Letter to the Editor

Caitlin Scuderi ends her opinion piece “Religion shouldn’t define who you are; too many contradictions, too much controversy” (SN 5/25) by saying that “by stirring controversy, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has shown that we should always actively question what defines us,” and I agree. Someone once wrote, “a faith unquestioned is no faith at all.” If a person is unwilling to ask the tough questions about their faith, they must be afraid that what they believe in won’t stand up to questioning, in which case do they really believe?
However I disagree with the statement that “we should never define ourselves by our religion.” There are a lot of things that make me who I am, I am a daughter and a sister and a student. I am also an avid reader and I thought the Da Vinci Code was an incredibly well written book, and if it causes people to ask questions about Christianity, all the better. But first and foremost, I am a Christian. I’ve had doubts, I’ve asked questions, and my faith has weathered the storm, and now I find that were I not a Christian, I would be a different person altogether. I would be a different daughter, a different sister, a different student.
When I read “My name is Caitlin, I am 20 and I am a Christian. But I like to party, I have a tattoo – so am I really a Christian?” I recognized that I’ve asked the same question at times. My name is Rebecca, I turn 21 in 7 days, sometimes I drink too much, sometimes I curse like a sailor, I have a tattoo of the word beautiful across the top of my foot, and I KNOW that I am a Christian. The tattoo was inspired by Isaiah 52:7 which says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.” The good news? That Christianity is not about trying to be perfect. In fact it recognizes that no one is perfect and, through Jesus Christ, we’ve been given an avenue to have a relationship with a God who is perfect, despite our imperfections. But don’t take my word for it. Ask the questions.