Have you noticed that many Social Media sites, including
Facebook, invite us to share our religious beliefs?
I have begun to struggle with what to put! In reality it
should be the easiest question in the world. I was baptised at a font as a
baby, I was baptised as a teenager by full immersion, I was confirmed in my
forties – belt and braces or what? Just don’t ask me to be circumcised! I have been a Church of England Reader for 17 years.
So surely I should confidently say that I am Christian and
get on with it.
So why is it a problem? It is because that particular badge
has come to be associated with intolerance. When we were young we sang a song
that included the line – “..and they’ll know we are Christians by our love..’
In some respects that has been replaced by – “..and they’ll know we are
Christians by our disapproval..”
I’m not the only one who has hit this problem. The novelist
Anne Rice announced a few years ago, that she was no longer able to call
herself by this title. She posted on her Facebook page –
"In the name of Christ,
I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be
anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be
anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life.
In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen,"
There are so many ‘antis’ in
there. I know what she means. How often do we encounter angry Christians
complaining that they are under threat or even persecuted when what they have
lost is political or social power that has more to do with Constantine than
Jesus –
Many of these negative views are based on selected quotes
from the bible. So Gay marriage is wrong because of some obscure verses in the
book of Leviticus about priestly conduct or comments by St. Paul in the book of Romans about orgies;
none of which were ever intended to have any application to a form of
relationship that was completely unknown. Those same people would never go to
the story of Joshua and say that we should massacre our enemies – men women and
children (Joshua 8 v 24).
It is almost as if some Christians feel the need to decide
who they dislike and then look for some biblical justification, often based on
nothing more than word association.
So what are my ‘religious views’? Is religion the problem?
Jesus did not mention anything about establishing a new religion. He did not
say anything about going to heaven when you die if you ask him into your heart
to be your own ‘personal saviour’. He didn’t say anyone was an abomination.
In fact when asked a direct question about what was needed
to inherit eternal life, he talked about giving everything away to the
poor. He was far more concerned about
the Kingdom. This was not something in the future but something for now. He
told us to pray the words – ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth..’
He was interested in loving your neighbour, turning the
other cheek, walking the extra mile, forgiving others. He talked about a
kingdom where the meek will inherit the earth, where the merciful will be shown
mercy and where the peacemakers will be called children of God. The only time he voiced disapproval was when
he encountered hypocrisy, particularly from religious people.
He never ever said – ‘love the sinner hate the sin!!’, with
all of the judgmentalism that that barbed comment contains.
That is the Jesus that I am proud to be identified with.
So am I a Christian or not?
It is of course only a badge. But is one that has become
tarnished. Maybe under religious views I should simply put ‘none’ which is
possible nearest the truth!
