As One Lousy Christian to Another

Why is it that so many "Christians" honor the life of Jesus with words, but refuse to live as he taught? I'm not just making accusations here; I've called myself a Christian a time or three myself, when forced into selecting a belief from a series of multiple choice responses on certain redundant questionnaires, but I'm as hypocritical as any of you on practicing meekness, mercy, and peacemaking, and that business about forgiving those who sin against us "seventy times seven" times is out of the question.

I’m a lousy Christian, so I don’t call myself one most of the time, even though I believe that Christ’s teachings were some of the most important lessons in the history of humankind. Still, if it’s not a multiple-choice question, or if I can choose “other,” I do. Although I’m a believer in the Higher Power, I do not claim to know her name or nature. (I’d like to be a Transcendentalist, but I’ve never lived up to those standards either, and besides, I don’t think it quite qualifies as a religion anyway.)

But it seems that many American “Christians” have so utterly given in to manipulations of terror that they've completely lost their bearings. Christ’s commandment to "love foreigners as ourselves" is invisible in their lives. Some of the hard core self-righteous even long for the day when they can watch certain non-believers burn in hell, and they take proud comfort in emulating an angry, ruthless God that torments the enemies of his people and reigns supreme.

It strikes me that those who apply every morsel of violent nastiness in the Bible literally, but throw all sorts of theological gymnastics of avoidance against Jesus' new commandments, to love enemies and to love one another, might not deserve to be called "Christians."

OOPS. Did I say that? Well, OK, maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but I thought it and I said it, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend, really. What I mean is, if some of us feel we have to deny love and embrace such violence, might we more appropriately be called "Fundamentalist Extremist Christians," or at least "Old Testament" believers?

Here's an existential thought: Maybe it doesn't matter much what we call ourselves. Maybe we shouldn’t care. Is that where we are? I hope not. I think it does matter, and if some can claim freedom of speech when they talk carelessly and fearfully and hatefully of others, I can claim the same freedom when I ask them to either live up to their professed faith or adopt a more appropriate label for themselves.

I’m sorry if I sound bitter, but it seems so many people don’t care, and I’m no Jesus, but I spent 36 years trying so hard to make my students care, and I sometimes wonder, What the hell good did it do? Time for a glass of wine.