This is a paper I wrote for my English class last semester, I am just curious of what you think....I hope you enjoy it!The Bumper Sticker War
Colorado Springs Colorado is a city rich with cultural diversity. The aspect that makes the city stand out is the pride that the community has for its values, politics, opinions, and religions. But interestingly enough, the beauty of the diversity of Colorado Springs is overshadowed by the seemingly intolerant view that residents have of this diversity. And nothing exemplifies this idea more than the city’s civil war of religious philosophies. Drive anywhere in town and you will surely come across a chrome plastic fish glued to the bumper of a car. Now this no ordinary Christian symbol, instead this fish is growing a pair of legs, symbolizing the Darwinist theory of evolution while simultaneously parodying Christian culture. If you drive further still, you are sure to see this same Darwin-fish being swallowed whole by a larger, shinier, Jesus-fish with the word “TRUTH” plastered inside of its football shaped body. Differing opinions and pro-active debates are positive and necessary aspects of the country we live in, but stereotypes and generalizations should have no place within the rationalization of ideas, as well as the opinions that we draw from those ideas.
Within the city of Colorado Springs, Christians have overwhelmingly been identified with bigotry and hypocrisy. As a, what one would call “devout”, small town Christian moving up into the frantic world of Colorado Springs, I have been forced into an identity which I feel is full of exaggerations. To make it even worse, I happen to be a proud member of the city’s most influential, most publicized, most criticized, and most misunderstood Christian institution—New Life Church. Being a non-native of the biases of Colorado Springs culture has allowed me to make objective conclusions about Christianity. And being placed in the middle of nationwide scandals and criticism has made it very easy for me to see the numerous misconceptions that New Life Church, and Christianity as a whole have been labeled with over the past few decades. Although all stereotypes come from some aspects of the truth, I have seen the true innocence of the culture that I happen to be a part of, as well as the many positive impacts that can and should consistently result from a Christian presence in a city. In order to fully understand my perspective, it is necessary to first look at the culture of my childhood, and how it helped shape my life.
I spent my entire childhood living in Colorado Springs’ Front Range neighbor to the south, Pueblo. These cities do not only differ in their sizes, climates, and economies, but they also have dramatic cultural differences. Colorado Springs is known for its fast-paced, white collar and military population. The city is growing in all directions, and shows no signs of slowing. The people of Pueblo seem to pride themselves in their slower, blue collar way of life and residents are often several generation natives of the city.
I was raised as any average Pueblo child could attest. I came from a large, close, Spanish, Catholic family. The memories of my childhood are sprinkled with family get-togethers—where cousins outnumbered adults, refrigerators overflowed with beer, the air was thick with the aroma of homemade green chili, and all gathered around the television, enthralled in the sacred Sunday tradition of Denver Broncos football. This close-knit family bond which is so common within Pueblo also extends to the political and religious ideologies of the community. Family and friends were all Catholic, and family and friends were all Democrat. This is just the way it was; it was justified simply by the fact that one’s parents, and their parents-parents all conformed to these beliefs, and it was engrained into who they are. Now, if someone within the family’s circle of influence diverged from this traditional ideological path (by becoming a Protestant, an atheist, or “God-forbid” a Republican!), cousins, aunts, uncles, co-workers, and friends would be abuzz with grocery line gossip about this bizarre shift of culture. But the interesting thing is that nothing more would materialize apart from the innocent grocery line rumors. The change which had taken place may not be understood or may not even be fully agreed with, but in the end this change was usually accepted. Life would go on as normal, and everyone’s attention would shift back to the complexities of their own lives.
As a teenager, I started to become one of those who warranted the gossip of my family by consistently falling further and further away from the church that I grew up in. As I reasoned my way through the existence of God, the purpose and authority of the Bible, and the relevance they had in my life, I came to the conclusion that Christianity was the way to go. But unfortunately, there were many aspects of the Catholic faith that I felt had no fit in what I concluded about religion. My family was completely supportive of my decision to step away from the church, and even encouraged the search of what would make me happiest. Although I had the blessing of a completely supportive family, the weak presence and influence of non-Catholic churches in Pueblo left me with no real community of people to help strengthen my faith.
