When Amy Coney Barrett (ACB) was confirmed to the supreme court, some people on social media and in the media lamented, fearing that her appointment was indicative of the future erosion of women’s rights, and some even went so far as to compare the scenario to the Handmaid’s Tale. I knew of the story, but only vaguely. I knew it was a book series and a TV series. I knew it was dystopian, about a weird future where many women were infertile and others who were able to have children were used as breeders. In reading this story, I’ve learned that the fictional society was transformed (I don’t know why yet) by religious zealots who refuse to educate women, use them for their childbearing capabilities, and basically control all aspects of their lives.
Now, regardless of where the story goes from here is less important that the picture of this world that is being painted for us. Why would anyone in their right mind associate ACB with this story? What relevance does this mother of seven who is a respected, accomplished, educated, and intelligent woman have with this dystopian story? She’s a practicing Catholic, a Christian. Her sin is being religious. As American society insists that religion has no place in public life, declaring that there should be a separation of church and state, many of us are falling for this lie. The separation of church and state that is enshrined in the constitution is not freedom from the offense of others beliefs, but freedom from a state religion with obligatory memberships and state sanctioned punishments for disobedience or heresy. We are promised that our government will never be a state religion, not one that bars religious people from participation in public life.
We can’t allow people to make the argument that morality has no place in legislature and law. All laws are moral judgements, just ones that most people agree on. Stealing? Bad. Law. Killing? Bad. Law. Etc. Instead of LGBTQ people feeling threatened by Religious Freedom, and women being threatened by transgender rights, people need to sit down and reach compromises that allow the most freedom for the most people, while still protecting the rights of vulnerable groups. We’ve got to get out of the mindset that we’re in a power struggle between groups and stop playing tug of war. Our binary thinking has led us to see others enemies who are not. We need to instead listen to the concerns of different groups and address them.
So again, what does that have to do with the book Start with Why, or the lesson? I’m getting there, I promise. When you don’t seize control of your own narratives and spin the story your own way (every news outlet, every celebrity, everybody normal person has a story), other people will do it for you. And this leads to a Public Relations or PR problem. A good publicist can take a bad story, spin it, and make you look good. People can take a good story and spin it to make a hero look bad. The point is that the person or group you want telling your story is you. Otherwise, you have a PR problem. You don’t want people who don’t know you, understand you, or sympathize with you presenting your perspective to the world. You don’t want people who deliberately misunderstand you, your beliefs, or your behaviors telling others who you are. We need more Christians, more religious people, being bold and unashamed of who they are and what they believe to be willing to tell their own stories.
I personally thought that society and popular culture wanted nothing to do with religion (I still kinda think that). The message we seem to be getting is that we should sit down and shut up and keep our religious parts covered, because honestly, no one wants to see that, mmkay? And if you could keep your morality and your beliefs our of your politics, too, that’d be great. The trouble with this is that politics and law ARE morality and belief legislated into law. Regardless of where you’re getting your morality, and who or what you hold supreme, all people are using their beliefs and sense of morality to inform their stances on issues, current events, and politics.
So again, what does this have to do with Christians having a PR problem? What does it have to do with the Book Start with Why? Instead of listening to the pressures that we feel that tell us to sit down and shut up, that no one wants us to be shoving our religion in their faces all the time trying to convert them, we should seize control of our own narrative and be ourselves. We tell our own stories in our own words, in our own voices and tell people why we do what we do. We start with why. How does Christ improve our lives? How does Christianity improve the world?
If our society is going to value authenticity above almost anything else and celebrate people for being who they are, we should claim that privilege for ourselves. Instead of letting popular culture dictate who we are and how we are, we should tell our own stories. Hollywood tells us that witches are cool and devil worshipping is entertaining and edgy (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and that those who believe in the bible are fanatic zealots who will impose their will on society as a whole (The Handmaid’s Tale). Maybe it’s time we frame our own narrative about Christianity. We need more people like Simone Biles, not just because of her awesome athletic ability, but because in her autobiography she wasn’t afraid or ashamed to attribute her success to God. Why is that? We need more people telling others why and how they attribute their successes to God.
