WTF dude, WTF

Today I got to hear someone pretty much say that Obama is the antichrist. He mentioned seeing a newspaper he had read with the headline, "Obama: President of the World", which, in his mind, sealed the deal. And of course, this man is a friend of my family and a "good Christian." I don't want this blog to be a place for me to bash Christians, but it is really hard to feel passionate or even sympathetic towards a cultural faith that is tied to bigotry, segregation, and hate.

Clearly, other religions have sects that are also hateful, racist, and sexist. And obviously, the argument is, yet again, that I can't throw the baby out with the bath water. If I indeed believe in God and in Jesus, my work still isn't done. I need to figure out exactly what I believe about God and Jesus. I don't want to automatically join the ranks of protestant Christians seeking to evangelize the world. I just really don't know where I fit in.

I definitely don't belong in the sort of Christianity I was raised in, where everyone is a Republican, anyone who is not pro-life is a murderer, and everyone talks about God's call on their life all the time. On the other hand, I don't feel that comfortable in the church I currently attend, where any sort of intuitive perception anyone has about anyone else is interpreted as a word from God, members are encouraged to stand up and say or sing whatever they want at any moment, no matter how unfounded or disturbing, and minor physical changes are announced to be miraculous, stunning demonstrations of God answering our request for healing. I think I would most likely fit in in a Mennonite church, like the one I went to in college. It was pacifist and loving and simple and holistic.

What do I believe then? What are my faith values, I guess? I believe that it is our responsibility to take care of the beautiful planet God put us on (assuming God exists and he put us here). I believe we are supposed to love everyone, even people that are practically unlovable (like the guy who thinks Obama is the anti-christ). If God exists, I believe he does talk to people, perhaps in loud spoken word, but more likely, in everyday occurrences. I believe that God usually uses nature, biology, and humans to perform miracles, as opposed to big showy demonstrations. In fact, I have never heard of a big showy demonstrative sort of miracle that I could not somehow rationally explain. Okay, this is really going to offend people, but I really think God would be more a fan of Democratic ideals than Republican ones--not that he would necessarily want "big government" but that he would think it was important to share wealth and support the less fortunate, even if they are lazy, as some people think. I believe that Jesus, if he existed, was a "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." I don't know what the @#$% I think about the God of the Old Testament who killed huge amounts of people willy nilly. Actually, therein lies the age old problem. Why does God let babies die in buckets of their mother's vomit? What kind of @#$%ed-up universe is that? How do you move past @#$% like that?

Maybe that is the hardest thing for me. Injustice. How do we trust a supposedly just God who overlooks injustice? I know there are some crazy explanations people have for this stuff, but I do not think it possibly makes sense in my mind.