COLUMN: The Secular Christian

Harry Caines contributes a weekly column to CacheValleyDaily.com. His column is a work of opinion, and does not reflect the views of Cache Valley Daily, the Cache Valley Media Group, or its employees.

<em>“There are many things which I have derived good, but which I have not profited.”</em>

—From “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens

An anecdote about two events 2,200 miles apart.

This past week I was walking through Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia with a good friend and his wife. I had taken them there to see a Christmas light show which has been a traditional standard of Philadelphia life for over half a century. They are friends from Utah who had come up from Washington, DC on that day so that I could give them a tour of my hometown.

The next day I was to attend the wedding of a very dear friend. I did not know what to buy him and his soon-to-be wife. Giving money as a wedding present is acceptable where I come from…but I wanted something special. For months I had looked for a gift that would be memorial. Nothing grabbed me. I had given up on a gift and decided to just get my friend’s fiancee a certificate for Macy’s, a store that my friend told me his lovely fiancee has a fondness towards. And hey, I was already there.

And there it was!

Close to the customer service desk was a shelf of Waterford Crystal figurines. One of them was a cross. Both of the betrothed are devoted members of the Catholic Church. The cross had a simple elegance to it that I thought they would love. Life should be so easy. I bought it and gave it to them.

Fast forward five days. Back in Utah on Wednesday, I was presented with an early Christmas gift. I was given a miniature replica of the Christus statue. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know the Christus is a large statue of Jesus which is prominently displayed on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. I always thought the Christus was an impressive sight. I genuinely felt touched by the gift.

Anyone who reads my columns often enough; or, those who know me only impersonally might think this to be a strange succession of occurrences. In short, I am not religious…and I have stated that in this column more than once. I do not believe in an afterlife. I do not believe in any omnipotent or omnipresent gods. I shun organized religion and my philosophy has progressed (regressed?) to the point where I believe all of life is chaos that can consume us on any given day.

The usual words defining this type of person are atheist and/or agnostic. I hate both labels, but I really hate being called an atheist. In a semantical argument, yes, I readily admit that I am an atheist. The problem with that is that I have no idea what happens to us when we die. Maybe some form of god or gods does hold domain over us. I doubt it. But, to openly show disdain for those who do believe that order in our world comes from God is…no thesaurus needed to explain it…rude.

And that’s what I find disagreeable about people who are like me. So many who refute the existence of God and organized religion do so from place of bitterness or contempt. I understand that some people who are ultra-religious are unkind, ignorant and, occasionally, dangerous. I often ridicule such people in this column. I consider Utah to be run as a theocracy. I find that abhorrent and un-American.

That is not my argument today. On this day, I want to remind those who, like me, refuse to submit to a deity that we can never claim moral equality or superiority to the Faithful if we walk into every situation openly scoffing at them because of their belief.

I had no problem buying a very dear friend of mine a cross as a wedding gift. I had no problem standing at the altar at the ceremony the next day to lead those who attended in prayer. I considered it a very humbling honor. And when I was presented with a likeness of Jesus revered by members of the Mormon Church, I not only was heartily moved, but I plan on displaying the gift every Christmas and Easter.

How many who think like me could do any of those things? That is big problem in the world we currently inhabit. Too many of us feel an unfortunate compulsion to delegitimize that which we disagree with.

And, yes, I turn the argument now to those who are religious. Answer these questions:

Are people who do not believe in God immoral just because they are atheists?

Is the world a worse place because people have turned away from God?

Should a belief in God be a prerequisite for people elected to public office; or, for those in a position of power and responsibility with children or the infirmed?

If you answer yes to those questions, do you not go into every situation with prejudices that would disqualify people who might be the very best that our society has to offer? Does that make our world better in any way?

I think our world is being divided up into clans that wish to live only in echo chambers. Society has been enslaved by a culture of social media that does nothing for most of us but bounce back how we see the world. To protect this flawed vision of flawlessness, we relegate those whom we differ from into various states of evil or, at the very least, mental discord.

<em>If you disagree with me, there is something wrong with you.</em>

I find my theory disheartening. And during the Christmas season, it makes me even more sullen. This is the one time of year when the Christian and the Contrarian should find a common ground and just be nice to each other and everyone they come in contact with.

I believe that all who deny the Christ can still use the date put aside to celebrate His birth as a beacon that shines a charitable, good heart to all. I do. I believe that after we all laugh at those morons who turn “Christmas shopping” into an episode of the Jerry Springer Show are outliers; an anomaly. I still believe we can turn Christmas back into a time when our priority is not to bankrupt ourselves buying gifts for people who do not need gifts; but, to make this a season when we submit to the better angels in our nature.

Yes, I am, by the literal definition of the word, an atheist. However, I wholeheartedly embrace the month of December and the celebration of Jesus’s birth. I take joy in singing Christmas songs. I feel good staring at Nativity displays. I have made it a Utah tradition to sit in Temple Square in solemn reflection and reverent respect for the incredible display of Christmas lights the LDS Church puts on display. When I say “Merry Christmas” to strangers and friend alike, I smile at them—and most smile back.

I am a man that cannot believe in organized religion, but passionately wants to keep the teachings of love, forgiveness and charity as accredited to Jesus in the Gospels with me every day of year. Please do not call me an atheist. I would rather be thought of as a secular Christian. It just has a much more approachable sound to it.

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