I am often asked why I am so anti-Christianity; truth be known, I'm not, nor am I anti-religion. I know that may be surprising to some, but it really shouldn't be. See, the fact is, Christianity in of itself is nothing more than an ideology, much like Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism. And, as with any other ideology, Christianity has its good points.
My problem is with the people who say they follow that ideology, yet their actions provide an entirely different show. The above phrase is one prime example of this; I have heard it repeated over and over. Oh, you can love the sinner and still hate the sin! And, while some say it reminds them that we are all "sinners", most often I hear it used with the clipped tone and that judgmental smile which lets me know right off the bat that this person thinks he or she is a whole hell of a lot better than I am.
That's one thing I have no use for.
First of all, who gets to define "sin"? There are those things which we all know are ethically wrong - lying, stealing, murder - and which coincide with Biblical teachings (again, though, they must be looked at in the context of the biblical application, because plenty of lying, stealing and murder took place all throughout the Old Testament). However, there are other things which are not so concrete. I love asking people who enjoy quoting Leviticus if they like shrimp, lobster and pork chops; all three are proscribed against in that same book. Usually I will get the comment that the New Testament gave us permission to eat those things, to which I respond, well, if the New Testament is more important, then why are you quoting Leviticus? Then I point out that the New Testament didn't give women permission to wear pants or cut their hair, but that doesn't seem to stopping a whole lot of people...at which point the conversation is usually done. (Admittedly, my favorite response to this point is that we have to look at the time period in which the Bible was written. Really? Well, have fun with THAT merry-go-round.)
I haven't always been an atheist; I do know some who have never believed, but it was a struggle for me to reach this point. Even after the misery I endured because of more than a few so-called "Christians", I still wanted to believe that there was a supreme being, a life force, a spirit out there to protect me. However, as I grew older, and started studying the Bible for myself, I began to realize that a lot of what was taught to be good and holy was nothing more than man's excuse to impose his own hatreds, ignorances and prejudices on those who didn't adhere to his system of beliefs, a practice far from exclusive to Christianity.
I often hear about the "War on Christianity"; first of all, this is absurd - you can't have a war on a concept. Secondly, if you really look and really listen, many of these so called Christians have declared war on everyone else. if you are gay, you're bad. If you are a strong, independent woman, you're bad (unless, of course, you're Sarah Palin). If you are a single mother, well, you aren't quite as bad, but you'd better be on your knees praying every night for forgiveness. If you have had an abortion, God help your soul. And if you're an atheist...well, you are beyond help. They have a mold, and you'd better be ready to be squeezed into it.
I'm not saying all Christians are this way; I have good friends who are LDS, Christian and Catholic, and I understand they believe what they believe, and I say more power to them. They know I am not a believer, and I know they believe, and I respect them and their beliefs.
However, when someone like Pat Robertson, or James Dobson, or the late, but definitely not great, Jerry Falwell (along with how many others who have gotten very rich off the very weak) insist that they alone are the true faces of the Christianity, that they alone define what Christianity is, and what it should be, and when they say God speaks through them (and he will speak to you, too, if you send a generous donation), then I have issues. If God wants to talk to me, he can damn well show up on my doorstep and do it himself. He'd better not send one of these pompous, greasy haired, oil dipped Joel Osteen wannabes to do his speaking for him. (To me, it's akin to having your mother break up with your boyfriend for you on Facebook. If you want something done, have the balls to do it yourself.) Then, when these people end up with a backlash because they've said something stupid (again), they cry that we've declared war on them and God. (And to help them fight this war, send another generous donation. God will appreciate you providing his soldiers with an armor-plated Mercedes Benz.)
And they claim that only they are qualified through God to tell me what the Bible says. Sorry, but I am not illiterate, and am perfectly capable of reading the Bible myself, and, like most atheists, it something I have done several times, and probably more times than they have.
Sometimes, I think that's the part that scares a lot of so called Christian leaders, too; we are not suppose to be educated in the Bible - we are just suppose to believe everything we're told. I remember reading the comments when the Texas Board of Education decided to emphasize our nation's "Christian" history by having textbooks rewritten to reflect such. I would easily estimate that 80% of the posts in favor of the decision were written by people who couldn't spell their own names. The writing was atrocious, the grammar was atrocious, and the spelling was just beyond description. The more I read, the more I wondered if these pastors and reverends and religious leaders don't bank on that fact; the reason they get to define what the Bible says is because their congregations can't, or won't, read what is actually written for themselves. People don't want to take the responsibility to learn what this book actually says, and so they let people like Dobson and Robertson and Osteen and Rick Warren do the thinking for them, and all they have to do is parrot what they've been led to believe is true. Then they call it sin, because they've been told it's sin.
But, by God, they still love you anyhow.
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