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Tuesday, 20 March 2007 15:52 |
Nonbeliever taken to task
over criticism of Christians
In his critique of Christianity, Dr. John Henderson makes a snickering reference to ìthe personal God who is judgmentalî (in an article that appeared last week in the Daily Planet headlined ìSkeptic places focus on damage caused by religionî).
Yet he himself goes on to make sweeping and dismissive judgments against all people of faith in this country. Perhaps if he was less judgmental and belligerent, I would be more receptive to his arguments.
The primary teaching of Christianity is that the world is in a fallen state, meaning that humankind is not what it has the potential to be. Unfortunately, this tends to be true of both the religious and the nonreligious.
Iím just as angry as most atheists are about the harm right-wing Christianity has done. But when I read the gospels, I read about a Jesus who was a radical feminist, who taught that ìblessed are the peacemakers,î who taught us to care for the poor and disenfranchised, who taught us to care for the environment.
Unfortunately, many Christians arenít living up to these values and this makes me, as a fellow Christian, very unhappy. Yet one of the things Christ taught was ìjudge not lest ye be judged.î So who am I to say that I am any better than them?
If Dr. Henderson wishes to see examples of Christians who are doing good things for the world, I would suggest he go to the website www.sojo.net.
I would also suggest he read some speeches by Sen. Barack Obama, a Christian as, well as a liberal progressive who has spoken eloquently about his faith.
Bert Clere
Asheville
Charm, appeal? Asheville
seems to be losing it fast
This Asheville native is sooooo sad; I am close to feeling defeated.
In the heart of my home is a kitchen, eating area and living room area. Other than sleeping, this is where our family of four spends time.
When the leaves are not on the trees, every view from this room looks toward Reynolds Mountain. And Reynolds Mountain is hideous ó it represents consumption, greed, arrogance, environmental destruction, a sense of oneness (ìI am the only one that mattersî) and things all non-Asheville.
I drove up to Reynolds Mountain this weekend to check out several things. For starters I wanted to see if some of the McMansions had been painted white or were the white houses covered in house wrap (most of the McMansions were covered in house wrap last winter; I thought after a year they would have made more progress).
I also wanted to see what type of erosion control they were using. All I can see from my perspective is dirt. I was wondering if they were trying to prevent erosion.
The houses are not white, they are house-wrapped (no progress on some of the houses since last winter), and no, they are not doing anything for erosion control. On the steep slopes of Reynolds Mountain is mulch, mulch that will wash down the mountain into the yards of innocent people who have lived modestly at the bottom of the mountain for decades.
The arrogance of the whole project really burns me. First, the developer feels like their desire to make bazillions of dollars is more important than the citizens of the community. Secondly, the developers rape the land and, as a result, dump their mistake into the neighborhoods below. Thirdly, and these are not in order of importance, the development has displaced all the wildlife in the area. There are more bobcats, bears and wild turkeys roaming around north Asheville than ever before.
Asheville has been a small town with a progressive attitude, a community representing openness and friendliness. Now it seems to be turning into a gentrified community, one where people are out for themselves≠óand who cares how it affects other people.
Then there is the environmental crisis. I will do anything to aid in saving the planet, and as a family we are constantly looking at new ways we can conserve. Then I look out the window and see the McMansions. How can my conservation balance their waste?
In Japan, the average person lives in a home that equates to 349 square feet per person (1998 figures). In public housing units in Hong Kong, people average 59 square feet a person.
In America in 1950 the average size of a new single-family home was 983 square feet; in 2004 it was 2,349 square feet. Why do we feel we deserve so much more?
Americans are responsible for much of the environmental damage done to the earth ó why do we feel we can keep taking and taking and taking? What are we doing to give back?
The houses on that mountain are HUGE. Some look to be 8000 to 10,000 square feet. How many people are living in that size home? Not only are they ridiculously enormous, but at night it looks like they turn on every light in the house. That mountain is lit up like a Christmas tree. No wonder we need another power plant ≠ó we have to light up 8000 square feet of house night after night.
Where is the outrage? Maybe everyone is outraged but donít know what to do with their anger. I donít know what to do, but I canít sit by quietly anymore. I am a native and I want Asheville to be a good place to raise a family, one where my children learn by example about living in balance. A place where neighbors help neighbors, where we work together to conserve and take care of the beautiful mountains we have been blessed with, a place with clean air and water, sidewalks to walk to the grocery store, movie, library. I want a place where people are considerate.
Please stop the damaging development. Make the (use of) UDO, or whatever policies you use, so developers canít rape the land and destroy our way of life...or is it already too far gone?
Sincerely sad,
KELLEY WOLFE
Asheville
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