Why I'm Not A Christian

Several weeks ago, I wrote and published on this blog a post entitled "A Darn Good Christian," wherein I mentioned that a co-worker had told me I'd make a "darn good" Christian....if I only believed in God.  I went on to explain that I didn't need the Bible or church or any other religious trappings to see a need in the world and try to do my part to fill that need for the benefit of my fellow earth-dwelling creatures.  Christians do not have a monopoly on good works.  Within that post, I did not get into the reasons behind my non-belief, stating that they were fodder for another post.  This is that post.

Before I get into my specific reasons, there are a few things I feel I must state first if I have any hope of my words being understood in the manner intended.

1. I probably know more Christians than non-Christians.  Most of these people are my friends and are good people, and I respect their choice to believe as they wish, not because I think they are right, but because they are my friends and I care about them.  Those who are my friends and already know about my lack of Christian faith may not agree with the choices I make in this regard, but they all acknowledge my rights to believe as I choose, and they care about me regardless of our differing opinions.
2. I do not believe that Christianity itself is bad.  You'll understand more of what I mean by this as you read through the post.
3. As with all my blog posts, the comment section is open for your feedback.  However, remember to be civil with your comments.  Hate-filled comments will be deleted.  Strongly emotional comments, those aimed at "converting" me, or those filled with scripture are probably not comments to which I will post reply....unless you actually come up with a compelling argument.  One more thing: If you feel the need to post harsh criticism, at least have the courage to attach your name to it....I've grown weary of people hiding behind the "anonymous" label when spewing negativity.

With that out of the way, I'll put forth the primary 9 among the many reasons that Christianity has found no place in my life.

1: The Creation Story: Where did we all come from?

The simple answer to this is that I don't know where everything in existence came from.  And, maybe I'm just being silly here, but I don't mind not knowing.  In fact, I can't remember having ever even been curious about the origins of the universe.  It's been here far longer than I, and it is not likely to come to an end while I'm alive.  Beyond that, I leave the complicated calculations to the scientific community.  I'm far more interested in learning how to make the best use of my time while I'm here on Earth.

2: I don't like the God of the Bible.

Ok, so in truth I don't believe in the existence of the Biblical God, so I suppose it is more accurate to say that I don't like the concept of this entity.  In the Bible, God constructed a utopian garden, Eden.  He then created two companions for himself, because the Bible pretty much says he was lonely.  He then set about telling these people what they could or could not do with the garden he created—"Don't eat the fruit of that super-awesome tree over there!"  When his "friends" ate the fruit against his wishes, God threw a preschool-ish tantrum, kicked his friends out of the garden, and wouldn't let them come over to play anymore.  Sure, yes, I'm paraphrasing, but do you see my point?  If I give my friend a beautiful scarf  as a gift, I don't get to throw a tantrum if she wears it with the wrong outfit!

Also, there's this business of "worship."  If people are obligated to worship God, then we were not created as companions.  We are servants.  We are not his children, but his subjects.  Sounds, again, to me, like a child desperate for attention.  "I created your species, now bow down and worship me!  (And give me 10% of your paycheck, too.)"

3: How "free" is free will?

I understand the concept that our every action comes with its own consequence, some good and some bad.  "Free will" means that we are free to exercise our right to choose what is right for us, and we are responsible for accepting whatever reward or consequence comes as a result.  But is it still "good" if it is done only to avoid negative consequence.

I have never murdered anyone.  No, really, in my whole life I haven't murdered anyone!  Why not?  Because I feel it is wrong to intentionally take the life of my fellow humans.  But the reason for my lack of a murderous past is not that I simply wanted to avoid jail.  That would imply that I would be alright with murdering someone if I knew for certain I wouldn't be punished for the crime.  Would a lack of potential prosecution make murder acceptable?  Of course not.

So, then, why do so many of the Christians I have met cite the promise of Heaven or the threat of Hell as primary among their reasons for belief?  If you believe and practice Christianity simply for your own gain (Heaven), does that make you selfish or self-serving?

And what of being pressured into belief by the threat of an eternity in Hell?  Are you not, then, in the same position as a woman who consents to "allow" herself to be raped to prevent herself from being murdered?  Sorry, but I don't want to be scared into faith.

