Courageous Christians
From a column by Hemant Mehta. Hemant asked his friends on Facebook and Twitter to tell him what a courageous Christian is. Here are some of the responses:
It takes real courage to stand up in your church and say you proudly support same-sex marriage.
It takes real courage to tell a group of anti-abortion protesters that you are a Christian who supports a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
It takes real courage to tell your campus Bible study that you had pre-marital sex, that it was fun, and that it didn’t ruin your life.
It takes real courage to teach others that there’s nothing wrong with masturbation.
It takes real courage to fight against abstinence-only sex education.
It takes real courage to throw off that “purity ring.”
It takes real courage to publicly express doubts about your faith and admit that Christianity doesn’t have all the answers it claims to have.
It takes real courage to tell your pastor that he’s completely wrong about Creationism or Intelligent Design and that evolution is supported by all the available evidence. It also takes courage to educate other church members on the matter in defiance of your church’s teachings.
It takes real courage to tell street preachers and testifying co-workers that people are tuning them out, not converting to Christianity.
It takes real courage to remind any proselytizing superiors in the workplace that they’re out of line and you’ll report them if they continue doing it, even though you share their beliefs.
It takes real courage to be the first in line to defend atheists, Muslims, homosexuals and any other frequently defamed minority groups when someone in your church spreads lies about them.
It takes real courage to let your children decide for themselves what religion (if any) they want to belong to.
It takes real courage to admit the Bible is full of glaring inconsistencies.
It takes real courage to put your faith under the microscope of logic, reason and demonstrable evidence, and to admit that if/when the evidence directly contradicts your faith, faith should lose.
It takes real courage to apply the same standard of reason and evidence to your religion as you apply to every other religion.
It takes real courage to admit that what you once thought was a miracle was really just a coincidence.
It takes real courage to realize that Christians are no more moral than people of other faiths or no faith.
It takes real courage to say that an atheist won the debate you just watched.
It takes real courage to recognize that churches are really businesses.
It takes real courage to walk away from a church you’ve gone to your whole life because you no longer agree with what the pastor teaches.
Quite a list of things. Our country needs more courageous Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, and all the other peoples not listed.
It takes real courage to stand up in your church and say you proudly support same-sex marriage.
It takes real courage to tell a group of anti-abortion protesters that you are a Christian who supports a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
It takes real courage to tell your campus Bible study that you had pre-marital sex, that it was fun, and that it didn’t ruin your life.
It takes real courage to teach others that there’s nothing wrong with masturbation.
It takes real courage to fight against abstinence-only sex education.
It takes real courage to throw off that “purity ring.”
It takes real courage to publicly express doubts about your faith and admit that Christianity doesn’t have all the answers it claims to have.
It takes real courage to tell your pastor that he’s completely wrong about Creationism or Intelligent Design and that evolution is supported by all the available evidence. It also takes courage to educate other church members on the matter in defiance of your church’s teachings.
It takes real courage to tell street preachers and testifying co-workers that people are tuning them out, not converting to Christianity.
It takes real courage to remind any proselytizing superiors in the workplace that they’re out of line and you’ll report them if they continue doing it, even though you share their beliefs.
It takes real courage to be the first in line to defend atheists, Muslims, homosexuals and any other frequently defamed minority groups when someone in your church spreads lies about them.
It takes real courage to let your children decide for themselves what religion (if any) they want to belong to.
It takes real courage to admit the Bible is full of glaring inconsistencies.
It takes real courage to put your faith under the microscope of logic, reason and demonstrable evidence, and to admit that if/when the evidence directly contradicts your faith, faith should lose.
It takes real courage to apply the same standard of reason and evidence to your religion as you apply to every other religion.
It takes real courage to admit that what you once thought was a miracle was really just a coincidence.
It takes real courage to realize that Christians are no more moral than people of other faiths or no faith.
It takes real courage to say that an atheist won the debate you just watched.
It takes real courage to recognize that churches are really businesses.
It takes real courage to walk away from a church you’ve gone to your whole life because you no longer agree with what the pastor teaches.
Quite a list of things. Our country needs more courageous Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, and all the other peoples not listed.
posted by Proud American Liberal at 2:09 PM
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