September 3, 2011 A Challenge to Look Within

There was an interesting letter to the editor this morning in the St. Lucie Tribune. The writer begins:

For the 11 years I have lived in Florida the editorial page has been filled with letters from atheists and religious believers. It has taken me a lifetime to come to the conclusion that I'm an atheist. I also feel that I'm a good Christian. One may ask how is this possible? I do not believe in an anthropomorphic god, but I have lived by the teachings of Christ. I also believe in the Ten Commandments and believe that Christ was perhaps the greatest teacher who ever lived.

The writer goes on to point out evidence of the good life he has lived under the influence of Christ's teachings: he works with a charitable organization. He ministers to the poor. He closes his letter this way:

I realize that I open myself to a great deal of criticism, however, when you criticize me you will be criticizing one who lives his life based on the teachings of Christ.

Readers have already left a hefty collection of comments. My favorite was the one that says you can't obey the Ten Commandments without faith in God. That's hilarious! You can't obey them WITH faith in God. That's why Jesus came! NO ONE could obey God's perfect Law because none of us is perfect. Not the writer of the comment. Not the guy who wrote the letter to the editor. Not you. Not I. And if you don't believe me, believe these verses:

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 

Proverbs 20:9  Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"? 

Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one.

Other letters cheer the writer on for being an atheist or that he is more an agnostic. One rebuttal maintains that no one cares what he believes.

Jesus Christ cares. I'm sure of that.

There is a temptation to take up an offense for the Church, but dare we argue with a man who lives his life based on the teachings the Church cherishes? He opened up a dialogue by writing a public letter, welcoming, in effect, response. Opinion is opinion. One person has just as much right to express his than the next. I doubt that anything that was written online, or anything that might appear in the future in print, or anything I might say here, will change his mind, but there is a legitimate reason to try, however awkwardly some might try, however ruffled a few feathers may appear. But I would advise restraint, nevertheless, at least until a healthy amount of soul-searching and thought has gone on.

Mahatma Gandhi, the great leader and philosopher who inspired the masses of India to work for independence from Great Britain through civil disobedience, said to a church leader: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

We've already established, with the brief passages above, that this last is true. None of us is righteous; therefore we are unlike Christ, who holy and righteous. But perhaps Gandhi was not referring to our inability to fully obey God so much as our inability to fully love those around us.

The writer in the newspaper may well have been put off by the hypocrisy he sees in the Church, by the intolerance and lack of mercy, by the chasm between what Christians often say we believe and our actions. Perhaps there are personal reasons why he can't make “the leap of faith” as he calls it, to accept the death and resurrection of Jesus. One cannot possibly know the many people and events that have colored his thinking.

Dare we judge him, then? I think not. In Mark 9:40, Jesus said that whoever is not against us (i.e. Jesus and his followers) is for us. I'm taking the verse out of context, obviously, but the words are valid. Those who have not yet concluded that Jesus is Lord are not the enemy – especially those who, like the man who wrote the letter, are seekers of the truth. He is trying, as best he can, it sounds like, to live a good life, a productive life, a life of compassion. Why would anyone want to dismiss his efforts, or challenge him?

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that those who seek, will find. Instead of trying to convince this person that he is wrong, perhaps our time is better spent looking at our own hearts. If I say that I DO believe in God, that I DO follow Christ – not because he was a good teacher, but because he is God-in-the-flesh and therefore worthy of all obedience and worship – perhaps I need to ask myself if my life is reflecting it as well as this guy. Saying he doesn't believe, he apparently bears the fruit of belief in his life.

I say that I do. Is my fruit as evident? In some areas, I can honestly answer “yes.” In others? Not so much.