So, let's start with why. Why Christianity? We have a path to be free of guilt from our past mistakes and choices, if we choose another way. We have access to strength and power to help us make those changes, or help us in hard times. That might sound hokey to someone who has never experienced it, but I know that it’s true. I know that you can have access to hope and comfort in the scariest, darkest times in your life. I know that even when the world seems to be falling apart around you you can have a lifeline of bright hope. You can find good things in crappy times. We really do find reassurance, direction, peace, guidance, and comfort through prayer. I really have found answers to impossible questions, and found myself equal to impossible tasks. I’m as skeptical as anyone about anything, but when something is repeatable by others with the same results, we’re venturing into scientific method territory. Just because we don’t understand how or why things work, that doesn’t mean that they don’t. I have been able to be happy, despite the crappiest circumstances that I’ve found myself in, and I attribute that to my faith (a belief in God, a hope in good outcomes, a faith in a brighter future).
To be religious is not stupidity, it’s not brainwashing. It’s a choice. It’s a choice to continue to pursue a path that has proven to provide emotional and mental support. It’s a choice to pursue a course that provides anchoring, peace, and reassurance in a chaotic and despairing world. It’s a choice to continue to pursue a path that led you to answers and helped your abilities to be equal to the tasks you were/are faced with. We must be our own publicists, tell our own stories. We must start with why. Why do we do what we do? Why do we seek to change our minds, or our natures, our habits, or our characters when it’s hard?
I feel like a lot of religious people have withdrawn from parts of society, reassuring themselves that at least they’re happy. Books and movies rarely have religious characters, and when they do they’re often crazy or cooky. Often religious people are presented as villains (you know, the crazy serial killer). We can’t be content to make our surroundings peaceful, happy, and good and let the rest of the world around us collapse. We can’t forget the mandates given in the scriptures that we are supposed to preach repentance. As we’ve discussed in the past, repentance is changing, or doing better when you know better. Although we don’t seek to impose our beliefs on others, we do hope to encourage others to improve and change for the better when they know a better way. We can’t forget to tell others that there is a path to redemption, that we can change our characters, and even our natures. We can change, we can remake ourselves, we can be "reborn." We can be examples, we can be ourselves, and we can choose not to withdraw or shrink from interacting with others we encounter, online or in person, who are different from us.
Christ tells us that as we learn of him and listen to his words, walking in his path, we will have peace. The ability to be happy and at peace in a tumultuous world or in devastating situations or circumstances is something I think we all want. I think that this is what is meant when the scriptures say, “And thou shalt declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the mountains, and upon every high place, and among every people that thou shalt be permitted to see. And thou shalt do it with all humility, trusting in me, reviling not against revilers.” Interestingly enough it tells us not to revile against the revilers. The word revile means to “criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.” Don’t go around fighting with people who never intended to understand you. Don’t waste your time or energy increasing or multiplying the amnositiy, enmity, negativity, or contention in the world. Instead, “but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)
“And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost. And speak freely to all; yea, preach, exhort, declare the truth, even with a loud voice, with a sound of rejoicing, crying—Hosanna, hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord God!” Tenets are principles of religion or philosophy, so it appears to be telling us not to delve into the intricacies or speculations of religion, but to stick to the basics. The things we know. Faith, repentance, baptism, and confirmation by the Holy Ghost.
We are told to “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing . . . Behold, canst thou read this without rejoicing and lifting up thy heart for gladness? Or canst thou run about longer as a blind guide?” I am struck in the scriptures by how often the gospel is counseling us to be of good cheer, to rejoice, to be glad. How can we read these things without rejoicing and feeling glad? If we believe that men are that they might have joy, and we believe that Christ’s gospel (a word deriving from the Latin and Greek meaning Good News) is supposed to make us joyful or happy, we should study it with the lens of understanding why. Why is it supposed to be good news? Why is it supposed to make us rejoice or feel glad? If we don’t understand these things I’m not sure we understand what we profess to believe, and we’re a blind guide that shouldn't be running around trying to convince others to follow a path we don't understand ourselves.
This week, the reading helped me to understand that we need to live our lives and be ourselves without feeling ashamed or afraid of what others think of us, our choices, or our beliefs. We need to be who we are, and tell our own stories. Who are Christians, and what do we believe? Why do we do what we do? Why do we believe it? If we become our own publicists, and take control of our own narrative instead of letting ourselves be defined by fringe or fictional zealots, I think people would have a more accurate understanding or who we are and what we are.
