HT to Jonny Baker and Mark Berry for the heads up on Moby's thoughts on Christians and Christianity. THANK YOU Moby, for always being authentic and humble!
"i don't want to burst anyone's(or everyone's)bubble, but i'm a weird sort of christian myself.
i don't go to church.
i find dogmatic and judgemental christians to be just as offensive as
dogmatic and judgemental muslims, jazz fans, pure-bred dog owners,
etc(for the record:
nothing wrong with islam, jazz, or pure-bred dog owners. my criticism is reserved for dogma and judgementalism).
i won't ever argue with anyone about religion or claim that i'm right and they're wrong.
but in my own weird and subjective way i'm a weird little christian.
i believe that there's something somehow divine about the teachings of
christ, and the fact that christ's teachings compel us to be selfless
and forgiving and humble and loving and non-judgemental.
this is one of the reasons that i get so annoyed with contemporary
christianity and it's seemingly comprehensive disconnect from the
actual teachings of christ.
but, nonetheless, i find it odd when people come to moby.com or myspace to say 'moby, we christians do this/that/etc'.
i kind of want to say, 'uh, dudes(notice the contemporary colloquialism, that's me trying to fit in)i'm one of you, ok?'
christ compels us to be better than we usually are.
christ compels us to forgive those who've wronged us.
christ compels us to love our enemies.
christ compels us to be humble and non-judgemental.
christ compels us to care for the neediest.
christ compels us to be non-violent.
christ compels us to recognize that the material world and all of our
posessions will ultimately turn into dust, so we shouldn't get too
attached to our bodies, our lives, and our stuff.
and, most importantly(in many ways), christ compels us to love one
another and look after one another, and to see all people as our own
family.
so when i call myself a christian it's because i find christ's
character and teachings to be incredibly compelling and, well,
divine(cos they're too weird/impractical/perfect to have ever been
invented by a human being).
all of the other stuff: virgin birth, apocryphal gospels, did christ have a wife/brother/twin/dog/etc?,
i find to be interesting window dressing.
if someone came to me and said: 'i have proof that there was no virgin
birth and that christ had a brother and a wife and a boston terrier!'
i'd say: 'ok. but his teachings are still pretty remarkable, regardless
of the circumstances of his life, right?'
i also have great respect for other religions, especially those that
stress the virtues of love and compassion and forgiveness and humility.
and i'll never, not for a second, say 'what i believe is right, and
what you believe is wrong.' what i believe is what i believe. it's
subjective and it makes sense to me and it changes as i change and as
my experience in the world changes.
constancy is not, in my opinion, defined through rigidity, but rather
through love and adherence even through changing circumstances.
and as for christmas, i hope that everyone has a wonderful christmas,
regardless of how you choose to celebrate it(or not celebrate it).
i always hope that somehow we can see past the fun and awesome pagan
trappings of christmas(trees, mistletoe, december 25th, candy canes,
etc) to remember that on christmas we celebrate the birthday(even if
jesus wasn't actually born anywhere near december 25th)of a man who
wanted us all to be more forgiving, more compassionate, less
judgemental, less violent, and less materialistic.
ultimately christmas is about celebrating the birthday of a man who
wanted us to love one another and to look after one another regardless
of our religious or political or ethnic or gender differences.
thanks, and merry christmas."
moby
