Can’t just play church

In the Aug. 8 paper, Craig Detmer wisely noted that moral guidance and compassion are not mutually exclusive of one another. Indeed, Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.” However, I must post a warning flag concerning Detmer’s statement on pew occupancy.

Attending church is a step in the right direction. It shows an awareness of the importance of spirituality in one’s life. However, going to church doesn’t automatically make you a Christian. Some of the better-known religious institutions have large turnouts precisely because they tell you what you want to hear rather than what you need to know.

The majority of Americans still consider themselves to be Christians. If this were true, then Planned Parenthood would not consider unborn children as a resource from which to harvest stem cells for research (adult stem cells actually work better). Our schools would not be preaching evolution (Darwin had trouble explaining the explosion of life in his Cambrian period). Pornographic websites would not dominate a full one-third of the Internet.

We can no longer afford to play church. Either drop the title, or drop to your knees.

Douglas Benn

Spokane