Pie Jesu

I had many bad experiences at the hands of individual Christians. Because of this, I often worry that I will fall into anti-Christian bias. Regrettably, I sometimes have fallen into anti-Christian bias. The good news is that I corrected myself. Whatever I imagine my best self to be, it is certainly not an anti-Christian. To be sure, everything and everyone doesn't always need to be painted in religious colors. Yet, there are people called Christians and people called non-Christians in the world; to the extent that people define themselves and are defined by their religious identity, I hope to show Christians only sisterly love. 

My individual experiences aside, from a more abstract point of view, I find that Christianity as a description of reality has explanatory power to a lesser degree than other systems of thought. The emphasis here is on lesser. All human systems of thought, the ones with any bit of staying power, are an approximation of reality on some level and to some degree. Though I recognize that Christianity, like other religions and philosophies, has some merit and some meritorious elements, when taken as a whole I am inclined to disagree. Thus, I am not a Christian. 

However, bias--unfortunately--not only comes from without, but also from within. Christians, it seems, are just as capable of mistreating other Christians as non-Christians are of Christians, and Christians are of non-Christians. I recently encountered a blog post in which one group of Christians said that another group of Christians, because of resolutions passed by the latter's church, were, "a freak show", "eunuchs", "communists", that their resolutions were "bullshit" and "progressivist nonsense" and that their clergy were "pussies". This, despite the latter's actions having a rather strong and direct basis in St. Paul's letter to the Galatians. 

It was almost as if the name callers had never heard of Galatians. Ironically--or not--Galatians was relevant not only to the substance of the dispute, but to the ugly form the dispute took in the hands of the critics. In Galatians, St. Paul writes, "For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out!" He also wrote, "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results ... hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger ... divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, and other kinds of sin." 

Bullshit. Eunuchs. Pussies. Communists.  In this environment, one could recall the lyrics to Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Pie Jesu". I don't speak Latin; I'm only a beginning student. I understand them through another person's translation. But here they are, and in the context of this dispute, they are very moving:

Pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Sempiternam
Sempiternam
Requiem

Before going hiking today, I will make one offering of incense to the goddess of mercy for the Christians who were targets of this hostility as well as one offering of incense to Pax for peace among Christians, and for peace in my own life, to be a less argumentative person myself.