At this time of the year I reflect on what Christianity means. For me it is about a belief that we are more than our physical existence on this planet. That we have a soul and live our lives embraced by God’s gifts like consciousness, empathy and free will. Wondrous human capabilities that elude attempts to explain them with secular science.
It is the reason there is a branch of philosophy called metaphysics where philosophers study imponderable questions like how it is possible for us to live within a causal universe and yet possess free will that allows us to make choices not governed by causality.
Or how to explain time and space, phenomena which philosopher Emmanuel Kant thought so vexed he used the term “transcendental” to describe them because without them we cannot make sense of the world and yet their existence is not provable through either science or reason.
When I reflect on these things it intensifies my belief in a God. Further, as a Christian I believe the gift of free will allows us to choose to do good things, to take responsibility for our failings and to forgive others for theirs.
I do not agree with the comments by Israel Folau about homosexuals going to hell. They are the comments of someone who has not grasped the deeper messages of Christianity. His comments are not accurate quotes from the Bible. There are passages in the New Testament in Galatians where St Paul (not Jesus) advises on behaviour in order to be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven. But in these cases, neither the word “hell” nor “homosexuals” is used.
It is easy to find contradictory passages in the Bible to support one’s prejudices. One can quote “an eye for an eye” or “turn the other cheek” as Christian responses when we are harmed. For me, it is the overall messages of forgiveness, charity and love in Christ’s teachings that count.
Rugby Australia did all Christians a disservice. Not because they sought to punish Folau but because they put many Christians in the position of having to defend his right to speak rather than debating him from the point of view of Christianity itself.
When I and many other Christians looked deep into our hearts we came to the view that if Christ was alive today he would have voted for same-sex marriage as a way of recognising the love between two human souls. We were prepared to argue against the Folau view based on Christ’s own teachings without the polarising intervention of Rugby Australia.
For many Christians, the journey towards accepting changing moral paradigms is painful enough as they grapple with the conflict between traditional teachings and the realities of awakening moral challenges from groups hitherto dealt with unjustly.
Elderly ethnic Christians in particular moved away from Labor as they felt devalued by its disregard of their struggle with these changing norms. Scott Morrison’s stoic Christianity and his reluctance to condemn Folau were more attractive for these “quiet Christians”. Those who felt voiceless and trapped between the Folau’s views and the uncompromising demands of the politically correct.
It is not just changing community values that have challenged Christians.
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Christians watched in disbelief the uncovering of the horrors perpetrated by priests on children. These acts are difficult to forgive as they are a betrayal of the most vulnerable, the children, that Christianity is supposed to protect. And yet as Christians we must pray that the perpetrators too seek forgiveness.
Christmas, then, is a time of reflection on the mystery and meaning of God’s gift of existential freedom; on the birth of Christ; and on the guiding values he preached of forgiveness, charity, empathy and most of all love for our families and fellow humans.
As Christians we can be guided by the example of the lived life of Jesus as well as by his spiritual message as we navigate the challenges of our modern world. For many of us, when we looked deeply into those messages we came to the view that the very foundations of Christianity require us to consider, debate, defend, modify and pray, and to deepen and refine our Christian values in order to do good.
At Christmas we can reflect on just how far we have come. Much of Christian morality now includes recognising the good in other faiths; that love transcends sexual orientation; that we must defend all human life but not at the cost of intense suffering as we near its end; that we must recognise the human rights of refugees seeking our protection; and that we must allow for human frailty in such things as divorce to allow new beginnings and new love.
We are no less Christian because we choose these things and reject fundamentalist interpretations or when we criticise the Church when it fails to protect children. But we also respect other Christians who remain committed to traditional Christian norms even while we disagree with them.
Have a reflective, safe and loving Christmas.