As I was cleaning my car over the weekend, I heard intermittent
segments of a NPR story about a Chicago-area stand-up comedian who immigrated from Pakistan to attended college in the United States. I am
a little unsure of his name even after a google, it was either Azhar
Usman or Mohammed Amer that was interviewed.
As a student, away
from the pervasive religious environment of Pakistan, this would-be
stand-up comedian came to terms with his Islamic beliefs. Muslims share
a similar belief that many Christians have about the Bible, that the
Koran is the innerrant
and literal word of God – or God's own words. After all, Christians, Jews and Muslims share
the same belief in the God of Abraham. At college, our comedian learned to think
critically and systematically about Islam which helped him to see the
absurdity of the Koran, and to reject that notion of the Koran's
inerrancy.
When asked by the interviewer, doesn't his
deconversion confirm the fear and suspicion by many Muslims that once
their children go to American schools they become "liberalized" by Western culture and leave the
religion of their parents? Funny thing, this is exactly the same kind
of criticism that fundamentalist Christians likewise make about
American colleges. I had an ex-girlfriend, a fundamentalist Christian,
who said the very same thing. If I recall correctly, he answered yes.
To
the Muslim and Christian critics of American colleges, the answer is
true – of course. Studies have shown that the more educated you become,
the more likely you will abandon theism. (There are notable exceptions of course.)
Why?
Once a person develops their critical thinking,
that person can become quite invigorated in challenging everything that was assured
to you, as a child, as unquestionable. To the newly minted skeptic, every
belief becomes a new test case in examining a claim's reliability. For
me, thinking critically became a compliment to my natural curiosity of
the world.
The interviewer went on to ask the comedian if he had any
sort of theistic belief after his deconversion. He answered that he was now an atheist.
When you examine the content of the blogs at
LCL, there is nothing but criticism of other beliefs, such as the endless
debates pitching conservatism against liberalism, or the skepticism
regarding global climate change. Since our public discourse is equally
as rigorous to these secular beliefs, why is religion beyond reproach and examination?
Therefore, I want to ask the Christians who read my blog a series of
questions - but anyone can feel free to chime in.
Do you feel
that this comedian threw the baby out with the bathwater? Do you approve of this comedian's deconversion? His athiesism?
If
you approve of his athiesism, should he then convert to Christianity?
Why? If it is reasonable for this comedian to question and reject
Islam, why is it not reasonable for the Christian to question his faith
and perhaps ultimately reject it?