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• Friday, February 16, 2007 11:18 AM

  to LeCastor

  First of all, I thank you for hearing me out and respecting my opinion, something some other letter writers seem incapable of doing.

  To answer your questions....

  1. Yes, I understand that people who believe like I do are in the minority. I also understand that the average person, if they are themselves not religious, will probably only have heard of the vicious, self-serving, hate-filled variety of faith propogated largely by political conservatives. But these people represent a grave misreading of Christianity, not Christianity itself. I think it is ignorant of people to make assumptions about Christianity based on the actions of these people. You can make assumptions about "Christians," yes. But it would be ignorant to superimpose the narrow beliefs of today's bigots onto the faith itself, without actually studying it at all. I wish that people would not make generalizations about my faith, or any faith, when they know so little about it. That is my objection to Marcotte's insulting language. Rather than caricaturing or mocking narrow-minded Christians, she has taken it upon herself to attack the entire faith. In the attempt to criticize one particular Catholic policy, she has insulted many people who might have otherwise agreed with what she had to say.

  2. Although my take on the Bible is allegorical (after all, Jesus spoke almost exclusively through parables which were never meant to be taken literally), my faith in God is anything but. Whereas many conservative Christians apparently worship the literal words of the Bible, I interpret the Bible as revelation about humanity and our relationship to God, spoken through very human authors and canonized by very human authorities. I believe very strongly in God, and enjoy a sometimes maddeningly enigmatic personal relationship with God. The Bible informs us, particularly about Christ, but I don't think it was ever meant to rule our lives.

  However, while my belief in God is real and palpable, my faith in Christ is somewhat different. Christian ethicist H. Richard Niebuhr spoke for me when he wrote in his book, "The Responsible Self," that he confesses and believes Jesus Christ as his savior not because he knows that it is factually true, but because he identifies with the mission of Christ. That mission is merely the reconciliation of man to God and God to man. Even if Christ was not real, I would still consider myself a Christian because the Christian ideal of God's grace and love for us rings true to me, even without the physical manifestation of it. As such, I am very universalistic in my beliefs. I unflinchingly assert that the God worshipped by Jews and Muslims, as well as by people who cry out for an advocate in their suffering and a friend to share their joy, even if they do not know it as God, as well as the enlightenment and moral virtue sought by the Eastern religions, are all limited human perspectives of the same God.

  I also believe that people who are truly morally upright serve God even if they do not believe so.

  —Chloe
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