22 things that Christians believe
I know a Japanese man who is a fairly enthusiastic observer of American culture. He broadly samples the news and U.S. films, and he is a fairly competent English speaker, enabling him to voice his ideas rather well. He was surprised when I told him I am a Christian, because his ideas about Christians are mostly based on the culture war between Republican party-supporting American conservative Christianity and Democratic party-supporting secular culture, rather than being based on the Japanese Christian population right here. He listed a number of socially conservative American evangelical positions that I refuted or denied, or modified. He thought all Christians were anti-abortion, pro-gun, Republican-supporting pro-business Capitalists. I tried to explain how the positions he was describing are more peculiarly American political positions than universal Christian principles, which seemed to be a novel suggestion to him. I tried to explain the idea of “identity politics” and “wokeness,” and explained that the belief that organized religion is organized around culture war is largely a conceit of the irreligious. He was surprised. I told him I was a Christian and a liberal. He was surprised. He had never imagined a liberal Christian before, which I think shows the extent to which the whole field has been monopolized, slanted, muddied and warped within and by the U.S.
The belief that organized religion is organized around culture war is largely a conceit of the irreligious.
Christians cannot be stupid. I generally take conservatism and stupidity as synonymous. Willful, deliberate, wanton stupidity disqualifies claims to faith. First, the God of the Bible wants us to be intelligent and to pursue discovery through learning and education. It says so many times in Scripture. So, the best education for a Christian is synonymous with the best education, period. A Christian church is not just a house of worship, but a house of learning, too. I don’t mean just learning about Christianity, about the Bible, about religion, but learning about everything. And, when I say “everything,” I mean EVERYTHING! A proper church library ought to provide visitors with information from A to Z, from auto mechanics to zoology.
Second, there is the proposition that humans can be said to have a moral obligation to be intelligent - a proposition which I favor.
It seems to me that many people today who call themselves Christians are, in fact, not. And, what passes for Christianity among many Americans today (America as a special case study) is in fact a grotesque abomination. So, what does a proper Christian believe? Apart from the many theological beliefs, I think that a proper Christians believe
1) in liberalism. Christians are natural liberals. The notion of the brotherhood of Man demands it, and Conservative Christianity is an aberration - maybe even an oxymoron.
2) in Communism; the original Church was a commune. I don’t want to hear Christians talk about the evils of Communism, because the stupid, deceitful and grotesque hypocrisy of it makes me want to vomit.
3) in a metaphorical interpretation of Scripture. Proper Christians DO NOT take the Bible literally.
4) in facts; Christians love facts. Christians do not deny facts. True religion is fact-based.
5) in science. Science and religion are neither incompatible nor disqualifying.
6) in the Big Bang model of the universe;
7) in the geologic age of the earth and continental drift via plate tectonics;
8) in Naturalism and Universalism as appropriate tools for Earth Studies;
9) in dinosaurs;
10) in the evolution of species through natural selection;
11) in universal health care;
12) in sex education;
13) in privacy;
14) in LGBT rights;
15) in a woman’s right to choose. True Christians are well aware of both the impropriety and the danger of sticking their noses into other people’s genitals.
16) in the separation of Church and State, because Christians are sensitive to their own aptitude for depravity;
17) in an edgy, subversive sense of humour;
18) in silent prayer. Praying aloud is anathema - even a blasphemy. In the New Testament, St. Paul reaches us NEVER to pray aloud and within hearing range of others, as part of a strategy to avoid making a spectacle of our faith;
19) Christians do not believe that God cares about our national politics, about our political parties, our social issues or our sports.
20) in vaccinations, because true Christians believe in the germ theory of disease;
21) in community churches. Christians do not believe in mega-churches or televangelism.
22) toilet paper properly should be hung in the over position.