As a Christian, I agree that religion is generally terribly divisive. Religion tells its followers that they have “the truth” and are saved by performing the truth. It becomes natural for the religious to either passively judge the less devoted and impure — or to actively marginalize them.

Many people on campus have felt that by asking Chris Donohoe ’09 to step down from leadership, Chi Alpha has reflected these exclusive and bigoted tendencies of religion. Indeed, an examination of biblical Christianity reveals that Christianity is exclusive — but not the least bit more than other worldviews. Additionally, when one takes the core truths of Christianity into the center of his or her being, what results is not hate, but rather deep, sacrificial love.

Is Christianity Narrowly Exclusive?

Cornell’s cultural discourse has generally promoted two main solutions to the divisiveness of religion. Unfortunately, I don’t think either is sufficient.

The first solution is that in order for us to truly accept and love each other, we need to realize the arrogance of thinking your “truth” is superior to that of other people. The story of the blind men and the elephant is commonly used to illustrate this point. The first blind man touches the elephant’s leg and thinks the animal is thick like a tree; another blind man touches the trunk and thinks it is long like a snake, and so forth. Ultimately, no one can claim to have a comprehensive view of spiritual reality.

However, as Lesslie Newbigin, a Christian theologian, states, the whole illustration is predicated on the assumption that there is someone who can see the situation unfolding. Only the person who can see the whole truth can say that all religions see only part of the truth. While the elephant analogy has the appearance of humility, it is actually covertly exclusive. When someone says no one has a superior take on spiritual reality, that is a superior take on spiritual reality. When people say no one should try to convert anyone else to their view of spiritual reality, they are trying to convert others to their own view of spiritual reality.

The second solution tells us to keep religion out of the public sphere, so that campus policies can be based on objective standards. But is it actually possible to craft policies that we all agree “work” apart from prior worldviews? Tim Keller, a pastor in Manhattan, gives the example of divorce laws. If you believe that marriage is primarily for the happiness of the couple, you might want divorce to be easier; while if you believe marriage is primarily important for the upbringing of children, you might want divorce to be harder. The former view is based on the Enlightenment’s individualistic understanding of human nature, while the latter is based on Confucian and Judeo-Christian moral traditions in which the family is more important than the individual. Thus, what we believe will “work” according to supposedly neutral standards are actually shaped by faith assumptions about human flourishing. As such, a call for religion to be removed from Cornell’s public square is a “religious” call in and of itself.

We all have exclusive values taken by faith, which cannot be empirically proven in a laboratory. Therefore, the question is not who is exclusive but rather which exclusive worldview opposes hate and lends itself to love and service.

Is Christianity Hateful?

Many Cornellians are understandably concerned that deeming homosexuality as wrong denies homosexuals their personhood. However, this fear is true only if you believe that personhood can be earned or established by people.

Biblical Christianity on the other hand rejects this merit-based approach to personhood, stating that we all have intrinsic value and worth because we are made in the image of God. This remains true even though we are all condemned for making things like money, success and relationships our functional god. No amount of church going and moral behavior changes our standing before God. Thus Christianity actually destroys any ground for superiority because everyone is in the same boat. Consequently, no person is seen as more valuable than any other person, which extends into the realm of organizations, groups and politics. Therefore, stepping down from leadership positions is not considered a demotion since positions are not the source of a person’s value.

Christians also believe that sin has marred the natural world so that even our genetic predispositions have been stained by sin. Thus, though same sex attraction is not a choice, it can still be sinful according to the biblical worldview. This is true for a number of natural desires, such as looking for satisfaction in the approval of others as opposed to Jesus, which is something that I struggle with.

What sets Christianity apart is that God enters human history, lives the life we could never have lived and dies for people who are completely unlike him. Martin Luther calls this the Great Exchange — Jesus gets our sin and we get his righteousness. Jesus completely redefines love — he recognizes our moral failings, but instead of maintaining his distance, he comes to rescue us at his own ultimate expense for our greatest joy.

As Donohoe wrestled with understanding his sexuality, it is my hope that the members of Chi Alpha came alongside him and claimed no superiority over him, as sinners saved by grace. When Donohoe finally chose a different theology regarding sexuality from that of orthodox Christianity, they asked him to step down from leadership in accordance to Biblical teaching. But they also asked him to stay within the community so they could continue to love and serve him.

In Christianity, I believe we find not only one of many exclusive views, but also one that radically transforms you and calls for sacrificial love towards others, even at the expense of your life.