Memes, Christianity, and Bigotry

Meme (IPA: [miːm]): like gene, but related to culture. A unit of cultural information, transferable from one mind to another. Memes often propogate in integrated sets, known as meme-plexes.

Biblical inerrancy is one meme in Christianity. It is the notion that the Bible is the literal word of God, and that it is completely free from error. Every word is true. I believe it is a response against great societal change, and a response against the introduction of uncertainty into religion. For example, the scientific method (a meme-complex in itself) led many to question many Biblical teachings. Some reconciled science with the Bible, saying that the Bible is authoritative in matters of faith but not necessarily matters of science. Some said, to hell with science. See Dave Miller's article below; he believes that:

"Inerrancy is fundamental to the doctrine of biblical authority."

"If the Bible is a mixture of truth and error, then it is like any other book and simply not deserving of any special attention."

"If the doctrine of inerrancy is not true, then the Bible lacks the very criteria and credentials necessary for authenticating its divine origin. Human beings would be incapable of distinguishing between it and all other religious books which seek acceptance by men (e.g. the Koran, Book of Mormon, the Vedas)"

I believe he is incorrect. I won't go into why that is so in this post. I will say that this meme has spread. It has spread throughout the US as a means to deal directly and indirectly with change: immigration and multiculturalism, evolution, feminism and the sexual revolution, racial integration, gay rights, etc. American and other Western missionaries have spread it to Asian and African converts to Christianity. There, the prevalence of the meme is reinforced, sometimes by government or cultural persecution against Christians, sometimes by the effects of colonialism.

Bibilcal inerrancy is a maladaptive meme. It leads to a rigid way of perceiving the world. It inhibits us from seeing the truth in other teachings, and it inhibits us from seeing Christ in certain outsiders - for example, the LGBT community.

In contrast, some Christian denominations have memes that can protect them from fundamentalism. Anglicans have traditionally relied on Scripture, tradition, and reason. Methodists have relied on those, plus experience. The United Church of Christ takes the Nicene and other Creeds as testimonies of faith rather than as litmus tests of faith. The Unitarian Universalist Association draws from multiple sources of spiritual truth, only one of which is the Judeo-Christian scriptures. That's not to say that those memes are infallible. There are some UCC churches which left in protest at the denomination's stand in favor of gay rights. You all know that the Episcopal Church is in the process of self-destruction, much like Gabby and Carlos on Desperate Housewives. The United Methodist Church has taken a stance against homosexuality, and the ordination of LGBT ministers.

We can fight bigotry by spreading the non-exclusivist memes. We must spread these memes on a personal and a denominational level. We must spread these memes to other religions, and we must spread these memes to those who do not belong to a religion. Mind you, education is only one thing of many that we must be doing, but we have to do it. If we allow our leaders, both religious and secular, to continue thinking like simpletons, then we're really screwed. Make them think different.



http://www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1992/4/4inerr92.html