dont hate christianity. I hate religion. Christianity is not a special case.
Further, I dont hate deists, or people with personal gods. I dont even hate the people who have succumbed to the lure and comfort of religion.
I hate organized religions affect on those who have to live in the same communities with them that don’t necessarily share the same beliefs and the lack of tolerance or understanding displayed in those situations.
I would like it and certainly feel more comfortable in this country if you and terri and buffy etc were “the loud ones”.
Sadly, this generation is lost. I dont see any possible way to get to a place where the founding fathers would be proud of us within my lifetime. So my answer is that I don’t think there is anything you can do to be louder than the fundies. It goes against the humilty and modesty of the teachings of Jesus (as far as I can tell). No where in the bible (correct me if I am wrong) does jesus use multi-million shekel structures and theme parks to convince people that Judaism is great and fun. I dont remember jesus paying local politicians thousands of shekels to allow him to preach in ways that people of other religions couldn’t. Basically, I don’t really see a way for you be christian and be loud.
So what can you do?
Here are my thoughts:
Get the schools to teach religion, ALL religions, and the fact that no religion is a possibility also. This can be done in philosophy, current events, social studies take your pick. The course should explain the positive messages and accomplishments from the religions along with basic tenets and the conflicts that fundamentalism of any religion has caused, including invading countries that were already emasculated and of no threat to us.
Adamantly oppose things that are not science in science class… you know what I am talking about.
teach critical thinking. God is not provable or disprovable. Fine, teach kids to think and what constitutes compelling evidence and what is circumstantial and what is just rumor. It will benefit them with their religious beliefs but better than that raise our standards for what we ask of our news sources and political candidate. Like terri has said (i’m sure you have too), she thinks with her head and her conclusion is the there is a christian god. Fine, at least you and her have thought about it. Give the kids the tools by which they can do this too so they don’t have to go through the turmoil that you did.
All you have to do is do this with the school your kids are in. Talk to your friends and have them do this with the schools their kids are in, and so forth.
On your blog describe the difficulties (and there will be a tremendous amount), make it public.
When my daughter gets older this is exactly what I intend on doing in her schools.
well… thats my thoughts for now. look forward to other poeples thoughts, as I said… its really an interesting question.
Oi. ‘Tis quite the little post, Amanda!
First off, I don’t hate Christians, especially since that would include EVERYONE. The goddess knows I don’t hate you or others like you. If you said, “This is for all you fundie haters,” you might have had something. In all honestly, I don’t even hate the fundies. I strongly disagree with the fundies with every fiber of my being, but hate is too strong a word for even bottom feeders like Fred Phelps. That said, I’m sure you’re going to get actual hate mail from actual Christians who are going to be uber pissed that you dared to ask that question of the heathens!
My issue with the fundies is similar to what Tech said: I don’t like someone telling me how to live my life, who to love, or when I should die. If they chose to follow an ancient text, that’s wonderfully fine and dandy. However, laws that emanate from said ancient text should not be used to make laws by which I have to live.
Your blog is giving a public view to moderate, non-fanatical religious beliefs. You’re already doing so much by your choice of posts, the formation of Common Ground, and your willingness to seriously talk about important issues without hiding behind the bible. So much of the time, the debate stops because of the old, “The bible says so” line. It’s very difficult to converse with someone when they refuse to move from that position:
The earth is round.
No, it’s not the bible says it’s flat.
Yes it is! Scientific observation says that it is.
No, it’s not the bible says it’s flat.
Etc, etc, etc.
You have already shown that believers, non-believers, and questioning believers can co-exist together, discuss topics of interest, and live peacefully WITHOUT attempting to convert each other, without making the other side feel inferior, sinful, uneducated or any other fundie/atheist buzzword. I’m sure that the fanatics on both sides (although there seem to be far more on the fundie side) are foaming at the mouth because of this unholy alliance of sorts, but they know what we already know: there are far more of us than there are of them, and that’s the real reason they’re so rabid.
You’re already doing as much as one person can to improve the image of Christianity among us heathens. The big thing, which you’re good at, is a refusal to “close ranks” - you’re willing to criticise other Christians when they’re acting idiotically.
Too many Christians have an in-group/out-group attitude to their religion, which discourages them from calling fellow believers on their errors. The result is that the only ones willing to speak up are the cranks, and if anyone counters them then it’s the skeptic who’s being impolite. It’s a general issue, not exclusive to religion, but religions seem to provide a particularly fertile environment for this kind of groupthink.
Have you considered writing in to the newspapers when you come across a particularly daft story from people claiming to be Christians?