For the last week I’ve been bombarded with the concept that life without Jesus (or Christianity) is pointless.

I was at a clinic that has a Christian radio station playing. There was an ad about being a father. It said that there was no way to be a good father unless you had a loving relationship with your heavenly father.

Then I was watching 30 Days. It was an episode where an atheist goes to live with Christians for a month. The Christians were suprised that the atheist was a good mother with kids who were not running out of control. They wondered how she could impart ethics to the kids without basing them in a religion. (I remember having that discussion in a philosophy class in college. Unfortunately I don’t remember the fancy reasoning for a non-faith based ethical system because I was firmly of the Christian camp at the time.) They also said that if Jesus wasn’t in your life there was no point to your life.

Then I was working at another clinic on Thursday and one receptionist asked hia client where he got a pin that said something about if you don’t have Jesus in your life there was no point. I was staying the back because I didn’t want to get involved. But he went to his car and brought back pencils that had erasers on both ends. It said “If you don’t have Jesus in your life then it is like this pencil. NO POINT!” He ever so kindly brought in one for everyone. Just what I wanted.

So, has there been a memo sent out to registered Christians that this is their new talking point? I’ve heard it before but never with such saturation. I think it is pretty arrogant. If we don’t subscribe to their way of thinking then there is no point to our lives. We must be horrible parents, too. No wonder was husband was scared about me identifying my real religion on the adoption forms.

I think it implies that Christians don’t trust themselves to refrain from their baser instincts without fear of punishment. What about dong something for the greater good? We could even borrow from the Bible and use the “Do unto others” rule because it actually requires no diety for it to work. It is just a good idea.

So how will I teach my kid values without being a Christian? By modeling them. By discussing things we see around us – both good and bad. By reading. Just by living. Because comtrary to what seems to be the new popular belief you can be ethical and not be Christian.