Letters to the Editor
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There are many many Progressive Christians
This man is choosing between being a born again right wing Christian and being an atheist . Those aren't the only two choices. I'm a progressive Christian , I love the Bible and have studied it in a scholarly way for four years. Many Christians do not take the Bible literally , but reflect on it. Christians are New Testament people , if you studied the Old Testament at length like I have you would understand why the New Testament is considered "The Good News" . The Old Testament is filled with law after law , but when Jesus arrived he was telling people they have gotten it all wrong. That they had forgotten that what God wanted was a loving relationship with his people and for his people to have healthy loving relationships. Jesus explained that they had gotten too focused on all the rules. The right wing Christians are focusing on all the rules once again, they have become people of the Old Testament. But not all the other Christians , we are more focused on how to have healthy relationships with God and with our fellow human beings.
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I believe...
In the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He is the only real God!!
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johnnyrandom
Isn't he made of linguine?
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There are many agnostics and atheists in the local churches
They just don't generally feel the need to spread the knowledge of our unbelief around.
I think some Salon letter wirters forget that not everyone wants to wear a t-shirt saying "I'm an unbeliever and I'm available for argument."
Some folks who don't believe in anything religous personally, don't have a problem with their loved ones believing if it makes their lives happier and fuller and don't have a problem not telling their loved ones about their unbelief if it makes their loved ones rest easier at night.
Real Live Baptist Preacher had an excellent blog entry way back in the day when he was over at the Well about the fact that he'd realized at some point that the whol religion thing was a total fraud. Then he set himself down and decided he'd believe it anyway, because of the good and the meaning it brought to his life and to his world.
The folks who don't believe and do go to church most certainly are NOT going to tell the majority of the types of folks who post on Salon letters about it. It's private and not something they want to argue about; those are two things that someone who posts on Salon isn't likely to be. (Although there are exceptions, to be sure.)
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Panask
For example, in Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve that if they eat the fruit, "On that day thou shalt die." But they eat the fruit, and they DON'T die on that day. Any reader not already immersed in Christian belief would look at that and say something strange is going on - God was wrong, or he changed his mind, or he lied. Which would lead to questioning the literal truth of the story.
But if you're "lucky," some silver-tongued minister will explain to you that "by 'die,' God meant 'die spiritually,' which they did."
I believe the meaning of God's proclamation is that after eating the fruit, beginning on that day, Adam and Eve would now die; whereas before they were everlasting, and would have never died.
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snarlingcoyote
While I respect the quiet atheists right to not join the fight, I kind of wish they would get out of the way.
You don't have to be an active atheist, you don't have to argue for it, but if you are actively supporting a religious institution even though you think it is a bunch of bunk, you are a liar.
And you aren't lying because you think it does good. You are lying because you want an easy life and know exactly what it would mean to go public.
And thus I view those atheists with more contempt, than I view the honest theist, who actually believes and says so.
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It's a well kept secret... But we are winning..
We non religious I mean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
The non religious as a percentage of population was 8.4% in 1990 and 15% in 2001.
Far and away the fastest growing "religious" demographic in terms of absolute numbers.
And yet we non religious have zero political representation here in "The Land of the Free", where even supposedly liberal Democratic politicians take great pains to let us know of their "faith".
I find it endlessly entertaining that the most self professedly "Christian" of the modern democracies has an incarceration rate that is nearly an order of magnitude greater than that of our less religiously zealous neighbors.
And yet Christianity is supposed to be all about forgiveness, eh? As the Christ forgave His very executioners. "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."
It's no accident that the sin Jesus the Christ most often and vehemently railed against was that of hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy, thy name is America.
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Lets Take The Fraud Out of Faith
We invented God to satisfy our spiritual longings. Naturally we would like to be eternal and grasp what is beyond the veil of death. Also, some eternal, overreaching message about how to relate to our human brothers and to act in our lives works and helps us.
I am a Christian and a Roman Catholic(probably if the Pope vetted me personally he would kick me out). What does that mean? I think Christ was a historical figure and a prophet. His message has been extremely important for the world. Was he the son of God and man? That is beyond the veil and up to our faith. I think Christ's best words and parables, about the individual faith and not works or priestly approval causing salvation, about the last coming first, about living in glass houses and not throwing stones, about forgiveness, compassion, second chances, all these messages are extremely important in the success of our western civilization. However, this religion is not the only answer and should not exclude other belief systems like Buddhism, which has been successful in many Asian countries and promotes good living among citizens. It also has a cleansing belief in detachment from material wealth and goods and spreading love and alms which we would do well to ponder. I think Buddhism is a definite factor in why China and South Asian countries have been able to make huge
economic progress.
I think the fanaticism of the Middle East--only we are right, kill the infidel, war for religion-is the major reason that this area has not progressed. Unfortunately, the extreme US evangelicals mimic this fanaticism and have caused freebooters like Ronald Reagan and the Bushes and their ilk to hijack politics for the last 30 years. I cannot take the Bush conversion, or those of other religious freebooters, seriously. He prays at the Machiavellian church just as 4 generations of his relatives have.
Lets go back to Kierkegaards leap of faith and our own private beliefs that help us be kind and good souls on this earth. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This applies to starting wars, waterboarding, killing and violence in all situations, except our own mortal danger,raising our families not for maximum economic progress but for being kind, visionary and generous people and detachment from excessive material goods. I am an old guy and live in San Cristobal in southern Mexico. I have little, but hugely more than most of my neighbors in Mexicano barrio. I go to the beautiful masses and constant religious celebrations and fiestas here to experience happiness and try to practice this in my life.
I love my country, the US, but am sickened by the last 30 years and what we have sold out just to get some glitz. I support Barack Obama because I think he gets it about how corrupt and destructive America has become and will work to change it.