To the Editor:
It was with a sinking heart and sick stomach that I read the story beneath the headline "Hate-mailings target gays, Jews" in Monday's edition of The Dartmouth. Obviously, hate-mailings are always despicable, but I find them particularly nauseating when carried out in the name of Christianity.
A disturbing and frustrating hallmark of the '90s that the title "Christian" often conjures mental images of Republican-dominated political rallies, ranting wild-eyed anti-abortion protesters, and anti-gay marches. It's such a stark contrast to the message of grace and love that Jesus shared during his ministry.
Jesus emphasized that his kingdom was not of this world, but the Christian Coalition spends millions of dollars grasping at the same political power that Jesus so strenuously avoided. Jesus sacrificed his life to make a soul-transforming relationship with God possible, while self-appointed morality police seek to enforce or eradicate certain behaviors while ignoring the condition of the soul.
When pressed about which commandments were the most important, Jesus had a simple answer: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor (that is, everyone). From the way many groups with Christian names (I'm skeptical of their actual religiosity) behave, one might expect Christ's answer to have been: Only kiss the opposite sex, hate those who have or perform abortions, and fight big government. If Jesus were still in his grave (we just had a holiday celebrating the fact that he's not) he'd be spinning like a top!
There remain many Christian organizations that do follow Christ's commands to feed and clothe the poor, tend the sick, visit the prisoners and care for the helpless, but the sad state of affairs is that the perverters of Christianity generally get the most press.
The most sickening irony of all is that many so-called Christians consistently demonstrate the same pride, hypocrisy and condemnation that Jesus battled among the religious elite of his time. Now it's done in his name, and it makes me sad.
