The Problem of Religion

I have an atheist friend who’s introduction to Christianity was a man standing in front of an abortion clinic with a picture of a surgically eviscerated fetus.  In the dying years of the last century I was introduced to the oppressive opinions of the religious right as they attempted to exert their will over me by telling me how to live, what I could and couldn’t do, and how they were trying to enact laws to enforce it.  It is small wonder to me why so many people are averse to religion and Christianity in particular.  

There is another face of Christianity. It is the face of people who are more concerned with the welfare of others than they are of themselves.  I see this played out in the tireless work of some of the volunteers in the ministry to the homeless in my church.  I saw this when I went to Ghana in 2007 with Habitat for Humanity, a Christian organization concerned with bringing affordable housing and clean water to the poorest of the world.  I saw this in Guatemala, where Christians were caring for the poor, the sick and the orphaned. 

But when we, as Christians, finally get someone to shyly step into a church, what are they greeted with?  A cold self-righteous, foreign, antiquated, out-of-touch religion or its opposite: a hip and trendy, watered-down, do-anything-you-want, sinless humanistic message to better yourself.

What if we greeted them with love?  Love that was born in long nights of serious scripture study.  Love born in the early morning prayers for people we don’t know and for our world - a world that teeters precariously between the brink of destruction and the birth of wild new hope.  A world that we see, with new eyes, as a place of endless opportunity to give of an inexhaustible love. A love that we are filled with every morning when we do our reading and praying before we go to work or at night when we go to bed.

And if you are a Christian and think that the demands on you are too great.  That you have every intention of reading your bible, but can’t get yourself to do it.  Know this: you are kept to a higher standard and are being constantly scrutinized by the people you interact with.  But you don’t have to do it by yourself. You have a source of wisdom and hope. Just turn off the television for ½ hour, take a sabbatical from the internet, and study the scripture, or just read it.  If that seems too hard, get a good book by a Christian author and immerse yourself in it.  If that doesn't sound attractive, say an honest prayer from the heart: “God, I am a sinner.  Make me into your image.” And then listen for the still small voice that will tell you what you must do.  It may come to you that minute in your thoughts, or the next day, or in a week, or from a homeless man, or your closest friend.  Listen for it.  Put yourself in a posture to hear it, by joining the homeless outreach or a small group or a 12 step program if you need it. If that’s too hard, how about this prayer: “God, I need love,” or even “God, help!” I believe those are the best prayers you could pray.  And they are the prayers and practices that will do no less than bring people in droves to a better life. A life not of “how am I going to get to heaven,” a life of “what, God, should I do next?”