Effects of complicated Christianity

By: Sara Gwin

Posted: 7/2/08

There has always been something incredibly fascinating to me about religion. In particular, Christianity is something I have spent the better part of 15 years trying to understand.
I picked up the Bible at a very young age as I began my foray into literature.
From a reader's point of view, I loved how complicated it was. It features parables, supposed real life accounts of Jesus and other biblical figures, ancient history, psalms, proverbs, Apocalyptic books and letters, among other forms of text that may or may not be easily apparent.
Texts can have a myriad of interpretations depending upon the age, sex, class, race and sexual orientation of the reader, not to mention the differences that can develop if he or she believes that the Bible is the literal or inspired word of God, and what type of Christian, or other religion or non-religion a person might be.
I relished in the challenge to learn from the different perspectives and interpretations in order to better understand the Bible. I enjoyed engaging others in philosophical debates and always felt that I gained so much more by questioning and examining what I believed.
It was so interesting to me that even the Ten Commandments, the seemingly most straight-forward part of the Bible were open to interpretation.
For example, the commandment on adultery is often interpreted as more than the physical act of cheating by a husband or wife, but is a Commandment to not have pre-marital sex (as one would be cheating on one's future spouse) or even lustful thoughts toward another.
As I grew older and got a better understanding of history, it became interesting to look at texts from a historical perspective. Revelation is an Apocalyptic book that promised the second coming of Jesus within the lifetime of the author and has subsequently been used to foretell the upcoming Apocalypse during numerous centuries since then. Yet by considering that the text was written during the brutal persecution of Christians by the Romans, this writing could have been some semblance of hope for the author and others during that difficult time.
As captivating as it was to read the Bible from a literary standpoint, it is far more than just a book. The Bible represents a belief system that shapes the morals and values of the followers of Christianity, as well as other religions like Judaism and Islam.
I first began to question faith when I saw how people lived their lives based upon their interpretation of Scripture. The Bible has been, and is currently used, to justify everything from sexism and heterosexism to racism and religious intolerance.
As a child of the '90s, I remember Christian extremists bombing abortion providers in the name of God. To them, it was "justifiable homicide" as it was believed that God's law is above human law.
The Bible has been cited as validation for slavery as well as against interracial marriage. Today, groups like "Focus on the Family" are spending millions of dollars "defending marriage" by working to prevent same-sex couples from obtaining rights already given to their opposite-sex counterparts. These groups use the Bible to excuse their discrimination. One of the passages often cited is Genesis 19, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.
God sent two angels (who were male) to visit the one righteous man (in the eyes of God), Lot. When the neighbors visited Lot's house, they asked to know the angels in the biblical sense. Lot refused to give them up, even offering up his daughters to be raped in their places (apparently this was still righteous in God's eyes).
God then destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but spared the life of the "righteous" Lot and his family. Some believe that by allowing same-sex marriage in this country, it could be the final straw to anger God over what was believed to be an already increasingly sinful nation.
One of the interesting aspects about this faith is the impact of hell as social control. People are brought to Christianity by way of being "saved."
By accepting that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again for our sins, we can enter into heaven when our body perishes from Earth. By being "saved," individuals can escape the unimaginable devastation expected in hell where people are tortured infinitely for their finite sins committed on Earth. There can be a fear of living without this faith as well as a fear within the faith of not living the right kind of life for God. In trying to understand God's will, it can be difficult to know how to live and what impact someone else's choice could have them or others.
There is a growing evangelical movement in the United States that has begun to get more involved in politics. Some credit the presidency of George W. Bush to this ever increasing evangelical voting bloc. The attacks of Sept. 11 were committed by religious extremists of another religion, Islam, to kill for the same God. We have seen the impact of President Bush's faith-based initiatives, like his abstinence-only-until-marriage education, which seems to show the irrational belief that if we throw enough money into the program, teenagers will go against their natural instincts.
Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, some Christians have led a crusade to overturn that decision. Instead of following reason and the example set by Western Europe with their low abortion rate offset by wide access to inexpensive contraceptives and comprehensive sex-education, we have seen groups fight against both of these because of a belief that sex belongs in a marriage for the role of reproduction. There is a belief that voting for McCain in the upcoming election will lead to the overturn of Roe v. Wade after the setup of Bush's court-stacking of pro-life Supreme Court judges and the continuation of the war in Iraq, and potential war in Iran to fight the "evil" of Islam.
I don't doubt that a belief in God can have a positive impact on a person's life. Some people have done tremendous acts of service based upon their faith. Some interpretations of faith lead people to be loving, open-minded and accepting of others.
Yet, on the flip-side, people commit monstrously inhumane acts toward others based upon their interpretation of the Bible and the will of God. As a free nation, we protect the right of individuals to follow whatever religion they wish. We may be a predominately Christian nation, but that shouldn't mean that our laws and decisions should be based upon the biblical interpretations of leaders. We cannot let interpretations and fear of the unknown justify the blatant discrimination of groups of people while validating the privilege or oppression of groups to one another, which can lead to the justification of hate and intolerance. We must take a critical look at the role of faith both personally and socially in order to better relate to people and write policies that affect others nationally and globally.