What is Christianity? Is it a doctrine of morals and ideals that we are to live by in order to live as good people and treat others fairly? Or is it a strict set of rules we must follow in order to obtain everlasting life, even at the cost of casting out “undesirables” whom we perceive to be sinners disobeying a code of laws supposedly ordained from above?

Christianity, of course, is not the only religion in the world, nor is it the only one students at Gustavus are exposed to during their attendance here.

However, it is the largest monotheistic religion in the world, and it’s had a profound influence over its existence.

Why then, if Christianity is so important as a means to reach heaven, or just a means to live a moral and just life, are young people rejecting it? Why do a third of Americans under thirty say they don’t identify with a religion, even if they say they believe in God? Why are half of those who identify as atheist in America under thirty-five? Why are young people walking away from the ordained path of a fundamental, Christian foundation?

Humanity evolves. We, as a society, are forced to adapt to an ever-changing world. Technologically, ethically, culturally and globally, we as humans change over the course of history because it becomes necessary to survive. A person from the 15th century wouldn’t be able to survive in our time, what with our electronics and radical idea of “democracy.”

“That is what religious fundamentalists who label our generation as degenerates are failing to comprehend. We have had enough. We refuse to follow a doctrine of oppression, a doctrine of pompiety where people are labeled as saints or sinners from man written laws over thousands of years old.”

We could not expect a devout Jew from circa B.C. to understand the religious standards set in 2014 A.D. It’s nothing more than logic; people, along with the ideas and concepts they create, must adapt and modify themselves over time or perish.

That is what religious fundamentalists who label our generation as degenerates are failing to comprehend. We have had enough. We refuse to follow a doctrine of oppression, a doctrine of pompiety where people are labeled as saints or sinners from man written laws over thousands of years old.

“Nevertheless these you shall not eat . . . the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you” (Leviticus 11:4, 7). “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together” (Deuteronomy 22:11). “She shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you” (Deuteronomy 22:21). “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death” (Exodus 31:15). “You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22).

These laws are archaic, outdated and examples of the Bible’s ineffectuality when interpreted literally. Even Jesus denounced them as absurdity, infamously healing on the Sabbath and declaring, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8:7).”

“The Bible is important and holy, yes, but as a guidebook written by men as a pathway to God. Love, acceptance, empathy and understanding; those are core parts of what make someone a Christian.”

The Bible is a collection of man-written texts from various authors over hundreds of years. The early church chose what was to be included and cast out. Translations from the original Greek and Hebrew scriptures get mistranslated or misinterpreted.

Why would an all-divine work of God have contradicting verses and lessons? Jesus isn’t the only example; Leviticus 18:22 gets turned on its head from II Samuel 1:26: “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of woman.”

I am a Christian, however, and this is by no means an attempt to coerce everyone into rejecting Christianity or religion by extension. What is being rejected however is remaining ignorant to the need to adapt and possess an open mind.

What is being rejected is the bigotry Christians have held onto for centuries. From the Crusades to the war on science, from the Salem Witch Hunts to the lavender scare, having a fundamentalist view of the world based on a literal interpretation of works written by slave owners and tax collectors is ridiculous.

The Bible is important and holy, yes, but as a guidebook written by men as a pathway to God. Love, acceptance, empathy and understanding; those are core parts of what make someone a Christian.

The today’s youth understand the past and what is wrong with the church today. It cannot expect to both cling to old conformities that have led to widespread misfortune and connect to future generations. There are Christians who understand that and are making the attempt to progressively modify the religion.

This is a period in time where every socially accepted norm is either experiencing rapid change or being challenged.

Christianity is not immune to those criticisms, and the old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.

-Mason Kruize