Isn’t religion the problem?
In a world too often torn apart by wars, hatred, poisonous tweets, bigotry, racism, bullying, greed, revenge, addictions, hunger, poverty, human trafficking and the like, we might wonder, how have we come to such a place?
Yes, all is not bad, but a simple listen to the global news will inform us that too much is.
We crave good news stories, things that make us feel good, and make us feel good about ourselves.
After all, are we not a progressive society? Are we not wise and increasingly becoming so? If only we could become more educated, then things wouldn’t be so bad.
Once a person “knows better,” says the conventional wisdom, they will act better. Very subtly we believe that knowledge is salvation.
It is said that when Gandhi was in the U.S., a member of the American clergy asked him, “What is it that you are most afraid of in the world today?”
Gandhi replied, “The hard- heartedness of the educated.”
Educated people are not necessarily good people, by virtue of an education alone. Educated people can and do bad things, too.
Randy Richardson, a communications professor at Berry College, has been quoted referencing a statistic that college-educated people are 40 per cent less empathetic than the general public. If that is even remotely true, we need to re-evaluate the notion that education equates to a better society.
I am not against education– quite the opposite actually. It is just that is seems that in order for us to have a better society, it will require more than educa- tion alone.
Yet, as much as I have heard the above mentioned reasoning that a better society stems from a better educated society, there is another argument that seems to be on the rise.
When the ills of society are discussed, many are quick to point the finger at religion.
The thought is that we would have a better world if there was no religion.
One of my favourite people to listen to as of late is Karl Vaters. He is a pastor in California.
He shares that after service one week, he had someone ask him this question:
“How do I answer my non- Christian friends when they ask me why I’m a Christian? They’re telling me that the problem is religion and belief. When I try to tell them Christians aren’t like that, they point out the Crusades and Westboro Baptist Church. I don’t know how to respond to that.”
I believe that this is not an uncommon dilemma. Many Christians, if not outright asking these questions, certainly think them.
The unfortunate truth is that there has been, throughout history, many evil acts perpetrated in the name of religion – including Christianity. It is sad, and it has allowed for religion to have a bad name.
However, to dismiss faith – and I am coming from a Christianity point of view – in its entirety because of those that weren’t genuine practitioners of the faith, would be akin to saying let’s get rid of all universities because some educated people have done wrong.
Yes, the Church needs to admit and repent from her sins. We need to sorrow over our mistakes, past and present. If the culture blames religion – or more specifically, the Church, for society’s ills – then we have failed them somewhere along the way.
Can faith make a comeback? Not all, but many local churches are getting older. I am not referring to the age of the buildings, but of the attenders. Younger people, in many communities, are not attending church.
Perhaps one of the greatest things that we can do is keep the focus of our efforts on Jesus. Focusing on other people is a dangerous game, for people, even good ones, can let us down. Being a Christian is not about following other Christians. It’s about following Jesus.
As Vaters has said, “The symbol of Jesus is the cross. It shows us that God came to earth, not to kill, but to die. Not to hate, but to love.”
Rarely will you hear anyone grumble that Christians act too much like Jesus. Most will complain that we don’t act enough like Jesus.
We need to point people to Jesus, and to do that, we need to follow Him. We’ll never do that perfectly. But we can always do it better.