Giving Christianity a Bad Rep

A couple of weeks ago in class, we did a little survey on what characteristics we think are the most important. "Religion" was one choice that many people seemed to put high up on their priorities list. Another one was "ethics". I think most people are able to practice both simultaneously, as the Bible encourages its readers to love their neighbor like they would love themselves. Many people take the Bible very seriously and really try to be the person the Bible wants them to be. I think this is great because (other than the gay marriage topic) religious people are usually kind and respectful of others.

One woman, Kimberly Lucas, has taken the Bible much too literally. The Bible may have indirectly caused her to murder her previous partner's two year old daughter. She then planned to kill herself and even wrote a suicide note in a Word document on her computer that investigators discovered later. In the note. Kimberly refers to Genesis 22 where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to him. In this story of the Bible, God stops Abraham from killing Isaac because this was just a test of his faith. Kimberly took it upon herself to sacrifice her partner's daughter, thinking that it would please The Lord. She claims in her suicide note that her pastor's "sermon really, really touched me yesterday, but God never told me to stop!". This chilling note was also directed at her previous partner's previous partner (the mother of the child), telling her that this was all her fault.

I think this picture accurately illustrates the disagreement there is within religion. Different interpretations cause people to act differently - maybe even in a violent way, a way that was not intended. Here, we see Obama and Osama making the same statement as they terrorize the country of the other. From the reader's point of view both look guilty. I think sometimes (and in the case of this cartoon) people rely on religion as a scapegoat for their horrible actions so they don't lose their status as a leader.

This picture also illustrates the relationship between politics and religion. I think religion largely affects politics, but there is some disagreement as to where we draw the line. Earlier this year, a religious family watched their son die during a seizure because their religion says The Lord will save the ill and medical assistance is not necessary. So, instead of calling 911 and saving their child's life, they prayed. The parents were then arrested for letting their son die. The relationship between religion and politics is a complicated one, and we still strive to strike a balance between the two.

I know religion is very important to many Americans, but instances like this and the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church give religion -Christianity specifically - a bad rep. Though the basic morals of Christianity are not bad, people interpret them in different ways. I think these extremists shine a bad light on religion and the original intentions of it. If things like this keep happening and religion keeps appearing as this evil force that drives people to do evil things, we will eventually have a completely negative view on religion.