Aggressive extremes

The other day, I was walking with a Christian friend after having had breakfast together.  And like every good conversation, we began musing...

I asked her a question:

Monk:  Do you think, if all religious people were like us, then agressive atheism would exist?

Friend: I think it's not the atheists who would have problems with us...

At this point, I laughed aloud.  She was making a very valid point, that the people who might find our views more offensive are the very conservative Christians.  Of course, there was a flaw in her reasoning, as the initial premise was us being the template for all Christians, but nevertheless a very thought-provoking reply.

It got me musing.  Would aggressive atheism exist if fundamentalist or extreme conservative religion didn't?  Does one force produce another?  In politics, there can be times when extremes of a spectrum begin to look quite similar.  I am not sure I would always be able to tell a right wing extremist from a left wing extremist.

I confess, there was an inherent arrogance in my question.  It assumed that my friend and I were somehow wonderful examples of faith for all to follow, and that is an uncomfortable distance from humility.

Then I began to muse about the effect of aggressive atheism on fundamental religion.  Could those atheists be in part responsible for an opposing force of fundamentalism?  I suspect the relationship is indeed two-way.  The world is a tribal place.

I find Jesus' recorded ministry fascinating.   Jesus can hardly be described as a moderate.  His approach was revolutionary.  It led to his crucifixion.

[for a fascinating abstract on crucifixion, published in teh US National Center for Biotechnology Information, see here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14750495]

However, his focus appeared to be twofold.  To those who were outsiders, he showed love and compassion.  He continued the Old Testament theme of responsibility for our neighbour, and challenged us to consider who our neighbour actually is.  The story of the Good Samaritan played a large part in this boundary shift.  Who would be the Samartian of today?  Might it be the atheist?  Which of us is showing love to our neighbour?  The person who looks the part, dresses the part and says the right words, or the person who rolls up their sleeves and shows love in action?

To those who were inside the religious establishment, he showed his anger.  The brood of vipers.  The sellers in the temple.  The Pharisees and their laws that put up barriers to love (how dare you heal on the Sabbath!).

This is not to say that Jesus wouldn't have been angry towards an abusive atheist, any less than a hypocritical Jew.   But his message was one of God's love for humanity and to reach out to the world in love.    In our desire for tribes, we encourage tribal warfare.  It takes strength to lay down our arms and embrace our brother and sister.   Perhaps our tribe is bigger than we realise, and includes all of creation.   Who is our brother and sister?  There's a clue in a story of a man from Samaria...