(Originally posted on Refinery Rock Radio Forum Page on 2/4/10)
Just when I thought I heard it all, up pops a shocker that makes me want to scream! In this case, atheist Dr. Christopher Hitchens actually has to correct the Theology of one Marilyn Sewell, a Unitarian minister. In the January issue of the Portland Monthly magazine Sewell states, "The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make and distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?"
The atheist Hitchens responds as if he understands the Christian faith better than she, "I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian."
And here lies the problem with the modern liberal/critical method of interpreting scripture. Can Sewell be considered a Christian with such a radical view? Not!!!! Hitchens gets it! Haven't we learned our lesson from the European church yet? The Christian Church in countries like Great Britain, France and Holland is almost nonexistent (as low as 5% of the population). The future of the American church may be in serious trouble unless conservative scholarship starts defending the faith like it once did. If you haven't noticed already, a number of Christian beliefs have become relative or even "optional." Keep praying; who knows, maybe Hitchens will become a believer!
-Rev. J
