Christianity Used to be an Intellectual Challenge

I have recently been looking through my scribbled notes from Bible studies back in the 1970s. Pages and pages of them, now barely decipherable. They were based on a close reading and analysis of many scriptural passages (avoiding, of course, the strange ones such as the fifth chapter of Numbers). We thought about, and discussed, everything, and analyzed our own lives in great detail. We had Friday night Bible studies and weekend conferences and retreats. These Bible studies were sponsored by Turnpike Road Church of Christ near Santa Barbara, a church that still exists. The youth ministers put a lot of thinking into the study sessions. Even though I now consider many of their assertions to have been incorrect, I remain amazed at the careful thought they put into it.

Those days are gone at most evangelical churches in America. Today, for many if not most white evangelical Christians, Christianity is very simple: Just worship Donald Trump. Even after Trump lost the election, evangelical support is still strong for Him. If you are a Republican—and very few centrist Republicans questions a single word from Trump—then everything is fine. You don’t have to worry about your materialism or your sexual morals, since God has given Trump and presumably His worshipers a blanket forgiveness for everything. You do not need to develop anything remotely resembling what we used to call a Christian character or an attitude of holiness. No longer do you have to wonder what sort of response you should have to immigrants; just kick them all out. No longer do you have to think about how a Christian should be a steward of God’s creation; the environment is nothing more than a source of raw materials for rich people to exploit. No longer do you have to consider that someone who disagrees with you might be partly correct; just assume that they are totally evil and treat them that way.

Perhaps the difference between then and now is best illustrated by what evangelical Christians are supposed to pay attention to. Back then, we read and discussed C. S. Lewis. Now, many evangelical Christians subsist on a fare of pure Fox News.

 

What the "Religious Freedom" People Really Want, Part Two.

 

Many extreme conservatives believe that the government is denying them the right to practice their fundamental religious beliefs. And sometimes this is true. Let me explain.

If your fundamental belief is that other people should be forced to live the way you want them to, then the only way you can practice your religion is by controlling other people against their will.

The 9-11 terrorists believed a certain version of Islam that told them that they had the right to, in Allah’s name, kill thousands of people. An uncountable number of terrorists around the world believe this. Our government, like others throughout the world, have denied terrorists their religious freedom whenever possible. Damn right, the government is restricting your religious freedom if you are a terrorist.

If your fundamental belief is that you must carry loaded automatic weapons in public and be prepared to use them at a moment’s notice, then the only way you can practice your religion is by carrying those weapons in public.

Do you want to live in a society in which other (probably white male) people can force you to live the way they want you to, or even kill you? But that’s what you will have if people whose religion is based on force and murder are allowed to practice their religion.

 

Few if any conservatives would claim that their religion is like that. But that is not the point. The point is that religious freedom is not unlimited. First amendment aside, it is already illegal to sacrifice children, for example. The government already has the right to restrict your religious practices if they threaten the public.

 

If your religion is “I have the right to force other people to do what I want, and maybe even to kill them,” then, damn right, the government is restricting your religious freedom.

What the "Religious Freedom" People Really Want, Part One

 

What the “Religious Freedom” People Really Want, Part One

Many extreme conservatives consider themselves to be evangelical Christians. Of course, what they are doing is making Jesus look like the source of all hatred. This is the opposite of evangelism, in which Christians should want to make people like Jesus, not hate Him.

But there are two things that the “religious freedom” people actually want. The first, which I here address, is that no business be required to offer its services to people whom the business CEOs do not like. If a store owner dislikes (or hates) gays and lesbians, they think they should not be forced to serve them. Let me explain why this is a supremely evil idea.

If these Christian businesses operated in a total vacuum from the rest of the world—that is, if all of their money came from other Christians and only from them—then they might claim the right to not serve people whom they, without God’s approval, condemn. I used to work at a so-called Christian college that rejected federal guidelines about discrimination. But they refused to accept any federal money, even scholarship money for the students. Apparently, this was legal.

But there are no businesses that operate in such a vacuum. Every business, even those like Hobby Lobby who claim this right, receive some federal money, even if indirectly. That is, their employees get federal money.

That is, these pseudo-Christian businesses accept, at least for their employees, taxpayer money, but they refuse to serve certain taxpayers. This means that gays and lesbians pay taxes but have federal benefits denied to them. These businesses take taxpayer money then refuse to pass along government benefits to their employees.

One would think that conservatives would be really upset about Americans being taxed while being denied the services for which their tax money pays. But, so long as it is people whom the conservatives hate, then it does not matter if they are required to pay taxes for benefits that they do not receive.

Their attitude toward people they don’t like is, tax them and then tell them they are going to Hell.