Letters to the Editor
-
Unsmiley
'What is all this Jesus bashing crap?'
It's not 'Jesus bashing', it's 'Jesus quoting'. I'm quoting the actual words of Jesus. I'm pointing out that - unlike Old Testament and Koranic figures - we're never told He smiles or laughs. If He does, if I'm misquoting or taking out of context or basically wrong ... well, show me where.
I'm going on what the Bible itself says about Jesus. Yes, it may be a flawed, imprecise record, but it's the agreed Christian text. It's what Christians say they believe in. If you're using Jesus as a role model, it's the ... well ... model. It's the only record we have of what He was like.
He shows all sorts of other emotions. We're told all sorts of other things. But He doesn't smile or laugh.
What I'm saying wasn't even vaguely controversial until recently. Now we're told Jesus was a bit of a hippy, but very pro-family and His pro-life stance would probably have Him voting Republican if he was alive now, that His main message was 'wear a little Jesus badge and go to church every so often, and it'll work out fine'. It's nonsense. It's utterly wrong. Psychological projection of smug baby boomers, encouraged by churches with dollar signs in their eyes.
Why is this relevant to matter at hand? Because we're talking about assumptions and what we've always been told. That people who say things like:
'Well enjoy the dirt bath. I'm living for goddam ever.'
Are the nice guys, the solution not the problem, the good ones. When, patently, only a narcissist and a sadist could possibly be happy with that as an answer. There's a whole WWJD? movement that, every time, decides Jesus would basically do exactly what they were planning to do anyway.
You can enjoy the dirt bath too, sir. But you're too busy smugly asserting that you'll soon be out of here. In fact, turn Pascal's wager round - if you're wrong, and there isn't an afterlife, and the dirt ball is all that there is, are you happy that you being here made the dirt ball even a little bit better?
Yes, questioning and challenging is part of growing up, of being a teenager. But the bit I think Cary could have emphasized more:
Young and Confused ... your questioning shouldn't stop when you hit twenty. It certainly shouldn't ever stop because someone else says 'I believe' or 'my religion says' or 'screw what other people think, we're going to heaven'.
I'll tell you what I think, you're free to take it or leave it: When it comes to religion, spirituality or ethics, the questions are far more interesting, compelling and less self-centered than any of the answers anyone's ever settled on. Keep asking questions and even the most basic assumptions, keep doubting the answers.