2008 Woodie Awards
fish and bicycles
One of Satan's Minions
Alice Price
Issue date: 2/1/02 Section: Opinion
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Alice Price
I'm going to apologize in advance for the seriousness of this column. I have never, ever written two un-funny pieces in a row. If jaded reflections on the state of the world bother you, read again next month, when I'll try to be in a more humorous mode.
I was at Star of India last weekend (a loudly charming sort of place, if you haven't been), when a group of mildly geeky friends and I got into one of those quasi-intellectual conversations about religion. In response to one of my "liberal" statements, one friend asked, "So what parts of Christianity do you believe?"
Christianity isn't a pick-and-choose sort of thing, of course; but a lot of people, Christians included, labor under the misconception that Christianity is a set of beliefs, laid out in the Gospels, the questionable and often misogynist Epistles of Paul, and the ever-present, looming ghost of Revelation, that say exactly what and how we should believe. As a good Methodist, I could quote Wesley's four "table legs" to say why Scripture isn't everything, but my point now is more inclusive than that. It is as impossible to lump all Christians together under a set of labels as it is to say that Reform and Orthodox Jews must have the same attitudes about everything. For example, I fully believe it is possible to be Christian and not to believe that believers can handle snakes and not be harmed. I also believe that it is possible to be Christian and believe that Mary was not a virgin. I also believe that it is possible to be Christian and not to be scared, persecuted, and separatist.
By all rights I belong on the infamous StuMo "list" of those who need counseling to return to the fold. But I left the conservative Christian camp because I believe that a faith is not built on unquestioning belief, but instead is dependent on questioning, searching, and finding the answers to those questions on one's own terms. I understand that not everyone may see his or her faith in that way, and that's okay. However, I'd like to remind everyone that the persecuted minority doesn't speak for all of us.
I'm going to apologize in advance for the seriousness of this column. I have never, ever written two un-funny pieces in a row. If jaded reflections on the state of the world bother you, read again next month, when I'll try to be in a more humorous mode.
I was at Star of India last weekend (a loudly charming sort of place, if you haven't been), when a group of mildly geeky friends and I got into one of those quasi-intellectual conversations about religion. In response to one of my "liberal" statements, one friend asked, "So what parts of Christianity do you believe?"
Christianity isn't a pick-and-choose sort of thing, of course; but a lot of people, Christians included, labor under the misconception that Christianity is a set of beliefs, laid out in the Gospels, the questionable and often misogynist Epistles of Paul, and the ever-present, looming ghost of Revelation, that say exactly what and how we should believe. As a good Methodist, I could quote Wesley's four "table legs" to say why Scripture isn't everything, but my point now is more inclusive than that. It is as impossible to lump all Christians together under a set of labels as it is to say that Reform and Orthodox Jews must have the same attitudes about everything. For example, I fully believe it is possible to be Christian and not to believe that believers can handle snakes and not be harmed. I also believe that it is possible to be Christian and believe that Mary was not a virgin. I also believe that it is possible to be Christian and not to be scared, persecuted, and separatist.
By all rights I belong on the infamous StuMo "list" of those who need counseling to return to the fold. But I left the conservative Christian camp because I believe that a faith is not built on unquestioning belief, but instead is dependent on questioning, searching, and finding the answers to those questions on one's own terms. I understand that not everyone may see his or her faith in that way, and that's okay. However, I'd like to remind everyone that the persecuted minority doesn't speak for all of us.
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