A devout agnostic, Jubal rated all religions, from the animism of Kalahari Bushmen to the most intellectualized faith, as equal. But emotionally he disliked some more than others and the Church of the New Revelation set his teeth on edge. The Fosterites' flat-footed claim to gnosis through a direct line to Heaven, their arrogant intolerance, their football-rally and sales-convention services--these depressed him. If people must go to church, why the devil couldn't they be dignified, like Catholics, Christian Scientists, or Quakers?
If God existed (concerning which Jubal maintained neutrality) and if He wanted to be worshipped (a propositional which Jubal found improbable but nevertheless possible in the light of his own ignorance), then it seemed wildly unlikely that a God potent to shape galaxies would be swayed by the whoop-te-do nonsense the Fosterites offered as "worship".
But with bleak honesty Jubal admitted that the Fosterites might own the Truth, the exact Truth, nothing but the Truth. The Universe was a silly place at best . . . but the least likely explanation for it was the no-explanation of random chance, the conceit that abstract somethings "just happened" to be atoms that "just happened" to get together in ways which "just happened" to look like consistent laws and some configurations "just happened" to possess self-awareness and that two "just happened" to be the Man from Mars and a bald-headed old coot with Jubal inside.
No, he could not swallow the "just-happened" theory, popular as it was with men who called themselves scientists.
Think of Moore's followers, which is what they are now, they no longer can afford to think of themselves as mere Christians, but as Christians of a specific sect that attach themselves to a specific thinker, that is, Roy Moore. The Mooreites are very similar to the Fosterites in Heinlein's classic. The feel the need to exclaim their love of God and his laws, as they understand them.
I think I can align myself with Jubal: the Mooreites might, in fact, have the Truth. And I can afford them that. With regard to the monument, no one is restricting their right to the truth. The monument in the public building does not represent the Truth, in whole or in part. From the Alabama legal system perspective (and indeed the perspective of the US Supreme Court, since they refused to weigh in on the matter), if the Mooreites are to believe in the Constitution of this country, particularly the First Amendment in whole, then they too must respect that someone else might, in fact, have the Truth.
Does this mean that believing in the right for everyone to have the Truth, however they see it, weakens the Truth? No. What it does mean is that the search for the Truth, the search for redeemption, the search for God must be a personal one. It cannot be thrust and forced into the public forum, into public buildings, and into the public mind, unless alternate religions, philosophies, and beliefs are given the same opportunities. And that isn't too practical, as public buildings are limited in size. No, for the government to give equal rights to all people, it must stay out of worship all together.
The Mooreites interpret the Constitution, the First Amendment in particular, selectively. They see the "freedom of speech" part, but they conveniently ignore the "seperation of church and state and the government should not advocate one religion over another" (paraphrased, obviously). The believe that there First Amendment rights are being trampled, all the while oblivious to the fact that they themselves are trampling over the rest of the citizen's First Amendment rights.
The Mooreites believe, on some very real level, that Christians everywhere must believe as they do: that the United States Of America was founded on Christian principles and that the monument must be allowed to stay in the Alabama building as a tribute to that foundation. But I'm Christian and I don't believe that way. I must be in denial. Or have strayed. Or whatever.
And this is the crux of the problem: Often in the football-rally style of worship and religion, logic and good sense are absent. Emotion runs high, which sometimes precludes respect for others.
So how do we give the Mooreites the room they need to worship and feel like they have a voice in society, without being railroaded into their way of thinking through sheer emotional drive masquerading as patriotism?
Yep, this is one sweet mess. |
