Rummaging through the attic of my mind not so long ago, my eyes fell upon an ancient and dark text. Ah, here was the Gen X Bible of my youth, that unholy script, that declaration of self-dependence, whose natural lines have shaped my intuitions and governed my ambitions for decades . . .
Selection 1
And I spoke all these words:
I am me, who brought myself out of slavery, out of the land of inauthenticity and the inarticulate self.
I shall have no other gods before me.
I shall not make for myself any God besides me, or a God that is anything other than a refashioned image of me, even if he speaks from heaven above or incarnates himself on earth beneath. I shall not bow down to him or serve him, for I am a jealous me, committed to politically disenfranchising and socially marginalizing the close-minded and intolerant naysayers of me, but showing steadfast favor to every friend, family member, celebrity, and preacher who loves me and celebrates the autonomy of me.
I shall not express myself in vain.
Remember the Self by keeping it holy. Six days I shall labor to please myself, free myself, improve myself, indulge myself, embrace myself, create and recreate myself, never judge myself, and tell you whatever I please about myself. On the seventh day I will do pretty much the same, but with an additional afternoon nap. Perhaps, too, I will attend a church or, better, enjoy a soul-enlivening walk in the woods for the sake of spiritualizing myself.
Selection 2
And tell the people, “This is how you are to enter the temple of ‘me.’ After washing yourself of unclean opinions and old religions, you may approach me non-judgmentally, speaking no offensive thing, for my authenticity and self-indulgence requires me to be thin-skinned.
“You must bring a sin offering, that you might make atonement for any transgressions that I perceive against my freedoms, my political and emotional sensibilities, my sacred call to self-expression and discovery. You shall bring “Old Morality” as a sacrifice. You shall sacrifice it and sprinkle its blood on the altar of My Rights.
“In the same way, the goat of ‘Institutional Religion’ must be released into the wilderness of history, carrying with it the derision and pity due to all the old rule-makers and hierarchies, indeed, to anyone who lived in less enlightened days than my own.
“Spiritual, not religious, you must be.”
Selection 3
You shall not say that I must love this way or that. I shall set my affections upon whom I set them. For the Lord God am I.
You shall you not wholly identify me with my spouse, my parents, my church, my school, my workplace, or the fruit of my sexual activities. No contract is binding, and my sacred covenant is with myself alone. For the Lord God am I.
Should I attend a church, you shall play music that suits my sensibility; offer social opportunities with people who demographically look like me; and encourage service as a chance for spiritual self-discovery. You must not be preachy, as if you know more than I do. For the Lord God am I.
You shall love me with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength by letting me be whatever I want to be, feel whatever I feel.
I will not yield my glory to another.
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
