Community Corner
Tearing up the Bible in California
Why is there no national outcry when a group tears up the Bible, but a global outcry when someone threatens to burn the Quoran? A question Ben Cathey, pastor of the Orchard Church in Loganville, would like the answer to.
Two Questions:
One - Why did 12 people from an anti-Christian group who gathered at the city pier in Huntington Beach, Calif. to tear up bible verses gain national news recognition last week? Religious stories are weird like that. A local church can send 100 people to help Hurricane victims for a whole week and the local paper is not even interested, but burn a holy book and the template for a national news story is in place.
Two – Where it he outcry from Hollywood celebrities, rock stars, senators, and world leaders? Crazy. I remember a guy in Florida who threatened to burn the Quran and he got mentions from heads of state for days on end. Ripping up the Bible is certainly compelling. It’s more interesting than what thousands of Christians all across America do on a daily basis to serve poor, needy and challenged people among us. Ripping up the Bible is also unusual. It certainly grabbed my attention. I think maybe the fact that it happened in California also makes it newsworthy but not outcry worthy. Those crazy Californians! A Christian pastor in Florida must be much more narrow minded and bigoted than “freethinkers” in California? Don’t you think? That seems to be conventional wisdom anyway. Lady Gaga where are you? We need your voice of wisdom and compassion now…
The full story goes something like this:
A group of “freethinkers” got together to rip up photo copied verses of the bible that they consider immoral. The event was an outreach designed to gain attention for their cause. According to the website of the outreach organizers their goal is to “support the atheist, agnostic, skeptic and humanist community… and to educate those who wish to know why atheism is a world-view which improves the human condition.”
With this fair-minded charter, the director, David Gleason, got a little carried away with his freethinking ways and actually ripped up a few pages of a real Bible. Take that all you narrow minded people! He is quoted as saying, “We want to make this a better world for secular and humanistic values. We don’t believe prayer works. We don’t believe religion adds anything except a sense of false hope.”
It’s ironic that these “free thinkers” are choosing to squelch the thoughts of people who are broadly considered narrow minded in certain circles. It’s doubly ironic that the “narrow minded” folks have not staged massive protests of their own. The narrow minded religiously numbed masses have barely peeped. Are they intimidated?
Talk about irony… most followers of Jesus probably didn’t give the protest too much thought because they live daily in a world that grossly violates their morals and beliefs. And their response… do they degrade the “sinners” in their midst, protest the narrow mindedness of cohabitants, gamblers, gossipers, liars, cheaters and even Christian hypocrites? No, they chose to love, they chose to be positive, they chose to let their light shine instead of trying to snuff out the darkness. I’m sure we can all share exceptions to this generality, but the Christian record for tolerance of non-Christian behavior is absolutely astounding. It’s so astounding that Christianity doesn’t really measure up as a very good religion at all. I could go on, but let’s end our thoughts this way…
In reference to the event in California this week I enjoyed the following comment:
“Fanatical atheism is no worse and no better than fanatical religion, though it may be more bitterly ironic. There is something pretty odd, dare I say hypocritical, about a bunch of people who call themselves “freethinkers” and “humanists” not only verbally abusing people of faith, but actually tearing up verses from the Bible…” - From Brad Hirschfield of the Washington Post
And in reference to the rising volume and boldness of “outreaches” against Christian beliefs from groups led by people like David Gleason:
“The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternate belief under each of your doubts and then to ask yourself what reasons you have for believing it… My thesis is that if you come to recognize the beliefs on which your doubts about Christianity are based, and if you seek as much proof from those beliefs as you seek from Christians for theirs – you will discover that your doubts are not as solid as they first appeared.” – Timothy Keller, The Reason for God
