OPINIONS and Give Us Chips! Brady Ehler, OP Opinions Editor ae I’ve never been a religious person. I was raised an atheist, and am glad that I was. _I am glad that my objectivity was never compromised by the subjectivity of organized religion. That said, I have always fostered my own personal spiritual beliefs. Furthermore, I have occasionally con- sidered adopting a specific ideology to aid me in my spiritual quest. I have dabbled in a few eastern religions, but never really considered Christianity as an option for myself. And so it was the case when I first listened to the work of singer/song- writer David Bazan of Pedro the Lion. Here was an artist that instead of following his faith dog- matically, challenged the views of his religion through his art. I was quickly moved by songs such as “Letter from a Concerned Follower,’ which challenges a dogmatic depiction of the Christian deity; “how do you expect to keep up with the trends?” then declares, “You won’t survive the information age, unless you plan to change the truth to accommodate the brilliance of men.” When I started listening to Pedro the Lion, I had no idea it was Christian rock, but by the time I found out, they had won me over, and the CD was spared retirement as a coaster. Recently, I have fallen in love with the work of another Christian who wasn’t afraid to chal- lenge his religion: William Blake. I am particularly enamored with Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” in which the ultra conservative God-fearing angels are challenged by the lib- eral, self-loving devils. The piece suggests that the angels could learn much from their under- world counterparts. I found this refreshing. By exposing the failings of Christianity, it had by proxy exposed its successes. -Also contained in the “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” are a series of “Proverbs from Hell.” Here are a few: “The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction,” “No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings,” and “The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion.” I left my English class last Wednesday night contemplating theses proverbs, and thought to myself, “Man, if I could find a Christian church with the open-mind- ed attitude of Blake, I would definitely consider attending a service”. It was in this thoughtful and spiritually charged state that I was accosted by a solicitor at the entrance of the Skytrain station. The fellow thrust a small blue flyer in front of my face. “What’s this?” I asked. “An invitation to Jesus,” the man responded. Taking the pamphlet, I laughed at the synchronicity and walked off. I read the essay as I climbed the stairs to the train. The title read, “Pollution!!”” The following essay asked, “Do you know what the biggest and worst pollution that is the biggest killer that the world has?” I ignored the bad grammar and read on. It turned out, according to the handout, that the “the biggest and worst pollution that is the biggest killer that the world has” is sin. [HE OTHER PRES. BRUARY 1 2007 _ Quench the Fiery Brand. a a Sri eeienoeiilll emeamentnite nisl tame Stone I began to sense where this was going, but read on. According to the pamphlet, I could solve all the world’s problems by believing in Jesus. “Wow that seems pretty simple,’ I though to myself. Then I wondered what would happen to my soul if I refrained from believing in Jesus. While the pamphlet did not answer my question directly, it did suggest I “give my life ta Jesus and let his peace in my life.” It then went on to warm me, “Today’s problems will be nothing compated to the coming judgment of God.” Fuck! I better get on the Jesus train before God shit-kicks my soul! Also in the pamphlet was the warning, “Because we have rejected Jesus, we believe in everything but repentance of sin. You live for the devil if you do not live for Jesus, and the devil only wants your soul.” After being so charged on Blake, you can imagine how well this when over. Suddenly, I became completely disenchanted with Christianity. Who the hell do these people think they are? This isn’t 16th century; Do they really think they can bully peopl¢ into joining their religion, under the threat of punishment by God? For an agnostic like myse there isn’t a chance in hell (pun intended). Especially when they claim that it’s all black and white; that the world is a terrible place because of sin, end of story. As Blake might suggest, I] think “sin” is integral to the process of learning. Pain and suffering are here for a reason—so we can be challenged and grow. I think the soul is intrinsically good. No one wants to be a bad person, but the world we live in sometimes makes us so. I think it’s our lot in life to excavate that goodness within our own souls, through experience and effort, regardless of what religion we follow, if any. Ergo, when some dogmatic nut tries to tell me those worshipers of Jesus will suddenly be absolved of sin, and non-worshippers will be damned, I can’t help but think their model is a bit simplis tic. : I think a better tactic is the one being employed by a Christian group here on campus. At the beginning of every semester, they lure students over to a table set up in the concourse wi free chips! Awesome! Everyone loves free chips. All you have to do for your free bag of chip is fill out a short survey about your beliefs, and if you wish, you can leave them with your co tact information. I usually fill out the pamphlet honestly, and laugh at my wit. In return I get 2 tasty snack for class. . The days are gone where agnostics, atheists and worshippers of other religions can be swayed by threats; there is no force behind the threats, and they have no logical merit. I-want to see a religion that invites criticism and adapts to changes in social ideology, and then maybe just maybe I'll join the ranks. Until then, I will continue to be agnostic.