Letters to the Editor
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The Practice of Deception
This article comes at an interesting time for me. I just had a discussion with my son-in-law about Christianity and the search for truth, and have been cemeting (as it were) a few inklings on this.
I've had a pretty steady history of interfacings with fundamentalist Christians over the last 15 or so years, and feel I can see pretty clearly a kind of inside-out quality to the culture and values set. A strong, fairly penetrating culture of lying and self-deception seems to be the lifeblood of a lot of what goes under the name of Christianity in the U.S. Ironically, the Christ represented in the Gospels may have fully anticipated this; the present manifestation may well be exactly the kind of entrenched culture he was assailing as athwart divine purpose in his own time.
But I should get more specific. I don't have my lots cast in with this or that interpretation of scripture or overarching framework in which one "understands" Christ or his teaching. And, as such, I'm invariably the turd in the punchbowl of any "Christian" lovefest I attend. I have found many times that it is excruciatingly easy to call into question the veracity or even the spirtual efficacy of many cherished chestnuts of the pervading Christian culture. My conclusion is the same as that of Tom Paine in "The Age of Reason"; that misbegotten notions of doctrinal compliance only work what he called "moral mischief" among people. In other words, measured (cautious) reinforcement of qustionable beliefs, in controlled social environments of a well-intended acquiesence that passes for grace, only serves to train "the salt of the Earth" to become better and better liars. Well, isn't *that* a kick in the pants!
And I'll name names, here. I'm talking about the kinds of churches where DeLay and his ilk come to preach; and they are, sadly, legion. These are people ripe and ready for the most egregious kids of moral mischief. They're well trained. Very, very well trained. Their religion--as practiced, mind you--demands and accepts nothing less. I've been there; I've seen it. And I've even seen it recently, even though my main connections with that world have been cut in the last few years.
And, to bring this back to Joe's article, it's on display for all to see in recent political events. We see it in fundamentalist support for Bush II in spite of the fact that he's arguably a tyranical moral malefactor of the first order, and certainly not an exemplar of the kind of leader whose guide in matters moral or ethical would be Christ. If you actually attempt to address these issues among the Elect, you'll be shown the door. Even though they're going to live forever, they can't seem to muster up the time to reflect on whether what they claim to believe is actually true.
So: Where *are* their treasures stored up, anyway?