To be honest, his letter to the editor
startled me. He wrote in what I imagine he thought were frank and
honest words, emphatically suggesting that Christianity was a “doomsday
cult” that thrived among “illiterate peasants.” While I am troubled not
at all by being associated with illiterate peasants, his description of
Christians as members of a doomsday cult struck me as over the top. He
argued that since Jesus has not returned, Christianity has failed.
With dismay, he expressed his frustration that so many Christians are
still waiting. They “eagerly lust for the apocalypse” was how he
described those who are still looking for Jesus to return. While I have
known Christians who have lusted, I do not recall any of them lusting
for the apocalypse. In making his conclusion that Jesus was dead and
never coming back, he asserted that, “We’re on our own here.”
The words “We’re on our own here” were the saddest part of the whole
letter to me. Of all the dimensions of my faith in Jesus Christ, few of
them are dearer to me than the reminder, “I am with you always, to the
end of the age.” Yet, the writer of this letter has concluded that we
are on our own, without the presence of the One who promised to never
leave us nor forsake us. Even as I grieve for him, I am reminded that
faith is indeed a gift. Those who have received it ought always to be
grateful for it. If anything is evident from this letter, it is that
its writer has not been given the gift of faith. His conclusions about
life and how to live it have not brought him to a positive understanding
of what God has done in Jesus Christ, but rather have left him hostile
and antagonistic.
Where does a newspaper originate that publishes a letter so
antagonistic toward God and religion? Is it to be found in some
atheistic state where the letter writer would have his views reinforced
at every level of society? No, it was published here in Knoxville where
it is not much exaggeration to say that there is a church on every
corner. How could someone surrounded by so many people who profess
faith in Christ have such a negative view of Christianity and
Christians? Did something happen? Did someone who professed to be a
Christian do something to hurt or harm him in some way? I hope that is
not the case. I hope that for some inexplicable reason the writer of
this letter has yet to see the love and compassion of Jesus Christ
embodied in such a way that would bring him to faith; and when that
happens, he will believe.