Time went on, and the search continued for a community of people who could solidify and nourish my spiritual life. It was not until my junior year of high school that this quest finally came to a halt. On an average fall evening, on a day that had no real significance whatsoever, I decided to tag along with some friends and join them in their favorite Friday night activity. It was some college church service at this huge church that I had never heard of, and it was an hour commute from home. The event was big, and it was overwhelming. I was surrounded by about eight hundred college kids and was completely out of my comfort zone. So much of what I knew and recognized about church as a child growing up in Sunday Mass was absent in this Protestant establishment. The organ was replaced by electric guitars and drums, the incense was replaced by stage lighting, and the hymnal was replaced by a projector screen. Besides the culture shock that gripped me that night, I have no memory other than the fact that I had fun. The preacher didn’t speak a message that changed my life, the clouds did not open with a holy beam of rays upon the back of my head, and no doves descended from the sky as a miraculous sign from the divine—I just had fun, something that I had never necessarily connected with church. But I remember thinking, “what’s wrong with having fun in church?”
So this is what initially brought me back, a fun wholesome weekend hangout in the big city of Colorado Springs. As weeks went by, I started to recognize a pattern of teachings that fit with my logic of Christianity, as well as practical guidance of how to try and live a life of righteousness and true love for others. I was attracted by the relevant messages which were backed solely by the credibility of the Bible, not by any other doctrines. I guess you can say, unbeknown to me, this is when I became a “Fundamentalist Evangelical Conservative Christian”. I had not the slightest clue of what these terms meant, let alone the connotations that they evoked. But from this point on, I have had to deal with the label on my forehead and the baggage that unfortunately comes along with it.
Now, as a Colorado Springs student and resident, the small city atmosphere of support that I was used to was gone; given way to heated debate and bitter name-calling. Almost overnight, it seemed as if I had become associated with cults, brainwashing, bigotry, hypocrisy, and hidden political agendas. It is not hard to see how these connotations could have originated. The media has been quick to publicize extremist groups that call themselves Evangelicals while simultaneously displaying disgusting attitudes of hate and intolerance. One group has been in the spotlight recently for protesting at funerals and waving signs decorated with hateful slurs. Also, anyone can identify with having to deal with an overbearing, aggressive, Bible-thumping co-worker who drinks his coffee from a “John 3:16” mug. Examples like these have quickly fallen into the public eye, creating the multitude of stereotypes that plague Christianity.
It is a wonderful thing that we as Americans can believe whatever we feel right, and proactive debate is something which I am absolutely not arguing against. Problems persist when the shortcomings of the outspoken few are used as the basis of argument. “Even if stereotypes draw on genuine group differences, they routinely get exaggerated as people selectively seek evidence that confirms their biases toward others or makes convenient scapegoats of them” (Bower).
The biggest misconception that these exaggerated stereotypes carry is the idea that the hypocrisy and bigotry of many “Christians” negates the validity of Christianity. If anything, the hypocrisy and bigotry of the few clearly expresses the need of the teachings of Christ in the world. The true heart of Christianity and the true heart of the teachings of the New Testament can easily be summed up with the idea that Christ is the ultimate example; be like Him, and everything else falls into place. It is obvious that imitating Perfection is a pretty lofty goal. And Christians, more often than not, mess up. This is due to the simple fact that they are not perfect…they are merely human. Nothing upsets me more than when someone is not able to experience the joy, compassion, and love, which I feel is inherent in authentic Christianity, because of the mistakes of man.
Stereotypes should never stand in the way of decision making. It is essential to experience things firsthand, to draw your own conclusions. If I had known all of the negative stigmas attached to Evangelicalism as I contemplated life in Pueblo, and had formed my opinions based on them, I surely would have missed out on one of the most valuable aspects of my life. Now that I am sutured into the identity of a “Fundamentalist Evangelical Right-Wing Conservative Christian”, it is up to me represent the true nature of the religion I hold so dear. And I challenge those around me to judge me solely on my actions, not on the failings of others and the resulting stereotypes. I have never heard it said better than by 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard who is noted as saying that “once you label me you negate me.”
