Page 2
Opinions
Nov. 1,2001
Editorial
The importance of finding passion
Some people go their
whole lives wifliout really
knowing what it is they
believe. Some pec^le drift
through life without ever
understanding who they are or
what they are passionate
about These past few
months, here at Elon and all
over the world, we have been
presented with problems of
monumental impact, that have
shaped our liv^ and forced us
to question our actions. We
have been given the qp)itu-
nity to take a stand, fight for our
rights and most important, for
what we believe in.
Whether it is religion,
philosophy, the law or a college
policy, it is important for us to
remanber in these tuibulent
times, there is always room for
change. It is what keeps our
momentum going; knowing
that we can get better and make
a bigger impact on the world.
This week, we wish to
acknowledge and encourage
those who continually strive to
make a difference. And to those
who are having trouble finding
their place in this busy worid
where anything goes, college is
about finding yourself. Keep
looking. When you find that
passion you will see it is
Vs ■ A'l-
The views and ideas expressed in Opinions are not necessarily those of
The. Pendulum, its staff or Elon University.
Many of today’s Christians miss the point of Christianity
Josh Davis
Opinions Editor
You are a sinner. None of you are
perfect. Only Jesus led a perfect life,
and did I mention that he’s your only
hope of living an eternal life in
heaven?
' The above paragraph outlines the
basic doctrine of many self-pro-
claimed Christians, each of them be
lieving that Jesus gave his life for the
sins of man. If I hadn’t grown up in
a Southem Baptist community with
a vague sense of Christianity, I might
call the above ideas those of a con
fused and illogical generation follow-
ing the historically-distorted
preachings of a delusional and sui
cidal vagrant.
But I grew up in America, and
I’ve seen the Reaganesque way in
which Christianity is induced into our
society and more diverse global cul
tures as a fix-all to life’s problems,
without familiar or sanely logically
explanation. Therefore, I accept that
most followers of popular Christian-
itnif
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turned.
ity are simply bhnd to its inherent
faults. I call it Reaganesque because
the idea that Christianity is a solu
tion to all human problems makes
about as much sense as Reagan’s
“trickle-down” economics did in the
80s.
Maybe it is time that we start
making what we believe the part of
our lives that we question most, in
stead of that part of our lives that we
leave untouched and set in stone.
Many Christians are too afraid to
question their beliefs in the face of a
popular majority.
But fear is not a concept Jesus was
familiar with. He didn’t pressure his
listeners into following him as many
Christian groups and leaders do to
day.
The most recent example of in
stitutions scaring people into religion
are the numerous “haunted houses”
operated by churches that include a
Christian “salvation” theme. These
establishments operate in total hy
pocrisy to their objective to promote
Christianity as an unthreatening
proposition for peace. By scaring
people into Christianity, churches are
presenting a false picture that follow
ing Christ is one’s only option to liv
ing a satisfactory life and that reli
gion isn’t supposed to be enjoyable.
Such practices have nothing to do
with following Jesus.
Instead of scaring people into
adopting his beliefs, or implying that
a majority of followers must be right,
Jesus simply told people what he
believed, which to a present day
listener’s ear might sound like so
much balderdash. But, what one does
find in Jesus’ sermons is a theory on
a way to live life civilly, based on
the ideas of love, peace and under
standing that he introduced. These
ideas are to be embraced by all of us.
Do people go to church on Sun
day to analyze the words of Jesus?
Of course not. Ask a Christian why
he or she believes what they do, and
few would’be able to provide a spe
cific explanation. Now ask what the
preacher said last Sunday, and they
could most likely recite it word for
word. What happened to the au
tonomy associated with religion?
As a child I leamed that Southem
Baptist Christians go to church to be
reminded of the “fear doctrine” and
to remain immobile by filling their
bodies with turkey dressing and cran
berry sauce. When did Christianity,
a religion following the word of an
anorexic desert-wanderer become
about food?
Don’t be surprised. It seems as if
following the Bible has rarely ever
been about actually reading it. There
are three ideas that a majority of
Christians believe in that are not writ
ten in The Bible that Christians first
tum to when proving their cause:
The first idea is that God wrote
The Bible. This is not said once.
Contrary to popular belief, Jews and
Christians wrote The Bible, and most
notable of these authors was the En
glish Church. If God wrote The
Bible, then that allows me to say
sufficient evidence exists that Jerry
Garcia advised him on the book of
Revelation.
The second idea is that Jesus led
a perfect life. Assuming that he was
the undisputed Son of God, no evi
dence or documentation exists that
says the actions Jesus took were in
any way, exemplary or righteous. In
fact, there is actually no criteria to
prove-this to any extent. It might ac
tually be a little easier to gauge Jesus’
life if we knew what happened dur
ing those mysterious first ten or so
years that are just conveniently
skipped over in the beginning of the
New Testament. I guess God simply
“flaked” on those details. How many
parents have you known to be
admittant to their children’s faults?
The third misconception among
Christians is that Jesus had any mod
em concept or opinion on human
sexuality, human reproduction,
American public policy or global and
political economies. Ironically, many
Christians use their religious doctrine
as a tool for coming to conclusions
on these modem day, fairly nonreli
gious issues.
Religion should be individual,
and in Christianity, should focus on
an individual’s relationship with
God. The comfort of religious prac
tice should come in knowing that one
is spiritually afloat and not worrying
so much if others aren’t in the same
boat. Spread the word, but don’t nec
essarily expect people to listen.