http://jaylake.livejournal.com/2025347.html?thread=14328707#t14328707

The identity politics of the label are part and parcel of the problem, frankly.

You may not intend it, but your questions like “is this what you want, Christians?” lead me to the conclusion that, in your view, the only way they can avoid blame is to renounce their beliefs (or the label).

My personal analogy is the “religious” wars between Mac and PC users. I’ve seen very offensive flames from Mac users about what idiots PC users are. And then there are those Apple ads. I do not think PC users are idiots, but I don’t want to have to give up my Mac to avoid being “assigned” that attitude by others.

(1) Religion is not congruent with — let alone equal to — faith (or Faith). Regardless of whether we’re talking about Western Europe or world culture, religion vel non has always been politics for second sons.
As an aside, I live “outside” of religion; in my former career, I had to or I would have gone even more insane than I am, because that former career involved the intersection of the political/ideological world with the most violent sectarian/political tendencies of organized religion (and not just in the West, or indeed in an Indo-European language). From that perspective, I respectfully submit that cathshaffer is the one looking from the outside at something she does not understand… but that’s an extremely long, turgid argument that will both hijack Mr Hawaiian Print Shirt Guy’s blog and no doubt end up miscommunicating through this imperfect medium of language.

(2) As St George (Orwell) noted in “Why I Write” (an essay that every writer simply must read; unfortunately, the versions online infringe the copyright, so I won’t point to them):
“Putting aside the need to earn a living, I think there are four great motives for writing, at any rate for writing prose….
“Sheer egoism.[....]
“Aesthetic enthusiasm.[....]
“Historical impulse.[....]
“Political purpose — using the word ‘political’ in the widest possible sense. Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other people’s idea of the kind of society they should strive after. Once again, no book is truly free of political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political opinion.”
Human history screams that replacing “art” with “religion” in this passage understates things if anything; and the less said about the political purpose behind religious texts (e.g., the Council of Damnia), the better.

We don’t feel it *quite* as badly up here in Canada – in fact, I get shocked by the stories we hear from the South, then even more shocked when I hear about similar things happening here.

You bring up important points that I think a lot of Christians don’t realize, and I sincerely hope your words at least get them thinking about it.