BE UNIQUE
What the Religious Right Gets Wrong
The Irony of American Evangelism
In his 1927 essay, “Why I Am Not a Christian,” Bertrand Russell prefaced his critique of the religion by defining it simply as including “some kind of belief about Christ…. at the very lowest the belief that Christ was, if not divine, at least the best and wisest of men.” Twenty-five years later in Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis narrowed Russell’s admittedly broad definition by excluding any such secular interpretations, insisting that “a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.”
Divergent though these understandings of Christianity maybe, what both seem to agree upon is that some degree of belief in and adherence to Christ’s teachings are required. Whether that belief necessarily entails subsequent convictions about Jesus’ divinity or his ability to perform miracles, philosophers and theologians will undoubtedly continue to debate. It is, however, for our purposes, beside the point. What is of more pressing concern is whether the life and lessons of Christ are in any way reflected in the words and deeds of those who profess to follow him. In the case of…
