bignoseduglyguy

Casting stones

My good friend Chuck has written a starkly honest and though-provoking post entitled 'sometimes christians irritate me...' on a difficult quandary he faces. Chuck is, amongst many other things, the man behind FlockHosting, the Christian web hosting service he formed "to help spread the gospel and share God with others". Yesterday, he was asked by Person A to ban Person B from a chatroom he administers on Person A's behalf because Person B had transgressed/slid back/been unChristian in the eyes of Person A. From my admittedly agnostic point of view, Chuck's faith is, ostensibly, the same as Person A's (and Person B's for that matter). However, the way that Chuck practises that faith in his daily life would seem to be more than a little different to Person A, for it would seem that Chuck's faith tells him that banning Person B from the chatroom is an act of condemnation, something not in keeping with the ethos he personally subscribes to.

I was prompted to comment on Chuck's post because, as the agnostic husband of a Christian partner, I have encountered my fair share of lecturing, persuasion and 'encouragement' from those who seek to turn me into a 'suitable' - for suitable, read Christian - partner for my wife. Despite this, I count a fair number of Christians (amongst other faiths) as good and treasured friends and acquaintances. It was just such a couple that I and SWMBO spent yesterday evening with, having take-out food and discussing emigration possibilities, as they're from North Island, NZ where we have considered emigrating to. As we discussed the reasons for looking for a different type of life from the one we have at present, we found it interesting that many of my reasons were entirely compatible with a 'Christian' point of view; namely seeking a sense of community, amongst people who have sound moral and ethical values, where there is a supportive, nuturing atmosphere for kids and folk care for the environment & those less able amongst them. I said I wasn't surprised by this as I have always believed that one is able to espouse what are held to be Christian values without being a Christian, a point of view that some Christian friends agree with and which others vehemently do not.

Going over the issues contained in Chuck's post has prompted me to wonder why I/we feel the need to append a faith to such things; why I am happy to talk about Christian values (or Islamic or Buddhist values for that matter) as if they belong to others by dint of their faith alone; why I genuinely embrace and cherish things like a sense of community and caring for the environment yet I have previously shied away from stating it more clearly. Perhaps I do so for fear of being branded as a happy-clappy, sandal-wearing, Bible-toting nut like the those who seem to be drawn to using 'their' religion, as distinct from their faith, as some sort of 'sword of truth', using it to divine right and wrong in the lives and actions of others and then judge them by the results they find.

The upshot of all this cerebral activity is that I realise that, as with a good many things in my life, I care little for the judgements and pronouncements of others, which is not to say that I do not care about the judgements and pronouncements of others. Smallmindedness, selfishness and bigotry of all kinds should be challenged where they are met. However, on a quiet Sunday in February, it's enough for me that I know my own mind, my place in things and where I fit in other's lives.