Quoting Morality

The other day, there was a quote from Dr. Robert Schuler, founder of one of the "most successful" mega-churches in the world. As I heard the quote, I was thinking, should we really be quoting from this man? Just because he is a leader of a church, he gets a pass on the hate he spews from the pulpit and we can cherry pick certain things he says? So let us analyze some quotes from the supposed moral Dr. Schuler.

1. "I'm very proud of who I am. I am innocent. I have not broken a single one of the Ten Commandments. I have not broken any of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and so I'm proud of my faith and message," (http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/schuller/general.htm)

Wow! Hmm, I thought pride/hubris was a deadly sin. The third sentence, not to break a single commandment is near impossible. How about #4? Remember the Sabbath day. Says you should do no work, I'll overlook the fact that it is your job to work every Sunday, you do get paid as a pastor don't you? But how about washing dishes, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, household chores, etc. Well, you are probably so rich you can afford people to do this for you...again, still breaking the Sabbath because you shouldn't hire workers to do thing for you as well. So, no shopping on Sunday, no restaurants, no purchasing gas. Are you saying you have done none of these in your life? Oops, that brings us to number two.

2. By virtue of number one, you have just broke #9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Lying! The big one! Everyone lies, lying is necessary sometimes. Let me give you an example; you are hiding a Jewish family in your attic from the Nazi's during World War II. The SS comes by and asks you questions, "do you give up the family because the commandment says so? Or do you lie to keep them safe and out of harm’s way?" I know what I would do as a moral person, but is faith in the bible and god more important than the life of that family? So back to Schuler, is he being moral when he lies about not breaking any of the commandments? Is he being a good person? Yes, I believe that he believes he is doing something right...but continuing to preach lies, such as there is creationism instead of evolution. (http://www.christianpost.com/news/robert-a-schuller-godtube-co-founder-team-up-reveal-new-ministry-plans-38904/)

So now, should we be quoting morality from just anyone? From someone who themselves is not moral? How should we determine whether this person is moral or not? Here is an example of what I mean. The quote "As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice." sounds like something that you may hear from any conservative, republican or Christian these days. Now, would you be surprised that this quote came from Adolf Hitler? So now, if even I could cherry pick a quote from Hitler about morality, would it be okay to use it in a public forum? I'm guessing there would be much outrage.

Truly, when I think that quotes are cherry picked and people do no research about the people making the quote. I also think that quotes from Christians are very dubious and really have no place in a public setting.

-SB

Atheists are Fools -- Part 3

Wow, how shocking is it that I received in the mail today a response to the letter I sent to one of the churches in my neighborhood.  Here is the original letter I sent to the Churches.

July 7, 2011

Mr. Church Leader,

Sir, my name is Stephen Burrows, there are a couple of incidents that have occurred lately that have prompted me to reach out to you and your church. Let me preface this letter by stating that I am an atheist who was once a Christian, but saw the “reason”.

As an atheist, I am always asking questions, seeking answers that make sense, being good to other people without thrusting my views on other people regardless of religion, race, socio-economic status, ethnicity, etc. I am also attempting to raise my daughter in the same method, asking question, treating everyone with respect. As a result, one of her friends recently invited her to church, I said “sure, keep an open mind, and ask questions”. She just recently confided in me that the Sunday school teacher stated that “atheists are fools” and that at that time she felt “sorry for me”, which wasn’t necessary, but she also asked why the people at church would say such things about atheists. Has this Sunday school teacher ever talked to an atheist? I can assure you, I am no fool and my daughter knows this. Will she be joining her friend at your church again…probably not?

Second issue, I also live in close proximity to your church, so many of your members also live in this area. I don’t like to do this without facts, but there is a probability that some of your members, or that of Covenant Life, or Journey’s Crossing, or the Int’l Church of God is one of the culprits. Over the past month, my car my car has been the subject of propaganda requesting that I find the "lord", suggestions that reading Romans XX:XX and John X:XX will make me convert. I can only assume the reason my car is a target is due to the small Darwin fish and another stating “Friendly Neighbor Atheist” on the back fender.

I started reading the bible critically and it created more questions and doubt about god's existence. More research led me totally away from the church. So, a couple of notes will not sway me, however, I see there is a need to provide your church community with information about atheists. I would be more than happy to a conduct a question and answer session with your church members to show that atheists are not evil baby eaters, but that we are valuable members of the community with families, morals, and are capable of doing good things without a god.

I feel that a constructive dialogue does much more good and builds strong relationships in the community. The approach used by Christians in this area is the opposite of this. A book I have read I Sold My Soul on eBay, by Hemant Mehta, describes the view of Christians and all faiths through an atheist’s eye. Since, I have been on your side; I feel that I may be able to describe the atheist views on life, politics, morality, religion, giving, and separation of church/state in a non-threatening/non-confrontational matter.

I thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you.

Here is the response I received from the Church of the Redeemer in Gaithersburg, MD. This was the church where the Sunday school teacher labeled atheists as fools.

Thank you for your thoughtful letter and desire to help us know you better as a member of the local community. We appreciate the time you took to carefully and respectfully explain your concern and to offer your services.

At this time we will need to decline your offer to hold a question and answer session here, but I trust you will continue to have meaningful conversations with Christians and people from all kinds of backgrounds as we all try to understand and appreciate each other more.

Sincerely,

Pastor Stephen Homey
Director of Adult Ministries

Nice of them to respond, albeit a month later! 

Now to analyze the response a little. 

• Apology for promoting HATE? 

None, no mention of the Sunday School incident.  Am I surprised?  Not really, I'm guessing the trash they are spewing comes from Psalms 14:1

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, t

here is none who does good. 

 Probably a hundred other places they could of found other offerings of hate, but it is as good as any.   

• Christians reaching out?

The last paragraph (run-on sentence) declines my offer for a Q & A, not surprised, it is their prerogative.  However, putting the onus on me "to have meaningful conversations with Christians...", well, sure, I will do that because I am a friendly atheist.  However, he also says "...we all try to understand and appreciate each other more."  I call bullshit on this!  Absolute bullshit.  You want to reach out, start doing some real work in the community, stop proselytizing to everyone, stop spewing hate.  This sort of nonsense may work in his church community, but it sure won't pass the evaluation of people who care and are willing to call bullshit when they see it.

I must say this though, I'm surprised the Church of the Redeemer responded, they seemed the most fundie of the local Churches.  What about Covenant Life? Journey's Crossing?  Int'l Church of God?  Not hearing from you.  This is why I continue to be vocal and outspoken against religion.

SB