OK... So I was a bit preachy in my last entry...

I don't like tele-evangialists. That having been said does not mean that I am anti-chrisitian. I tend to think that the tele-evangialist, my buddy Pat Robertson - the subject of my last post - being only one example, is antithetical to Christian understanding of truth. Christianity is a diverse religion. I feel qualified to say this; I am a trained theologian (no shit, three advanced degrees beyond my BA). I have to confess a certain amount of cynicism toward the 700 Club and those who have used the faith as a means to justify financial gains based on the naive faith of those who may sincerely wish to walk in God's way.

The problem is that the guides that are leading these people are mistaken.

I am not a liberation theologian. But I have read the Old and New Testaments often enough to see what Vatican II called "God's preference for the poor." The idea of hording such property that well exceeds the needs of life resonates strongly in my thinking. I live modestly by American standards, but by the standards of the world I am among the richest of people. I have seen the poor in El Salvador, in Mexico, in the United States. I have worked in places that have guaranteed that I will never be rich. I cannot help but to be dubious and even offended by the confusion of material prosperity with the blessing of God. The Old Testament had plenty to say on that issue.

As for my faith, I am and remain agnostic. I don't know whether I consider myself to be a Christian, though I am more orthodox than I care to admit. I suppose that the proof of redemption is that pain can be transformed into compassion and empathy. I try to live this and trust that whatever gods there are will further my redemption. I don't worry about heaven or hell: I am more concerned with living well in this life.

I still think that Pat is a hypocrite. May the gods forgive me for my judgment and grant me wisdom to live in the light that I have been given the grace to see.

Ah, but I am only a fool...

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