I am one of you. A pastor? Yes. A skeptic also? Yes. I have my doubts just like you do. I look at religious people (including myself from time to time) and cringe because of the hypocrisy, the violence masked as love and peace, and the intolerance masked as zeal just like you do. You're not alone. The Church is full of skeptics. "What about the people who seem so certain?" you ask. Sometimes they are the biggest skeptics of them all, but they aren't comfortable in their own skin, so they create a new (and false) skin to protect themselves.
I don't blame you for not wanting to follow Jesus. What you see on television, the big hair, the ridiculous promises of wealth, the violence, the fake smiles, gives you a good reason not to follow. I must caution you, however, that what you see on television isn't reality. It isn't the truth. Find the truth for yourself. Don't let the messengers ruin the message.
Has religion led to unthinkable horrors? Yes, but it has also led to many good things. Without religion, the civil rights movement would never have happened. Without religion, the Jewish people might still be enslaved in Egypt. Without religion, slavery would not have been abolished in England. I cannot apologize for my brothers and sisters throughout history that have portrayed the wrong message, all I can do is try my best to be better than the message they have portrayed. I leave you with the words of Francis S. Collins, a world-renowned scientist and believer in God:
"The church is made up of fallen people. The pure, clean water of spiritual truth is placed in rusty containers, and the subsequent failings of the church down through the centuries should not be projected onto the faith itself, as if he water had been the problem.
Would you condemn an oak tree because its timbers had been used to build battering rams? Would you blame the air for allowing lies to be transmitted through it? Would you judge Mozart's "The Magic Flute" on the basis of a poorly rehearsed performance by fifth-graders? If you had never seen a real sunset over the Pacific, would you allow a tourist brochure as a substitute? Would you evaluate the power of romantic love solely in the light of an abusive marriage next door?
No. A real evaluation of the truth of faith depends upon looking at the clean, pure water, not at the rusty containers."
Signed,
A Rusty Container
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