Last Night I was going to a Christmas Eve service--that and Easter being the only times I ever go to a Christian Church. I saw a homeless man asleep on a bench, then went back and tried to wake him so I could give him some money. He continued to sleep, and I finally decided that it might scare him to be woken up by a stranger, so I let him be. The next day I saw another homeless man going through a garbage can, and gave him all my change. He gave me a radiantly toothless smile, and said merry Christmas. I would never have felt as strong a need to do that any other day of the year. I know that one doesnt need religion to follow moral and legal laws-- Atheists are as law abiding as Theists. But the moral law says we need only refrain from hurting strangers and help only our friends and family. Only in religion do we find the paradoxical claim that all people are siblings. There is a genuinely inspired craziness in Christianity that insists you have to go beyond the moral law---walk the second mile, give your cloak and coat as well. You cant actually live that way all the time. But occasionally it inspires random acts of kindness that a purely scientific reasoning could never justify. Does this make up for the Inquisition? Who knows, but its worth something.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 18:38:09 +0000
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