4: Church. Never again.

Growing up, our family attended church.  When I was in elementary school, my dad got a job working for a United Methodist church here in Pensacola.  Several years later, he moved from that job to a similar-but-better job at another United Methodist church.  Being the family of a very visible member of church staff meant that our family attended church every Sunday.  Every Sunday.  We were expected to be the "ideal" church family, an example for the rest of the congregation.  I'm sure the other church-staff kids felt this way too, but of course we never discussed it.

While I firmly believe that the world is populated by a majority of good people, I also believe that the not-so-good can be much easier to spot in a crowd.  Church populations are no different.  The churches we attended were filled with people who were mostly good people with good intentions.  Unfortunately, all of the meanest, most hateful people I have ever met in my life were all people I encountered while either attending church or while attending a Christian school during middle school.  A few times in my adult life, I have attended or considered attending a church with a friend.  But every time, whether I have gone or simply almost gone, it has taken me days to shake the sick feeling I'm left with by the memories of the miseries I suffered while within the walls of churches.

5: How much of the Bible has been lost in translation?

This one's pretty simple.  I think everyone will admit that any remnant we have of Biblical writing is, at best, 3rd- or 4th-hand tradition.  Then it's been translated through several different languages by hundreds of different people, only some of whom were scholars with the knowledge to attempt such an undertaking.  On at least one major occasion, a monarch got involved in making the decisions about what pieces of the Bible would be translated into common use and which would be discarded, discredited, or destroyed.  I'm afraid I simply don't believe there's enough left of the genuinely-original writings to built an entire religion.

Do I believe the Bible is garbage?  No.  I believe it has plenty of historical value, but it just isn't sufficient to constitute a faith.

6: Quick, someone get me a decoder ring!!

Why must the messages of the Bible be so open to widely-differing interpretations?  If it was so very important for people to hear and understand the messages of Christianity, why not just state plainly what we are supposed to do?  Religion shouldn't feel like The DaVinci Code, full of impossible riddles and crossed fingers and conjecture.

7: Thou shalt not murder...unless you're making a martyr of God's son to save humanity.

One of the primary tenets of Christianity is that Jesus had to die to take away my sins.  At the very least, this makes God a pretty crappy parent.  At worst, he's guilty of criminally facilitating murder.  By any standard of the legal system, God would go to jail for a very long time.

I have a problem with the whole idea of a sacrificial lamb, whether it's a literal lamb or a human being (or demi-god?).  Also, I have a problem with the idea that any sin at all should condemn us to death, or eternal suffering, in Hell.  Does this means that, without the death of Jesus, I could suffer eternal damnation for every infraction of God's law?! That's crazy to me, especially since becoming a parent.

My child gets in trouble.  He breaks rules and doesn't follow directions, and when this happens, there are consequences.  True those consequences are appropriately tailored to a 3-year-old, but he believes them to be dire and crushing, sometimes to the extreme.  But when the punishment is over, he gets a hug from Mommy and he knows that I still love him and he has another chance to do the right thing.

And I don't feel the need to sacrifice any living creature in exchange for forgiving this child of mine.  Why could God not make things to simple?  If he was truly omnipotent, could he not offer forgiveness of sins without killing his own child?  As the entity who supposedly makes the rules, could he not have created those rules differently?  I don't get it.

8: Would Jesus recognize Christianity today?

Would he even want to be a modern Christian?  Every major world religion is constantly calling God down on their side of every war, dispute, or argument.  Not every side can be right, and I'd bet it is far more likely that every side is actually wrong.

9: From what I've read of Heaven, I don't want to go there.

If Heaven is filled with dead Christians (or their souls or whatever) singing and praising God (feeding his narcissism) for all eternity, then count me out!  I don't feed into the narcissist desires of people in my life now, and I won't do it for God either.  Besides, I'm sort of afraid that all those cruel people I had to deal with in church as a kid will be there too.

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In closing, I'm not searching for religion, nor am I running from it.  I have a pretty decent life, and am happy more often than unhappy.  If you'd like to comment, feel free.  If you'd like to open a more private dialogue, use the contact button in the button bar at the top of the screen.