Principle-Free Living February 23, 2011
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Christian witness, Core Values, Integrity, Personal Reflection, U.S. Culture.Tags: Christian discipleship, Faith Sharing, Values
10 comments
Reading a recent post by sportswriter Rick Reilly (passed on to me by my son Josh) about a young female wrestler, Cassy Herkelman, from Iowa who lost focus and was defeated in the state finals because a young evangelical Christian, Joel Northrup, forfeited an earlier match to her due to his conviction that it isn’t right to wrestle females, I wondered if it would have made the news if religion hadn’t been cited as the reason. Reilly raises the point that a principle isn’t right just because it is religious, but acting on principles — regardless of the reason — is not necessarily a bad thing. Reilly disingenuously makes the point that if he felt religiously motivated to poke people with sticks (he obviously was brought up in an interesting faith…) that wouldn’t make it right. Silly argument. Holding a conviction — whether misguided or not — to not harm someone is not the same as deciding to hurt them. Reilly’s argument is based on a personal value judgment grounded in a cultural bias — if a woman chooses to compete with men, then men need to “grow up” and take them on. If a male refuses, he is not principled, he is sexist. If he doesn’t wish to fight a female on religious grounds, then he is ignorant. The choice NOT to fight is unacceptable. The poor young man who stood by his beliefs sacrificed his own chances at success — something Reilly dismisses as absurd. In a world defined by winners and losers, to choose to lose is the unkindest — and most irrational — cut of all. I understand that this standard makes Jesus Christ the biggest loser of all, and by extension, Christians who turn the other cheek, refuse to be baited into a fight, or lay down their sword are huge losers as well. To me this is a sad simplification and outrageous pandering. Christians have become — with both good reason and no reason at all — a prime target for contempt in our culture. Living a principled life is suspicious; living a Christian principled life is downright stupid.
