Towards honesty

[lerite]

Believing in the Creator, in the Christ, and in the Holy Spirit: we covenant together in this church to walk in the ways of God known or to be made known to us. As a community of concern, we pledge ourselves to worship together, learn together, and work together to further the cause of human unity.

Comments

[anonymous]

As a kid I learned being a Christian meant being a “believer.” I thought belonging to a particular religion was synonymous with having certain beliefs. Later I learned it’s more complicated. I met an Irish Catholic that doesn’t believe in God or go to mass; for him being an Irish Catholic is about not identifying with the British (protestant) occupier. I know several atheist Jews, including one that’s active in his synagogue. Judaism, he told me, is as much about community identity as acknowledging a set of doctrines or beliefs. I discovered Buddhism requires no belief in any supernatural being at all.

For most former Christians, the dilemma we face is the opposite of yours: namely, how can we justify NOT going to church to our folks without hurting their feelings. In your case, I don’t think it’s immoral for you to go to church if you enjoy it. Are you disrupting others? Laughing at the sermons? Challenging the faith of the true believers? Trying to dissuade their kids? No. I’ll bet you even contribute to the collection plate. So where’s the harm?

As for honesty, to whom are you dishonest? Do you tell other parishioners you believe, or merely refrain from broadcasting your doubts? (Discretion isn’t dishonesty.) What matters is that you’re honest with yourself and your essay displays a profound self-knowledge. Besides, if Christians take their religion seriously, they should welcome atheists and agnostics. “If a shepherd has 100 sheep and one is lost, does he not leave the 99 and search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I say to you, he rejoices more for it than for the 99 that never went astray.” [Jesus, quoted in Matt 18:12]

By the way, there’s a church for people like you - people that like church but don’t believe the hype. It’s called the Unitarian Universalist association.