So, it’s been a long time since I’ve written last, and I left off in the middle of a series. I plan to conclude said series, but have struggled with time and other life issues that seem to crop up here and there. One of those could probably be called Acedia, and I’m probably going to talk about that later. I hope everyone who reads this, which from following the stats isn’t that many, have been having a joyous good time in the interim, but it’s time to get back to work.
Yesterday, I was taking a short walk through Austin to grab something at the local convenience store. I probably forgot to tell you guys that my wife and I have finally settled in Austin while she is attending seminary. Anyway, I was taking a walk and overheard a conversation between a young couple. They were discussing the upcoming debate between Ken Ham, of the Answers in Genesis group, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. They will be getting together on February 4th to debate Creation vs. Evolution. Apparently, they sold out tickets for this in about an hour, but fear not, you will be able to see the debate afterwards on YouTube.
Interestingly, I had read a blog post about this earlier in the week, and so instantly grasped the topic that they were discussing. The guy was explaining to his female friend that this wasn’t going to be that great a debate, and how he worried that Nye was going to get steam-rolled. His exact commentary was, “They really need to get someone like Hitchens to talk with those kind of people.”
While I have no ill-will towards the late Christopher Hitchens, in fact, I believe he reminded us of many of the things religion has overlooked in the landscape of injustice which we are supposed to be fighting against, I was shocked that Hitchens would be the figure needed to oppose Ken Ham. Hitchens did not describe himself as an atheist, but an “antitheist.” Typically, he was scathing, denigrating and rude to those who held a religious position. While I try not to be a person who ridicules a person on their particular relationship to religion, that was exactly what he did to many. His critiques of people like Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama were combative to the point of being repugnant. I believe, the need for this type of figure to be the opponent for someone like Ken Ham says more about the Christian community than it does about the late Christopher Hitchens .
Personally, I have no dog in this fight, so to speak. I do not like these debates, and I think they are asking the wrong questions from the outset. I agree a lot with Formerly Fundie, a blog on Patheos. I’m not really expecting much in terms of good Biblical scholarship or deep scientific research, but I would have to side with science in this debate because of what we are doing to ourselves with this continued debate. I will root against fundamentalism within the world of Christianity and that is a lot of what goes into my perception of this debate.
What has really spurred this particular venture in writing is the implied statement from that guy that only Hitches could adequately stand up to a creationist. It says something about Christianity and our need to control things that it takes such venom as a Hitchens to respond to us. What have we done to ourselves that says civil conversations are not allowed? I am no creationist, but can we not debate our differences with those outside of our faith with grace, humility, and hospitality? It seems that we can only host these debates on our home turf, with our supporters in attendance, We then invite the opposing view into our house, and blast them. This sounds like when Calvin invited Grabel and Manz(spelling errors, I know) to Geneva only to drown them in the river after the debate.
We have become so defensive of different theological ground that something in us must fight with every part of our intellectual being to uphold these ideas. There is no room for compromise, there is no space for sharing and discussion. This doesn’t just happen in regards to discussions on creation vs evolution, but about LGBTQ issues, Biblical inerrancy, women’s involvement in church leadership, racial equality, and the list could go on.
In all of these things, the common denominator are Christians who have decided that there can be no real debate, but the spouting of vitriol. It’s amazing that in all of these discussions, that the only way to participate is to find the most vociferous opponent in order to stand up to the scathing attacks of Christians on their home turf. Now, that should shake us to our core. Christians are so dogged in the defense of these issues, that we are no longer full of the grace of God, the Love of Christ, or the movement of the Holy Spirit. What have we done?
Yesterday, I was taking a short walk through Austin to grab something at the local convenience store. I probably forgot to tell you guys that my wife and I have finally settled in Austin while she is attending seminary. Anyway, I was taking a walk and overheard a conversation between a young couple. They were discussing the upcoming debate between Ken Ham, of the Answers in Genesis group, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. They will be getting together on February 4th to debate Creation vs. Evolution. Apparently, they sold out tickets for this in about an hour, but fear not, you will be able to see the debate afterwards on YouTube.
Interestingly, I had read a blog post about this earlier in the week, and so instantly grasped the topic that they were discussing. The guy was explaining to his female friend that this wasn’t going to be that great a debate, and how he worried that Nye was going to get steam-rolled. His exact commentary was, “They really need to get someone like Hitchens to talk with those kind of people.”
While I have no ill-will towards the late Christopher Hitchens, in fact, I believe he reminded us of many of the things religion has overlooked in the landscape of injustice which we are supposed to be fighting against, I was shocked that Hitchens would be the figure needed to oppose Ken Ham. Hitchens did not describe himself as an atheist, but an “antitheist.” Typically, he was scathing, denigrating and rude to those who held a religious position. While I try not to be a person who ridicules a person on their particular relationship to religion, that was exactly what he did to many. His critiques of people like Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama were combative to the point of being repugnant. I believe, the need for this type of figure to be the opponent for someone like Ken Ham says more about the Christian community than it does about the late Christopher Hitchens .
Personally, I have no dog in this fight, so to speak. I do not like these debates, and I think they are asking the wrong questions from the outset. I agree a lot with Formerly Fundie, a blog on Patheos. I’m not really expecting much in terms of good Biblical scholarship or deep scientific research, but I would have to side with science in this debate because of what we are doing to ourselves with this continued debate. I will root against fundamentalism within the world of Christianity and that is a lot of what goes into my perception of this debate.
What has really spurred this particular venture in writing is the implied statement from that guy that only Hitches could adequately stand up to a creationist. It says something about Christianity and our need to control things that it takes such venom as a Hitchens to respond to us. What have we done to ourselves that says civil conversations are not allowed? I am no creationist, but can we not debate our differences with those outside of our faith with grace, humility, and hospitality? It seems that we can only host these debates on our home turf, with our supporters in attendance, We then invite the opposing view into our house, and blast them. This sounds like when Calvin invited Grabel and Manz(spelling errors, I know) to Geneva only to drown them in the river after the debate.
We have become so defensive of different theological ground that something in us must fight with every part of our intellectual being to uphold these ideas. There is no room for compromise, there is no space for sharing and discussion. This doesn’t just happen in regards to discussions on creation vs evolution, but about LGBTQ issues, Biblical inerrancy, women’s involvement in church leadership, racial equality, and the list could go on.
In all of these things, the common denominator are Christians who have decided that there can be no real debate, but the spouting of vitriol. It’s amazing that in all of these discussions, that the only way to participate is to find the most vociferous opponent in order to stand up to the scathing attacks of Christians on their home turf. Now, that should shake us to our core. Christians are so dogged in the defense of these issues, that we are no longer full of the grace of God, the Love of Christ, or the movement of the Holy Spirit. What have we done?
