Mr. Tierney of the New York Times
John Tierney of The New York Times is an accomplished journalist with a reputation for fairness when he covers religion stories. But his recent column on the value of participation in religious services is unintentionally condescending and unwittingly revealing.
From card-carrying Darwinists to parlor agnostics, elites in the dominant culture seem to regard religion as a social construct. For them the only question about its effects is how to identify the materialistic causes at work. Extensively funded studies are undertaken for this supposedly sober object.
It never seems to occur to such worthies--including Mr. Tierney--that there might be another explanation; namely, that God is real and that worshiping him in a group ("where two or three are gathered together") pleases him. The self-control, inner peace and happiness that Mr. Tierney notes are not the product of some sort of evolutionary process or societal therapy. They are not even the point of religion. They are the byproducts of a genuine relationship with the true God who loves us and wants us to know him. He is present to us in prayer and often especially so when we pray in a group; hence, religious services. Faith is not properly understood as some negotiation or exchange, but the acknowledgement of, and enjoyment of, the Creator by those he created. There is more, but that is enough, and that--it turns out--is plenty.
Open yourself to such an explanation, Mr. Tierney. Recognize it, at least. Because It makes a lot more sense than the explanations you consider in your well-intended but fruitless article.
