What’s So Offensive About Christianity?

What’s So Offensive About Christianity?

By Jeff Messenger, Barkhamsted

I send my congratulations to Noel Ambery for being named The Voice’s "Best Religious Writer." Good work. I temper this compliment with the concern that Christianity has become very unpopular in Connecticut, however.

I still confess to being mystified by the enigmatic Noel Ambery. I am uncertain as to whether "she" is a male or female (I think a female) and whether she is agnostic, atheistic, Wiccan, or perhaps an adherent to another religion. Her articles are more focused on what she is against—the patriarchal Judeo-Christian culture, other established patriarchal religions, and their historical oppressions—than what she is for.

Perhaps she has read my submissions as well. I am a Christian apologist, and enjoy delving into the historical, archaeological and paranormal supports for the traditional Jesus and the Judaism from which he sprung. (Noel and most Voice readers would probably see me as ignorant and the enemy.) It is from this perspective that I would like to tackle the philosophic quandary Noel presented in "The Epitome of All Mysteries" in the October 19 edition of The Voice. He stated: "If this mythical god were actually in existence, why He, She or It never prevented the disaster of September 11 is puzzling to anyone of conscience."

This puzzle has bothered honest people through the ages, and is usually phrased as "If a good God exists, then how could he allow evil to harm good people?"

The classic Christian answer involves free will: that God allows humanity to choose its path, and to also suffer the tragic consequences of those choices. If God were to intercede with every injustice, crime and atrocity to occur throughout history, then the ethical and moral freedom we possess would be compromised. God would be our perpetual Orwellian "Big Brother" and keeper. If we didn't experience the horrible consequences of evil and criminal choices, then the weight of such ethical choices would never be known. As for the ultimate fate of the victims of evil, I personally believe that they pass on to another existence and a state of grace.

I would like to address some other comments Noel made. Is God a He, She or It? Gender is a physical condition, and the eternal God of the Bible is better defined as an omnipotent Spirit—a Spirit and force unrestrained by human terms and perspectives. We Christians believe God was made incarnate in that rabbi named Yeshu or Jesus—and yes, he did have a gender.

Does the Bible contain "embellishments, absurdities, contradictions and atrocities"? As I have previously said, I believe it does. Yes, even as a Christian, I believe the Bible is part history lesson, part morality lesson, with some cultural biases and propaganda thrown in here and there. But I believe the book to be the inspired word of God. I believe "inspired" is to be differentiated from "flawless and perfect" word of God—and this distinction will no doubt anger all of my fundamentalist friends.

Consider how this obscure country carpenter and rabbi stepped onto the historic stage 2000 years ago and changed human history as we know it. He never waged war or advocated violence, as many Old Testament figures and the later Mohammed did, so the fact that so-called Christians have been violent through the following ages is rather irrelevant to me. These "Christians" chose evil in the name of Christ. No, this rabbi preached love, faith, self-control, forgiveness and mercy. He elevated and respected women as no other man of antiquity had done before. He embraced the outcasts and opposed the self-righteous. He healed infirmities, and exhibited power over nature. And he joined the ranks of all innocent victims of evil as he suffered a torturous execution. God demonstrated through his resurrection that evil may often win the battle, but it will never win the war.

For all non-Christians who find Christianity so distasteful, do you find anything offensive with how I just summarized it?