Agnostic amongst the Evangelicals

Tonight I attended yet another in a seemingly interminable succession of prayer services. A group of ardent adherents assembles in a local United Methodist church at which the head of the ministry to whom I am indebted worships. There is much singing, praising and raising a ruckus. As I say, I am beholden to these folks so I do not intend even the appearance of the mildest disparagement.

When the joint is rocking along to Jesus at the karaoke bar (complete with overhead projections of music videos, replete with lyrics intended to inspire the flock to sing along), with the disciple’s hands raised in exultation it is difficult not to contemplate a modicum of mockery. Their hearts are certainly in the right place. One of these services does not go by without some devotee lobbying for the privilege of praying for my return to good health. It is seems absurd to denigrate them for their enthusiasm.

I grew up Catholic but have long since lapsed. Yet, listening to this reformist pastor rail against issues central to religious rift such as the efficacy of transubstantiation roused something deeply ingrained. I have little patience for (or knowledge of) the minutiae of these matters. I will leave it to religious scholars. It is unclear to me how the vilification of other competing faiths serves the faithful or furthers the cause of Christ for that matter.

The wellspring of compassion runs deep within these folks, though, deep enough to countenance the likes of me at any rate. Surely, I can abide these obligatory sessions without remonstration. I am not contemplating conversion anytime soon (although regaining my singing prowess might provide the requisite impetus). I freely admit the music has a poignancy that can set off one of my intermittent crying jags, which in turn draws the prayers; it seems too easy somehow. I am not overtly courting sympathy; at least, I am unaware of any such ulterior motive.

While discussing faith here, I mentioned my lapsed Catholicism. I find a lot of truth in the old Marx (or perhaps it was Engel) axiom “organized religion is the opiate of the masses.” Count me as me a non-believer. I use the descriptor agnostic in my title. I have always considered atheism a belief system. I stand firm in my non-belief. To my mind, the universe epitomizes the term infinity, both physically and in that time-honored definition of a deity: always was, always will be.

Some might call me a Darwinist or secular humanist. I abhor labels but I suppose I can abide humanist. As for Darwin, his theories seem sound enough, though there are those who claim the fossil record is, at best, inconsistent and it lacks corroborative examples; or at worst, it is illusory. While at this writing there may be some marginal validity to these claims, science continues to unearth finds substantiating Darwin’s work and in all probability will continue to do so.

All of which leads us to creationism, or its new pseudo-scientifically enhanced manifestation intelligent design. Pity the poor ostensibly college-bound students from places where local school boards have voted to award parity to this logic-defying curriculum alongside evolution. What a revelation they will be in for when they attend their core requirement science (e.g. biology) courses for the first time, a rude awakening is in store to be sure.

For that matter, is not intelligent design, by its lexicon definition, inherent to the theory of evolution? The fundamental crux of the theory postulates that higher life forms evolved from lower ones. Is that not miracle enough? What exactly offends these people? Does the progression from a perceived “lesser” organism somehow diminish the miracle? Why deny young minds, hungry for knowledge, the very thing they crave, only to supplant that yearning with some over-zealous, self-serving drivel that does not hold up under the most elemental intelligent inquiry?

© Copyright Stephen Alexander 2008