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"The god who doesn’t encourage intellectual honesty, the god who doesn’t care about the environment because “it’s all going to burn,” the god who calls the anemic words of bored worshipers going through the motions “praise,” the god who would condemn billions of people to hell simply because they haven’t said or done the proper ritual that Christians can’t even agree on …
Some gods should be rejected.
And that, of course, is what makes Hemant’s book so compelling. It’s not just that he is smart, insightful, and honest. It’s that so much of what he says is … well … true. What will strike you in the pages of this book is that Hemant isn’t angry or antagonistic. As you try to figure out what exactly his agenda is, you’ll probably arrive at the same conclusion I did.
I think he’s simply after the truth." Rob Bell (in the Forward)
The year was 2007. It was my last year in Calgary and I was not yet aware that I was making a move up north to my parents farm. So many concerns and struggles were travelling the neural pathways of my cranium. I was living in the last year of my involvement of the organized institution of church. I don't think I was aware of that either. Along with the others in my church, I was living in the aftermath of the "tsunami". Some would label it as a scandal, but labels didn't describe the catastrophe that unfolded as a result of the affair between the senior pastor and the wife of the associate pastor. This wasn't a big church... these two people and their families were part of our church family. This was a "tsunami".
It was in that "tsunami" aftermath that two books came across my path. One book was "Jim and Casper go to Church" , and the other was "I Sold my Soul on Ebay. Both books came back to me fifteen years later. This time... I'm not a Pentecostal Christian, I'm agnostic. These are very different reads now. Both books were a result of the inspiration of Jim Henderson.
The winning bidder turned out to be Jim Henderson, a former minister from Seattle and author of Evangelism Without Additives...
It turned out that Jim and I had both had experiences with Christians that turned us off. Jim mentioned that his ministry paid nonreligious people to attend church services and fill out surveys reflecting their thoughts. These surveys were used to help churches tweak their services and do a better job of getting the Christian message across. HM
Okay... where are those kind of Christians? Is Jim Henderson the only person who actually cares how the Christian message being portrayed to those who don't wear that label.
I will be honest as I was in my blog post on "Jim and Casper go to church." I don't think church by design is for those outside the club. Churches are clubs, exclusive organizations meant to gather people of like minded ideals. They may appear as gathering places that want to invite anyone in the doors... but most of them have one agenda in mind....conversion and assimilation. That is my biased opinion... and I'm sticking to it. But Jim Henderson had a different perspective and he invited one man by the name of Hemant Mehta into a very different world, but not to change Hemant... he wants to change Christianity's approach to people. For that, I have a lot of respect for him. I envy his passion and chutzpah to take on such a task.
"Every student should attend at least one lecture that differs from his or her current beliefs; if those beliefs can’t stand under scrutiny, they aren’t worth believing.” Although I agreed with that view, I had never followed the editorial’s advice myself. Many other atheists had been raised as Christians, so they knew what they were leaving. But I lacked that experience.
I decided I would step inside a church. However, I knew this exploration would be pointless unless I could ask questions about the faith—the questions that had always troubled or confused me. Also, I wanted to document the journey so others could see what I was experiencing. If they were to comment on my experience, they needed to know what I was doing, so I had to find a way to publicize my idea. How do you manage to raise interest in a project that is so …unusual?" HM
Jim Henderson sent Hemant to a variety of different churches over a few states and this book is Hemant's story and his journey through those churches. He holds back no punches. He is honest about his observances and throughout the whole book, he had me laughing. Not because I found his discoveries funny... they were more painful than funny. Laughter is my coping mechanism these days when I am faced with the person I used to be and I want to distance myself from the ignorant and deluded person I was.
"If you are a Christian, you probably aren’t aware of the obstacles nonreligious Americans face on a daily basis. We atheists, agnostics, and other freethinkers have to work hard to defend our rights, especially our constitutional right to “not believe.” HM
This saddens me to the point of being depressed. This is where I want to make a difference and encourage some change. I understand that changing the core motivation of Christianity to "convert and assimilate" seems ludicrously impossible... but to sit by and watch as more people are marginalized for who they are just boils my blood.
"When a newcomer enters a place of worship and is unfamiliar with the rituals, it can make him or her uncomfortable. What would happen, for instance, if I didn’t kneel at the right time, or if I didn’t know to stand during certain prayers, or if I failed to repeat the words we were given? Well … nothing. Except I’d feel awkward and out of place. Rituals happen largely without thought. You just do them without thinking about it. I prefer activity that makes you think, which is why I appreciated sermons that left me rethinking my own life.
Aside from being made to feel you don’t belong, I also don’t see the religious reason for rituals. If I wanted to feel close to God, the prayers would have to come from within, tailored to my own struggles, hopes, and gratitude. A scripted prayer took away from all that." HM
Hemant is saying what I long to say. I don't mind the idea of people needing faith... but why can't it be authentic and personal. Why does it have to be pre-chewed?
"An assertion that comes up again and again in churches is the idea that non-Christians are lost. I really would like to hear an explanation to back up that statement. I don’t feel lost; in fact, I’ve felt found ever since I became an atheist." HM
This theme comes up again and again in the book. It seems ridiculous to me now because I am on a different side of the fence, but none the less confusing. Where does this come from? We have so many religious expressions on this planet and Christianity stands out as the Borg Collective that needs to remove our brains and connect us to a system. If I sound like I'm ranting... I am. I know not all people who follow Jesus embrace that mindset, but a good portion of the club does and that is what I want to address. My Hindu girlfriend has more grace than most Christians. In forty-five years, she has been my friend and has never asked me to become Hindu in order to be loved and accepted by her. We are not "lost" to each other and maybe that is all I can hope for... not to be lost to the people that matter.
"If you want to get through to nonreligious people, you need to first understand where they are coming from. Simply reading a book by former atheist Lee Strobel, such as The Case for Christ or The Case for Faith, won’t cut it. It’s true that Strobel converted to Christianity out of atheism, but not all atheists are alike. And beyond that, there are many atheistic responses to the points Strobel makes, which he and other Christian authors fail to address. If you want to understand how an atheist thinks, talk to one who hasn’t converted." HM
What can I do to encourage a conversation between the converted and the deconverted? What does such a conversation look like? Will it always be like a scene in Madagascar when Alex is realizing that he is a really a lion and is fighting off the urge to eat Marty but realizing it is his nature, so he pursues anyway. Is it even realistic to expect a lion and a zebra to be friends.
Maybe it is up to me to start the conversations. Maybe I can admit to my friends and family that, even through one has stripes and one doesn't, we can still dwell together in peace and love. But what if that is only possible in the confinement of a zoo, instead of nature. Once our true colours come out, can we be friends? I hope so.
Here is my advice to Christians who want to influence people like me: be open to reaching out to people who disagree with you, instead of forcing us to adopt your beliefs in order to win your approval. Why not go ahead and “approve” of me simply because I’m a fellow human? Shouldn’t that be enough to earn your respect? HM
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