Brian McLaren (“Judas, Dan Brown and Jesus,” Herald, April 27) may be correct that the current discussions about Jesus might help us rediscover the real Jesus in the canonical Gospels. My problem is his assertion that the “religious right” presents a Jesus that is “pro-war, pro-rich, anti-environmental” and “anti-immigrant.”
The implication is that we on the conservative side of the spectrum are hateful, cruel, selfish, and completely ignorant of the Christ of the Bible. This, of course, is not true. We are not “pro-war” but we do realize that, evil as war is, it is sometimes the only alternative. We are not “anti-environment” but we do want sane and intelligent measures that actually improve the environment. We are not “anti-immigrant.” Our prayer and hope is for good things for them. We also insist that our nation has the right to regulate immigration, and that immigrants must abide by our laws.
We are “pro-rich,” however. We are also pro-poor, pro-men, pro-women, pro-children, pro-young, pro-old, and pro-everyone else in all the world. We do admit that some in our camp have distorted Christ, but on these issues we believe we follow the clear teachings of our Lord, not a plastic or otherwise untrue Jesus.
Mr. McLaren may disagree. I support his right to do so, and welcome an honorable discussion of the issues. The discussion, however, must be a cooperative effort to understand the will of God, not a battle to secure the victory of our own views. Blanket statements that we are “anti-immigrant,” etc., are divisive, accusatory and have no place in the discussion. We must conduct ourselves in an attitude of humble prayer, love and respect, realizing that we are all sinners in need of grace,and that we all know only “in part.”
We must also remember that the world is watching, and many will make their decisions about Christ based on how we handle our differences.
R. Dennis Campbell, Boonsboro, Md.