In January, I mentioned a new author named Samir Selmanovic, here on my blog. Actually, he a Christian pastor, and this book is about his spiritual journey from Islam, Judaism, atheism, and finally to Christianity. His beliefs are not so much a progression into Christianity, but rather a synthesis of these different chapters in his life that haven’t always divided themselves so neatly. Since his life is filled with blurry lines, he is rather comfortable in challenging those with defined boundaries of religion and truth.
He has been labeled as a pluralist by some, and a heretic by others. But he still ardently believes in the beauty and truth contained in many, if not all, of the world’s expressions of faith (or doubt). Samir finds it distasteful and arrogant (as do I) when a singular religion claims to have a stranglehold on truth. Even when Christianity aims for this type of “light in a dark world” status, he mostly rejects it.
There are a lot of interfaith groups out there, but Samir gladly throws atheism into the mix. In his book, he offers an interesting perspective on a common debate among atheist and religious thinkers:
“Does religion own virtue?
Are religious people more likely to be protectors of the earth’s resources, more likely to believe in nonviolent solutions to world problems, and more likely to care for the poor and oppressed?
The obvious answer to this question is no. To which many religious people respond, ‘Yes, but this is just because the sense of right and wrong of atheists is feeding off of centuries of the development of morality and ethics nurtured by religion. Once that storehouse of religion is used up, secular societies are going to fall vicim to their inherent vacuum of values.’” (It’s Really All About God
, pg. 190)
and
“While religious people relate their lives to something transcendent, which often means ‘elsewhere’ and ‘later’, atheists are in a position to assume full responsibility for ‘here’ and ‘now’. They cannot avoid, cover up, or postpone solving personal and communal issues in Some Other Time and Some Other Place with Someone Else. All that happens, happens in the present. Every person and moment is precious, unrepeatable, unpostponable, and thus sacred.” (It’s Really All About God
It’s tricky to have discussions about religion, especially when beliefs about nearly everything vary as wildly as they do within my particular religious upbringing: Christianity. There are Christians who believe in the justification of war, and those who are dedicated to radical peace. Christians who consider America to be most “Christian” nation in history, to those who believe the exact opposite. Musical instruments, style of dress, use of technology, sexual preference, authority of scripture, and countless other issues are constantly debated and disagreed upon within this one religion.
So, how does one decide what to believe and how to be classify themselves, religiously?
Depending on who is looking at me, or who I am being compared to, I am either fanatically conservative, or heartbreakingly liberal. Am I whoever I want to be? Or am I whomever you want me to be? What about you?
When it comes down to it, you can either look at the beliefs that make up our lives as showcasing how different and separate we all are, or consider the beliefs that show how alike we all are.
I’ve been mostly absent from church services for the past couple of years. While I would not classify myself as an atheist, it didn’t seem fair to call myself a Christian either. While the term “post-Christian” is an appropriate description of much of western Europe, it seemed a rather arrogant distinction to put upon myself, no matter how accurate it seemed to describe my spiritual state.
But, with this discovery of Samir Selmanovic, a Christian with answers for some of my toughest questions and some questions for answers that I didn’t even know that I held to, I feel like there still may be room for religion in my life.
I’ll leave you with one final quote from Samir’s book
“Follow me, and you might be happy-or you might not. Follow me, and you might be empowered-or you might not. Follow me, and you might have more friends-or you might not. Follow me, and you might have the answers-or you might not. Follow me, and you might be better off-or you might not. If you follow me, you may be worse off in every way you use to measure life. Follow me nevertheless. Because I have an offer that is worth giving up everything you have: You will learn to love well.”
May it be said that we all “learn to love well”.
