emotions Da itl is progvaninicd to feel?rnSo goes the recliictio ad ahsurdum. ‘I’liernpoint is that android “emotion” realK isrnredneible to w iriiig, hnt that of hnnians isrnnot. It makes a great diffcrenee whellierrnthe “]5rogramming” is done h Cod or hrnI Ms ereahire, man.rnOnK the human taetor adds “aiue,’rnand onl human hfe has moral signifieanee.rnI’he eeonomie erisis eansed b”rnthe tendene’ of the rate of profit to fallrnonee maehines replaee human labor isrnakin to the emotional famine eansed brnthe w eak, broken, mediated, remote, suspeet,rneompromised, ambialent, treaeherous,rnabolished relahonshijxs in modernrnsoeiet’. )ust as maehines ultimateK’ eannotrnereate “snr|)lus ahie” (profit i. beeausern()U ouK get out ot them what xournput into them, so material substitutes lorrnloe and friendship ean neer snppK thernha]5|5iness and salisfaetion ereated b soeialrnrelations. ()nK |3eo]3le ean “add alue”rnto eeonomie aetiitA b their intelligentrnlabor, and oul (ither people makernlite worth liMUg.rn,11 those studies diat show that risingrnsocioeeonomie status means fewer friendshi]rn3s should finalK be eross-refereneedrnw ith those that demonstrate the ]5sehierneosis ol soeial starati<)u. Modern menrnand women, in seeking to free tliemseKesrnfrom de])eudenee on others, liaernuuide a paet with the dexil. Mothersrnliae eeu eome to prefer “alienated labor”rnoutside the home to die task of rearingrntheir own ehildren. Now, tlic deilrndemands panient.rn”khere’s no need for red-hot pokers,”rnmuses C’.arein at the end of Sartre’s imeonrnineiug little melodrama No ^,xit.rn”I’cnjer—c’ext lex Aiitresl” — “WvW is —rnother ])eo|3le!” I bo main people nowrnagree with him.rn lariau Kcstcr Cooinhn writes fromrnC’mfton, MdiylaiKl.rnRELIGIONrnGods of Inclusionrnhr Mark TooleyrnAlthough .Vmeriea remains oerwhelmingKrnChristian in affiliationrn(if not ueeessariK in jjraetiee), tlie eonnoissenrsrnof mnltieultnralism like to pretendrnotherwise — often rather insisteiith .rnPnblie eeuts nnoKing religion must aeknowledgernZoroaster and Zens as muehrnas Moses and Jesus. Midtieidturalistsrnfind elaims about the exelusie truth ofrnan” religion, partieularK’ C’hristianit, es-rn]3eeiall offensixe. I he eaged deuonneernas a bigotau(Jhrishau or Jew who insfstsrnon adhering to the first or Seeond C^ommandment,rneen within the eouhues ofrnhis own eommunitA’.rn’ibis attitude, although su])]5osedlrnsensitixe and inelnsie, is realK insultingrnto the true beliexers ot an religion. IhernunderKing assuui|3tion is that either cdlrnreligions are eqnalh true or iv) religion isrnrealK true, kiltieulturalists hae faith inrnmultie(dtin”a!ism, but little else. Andrnthex’ jealousK j^raetiee their own inquisitionsrnto guard the dogmas of their seenlarrnfaith.rnOne sueh inquisition was reeentU’rnwaged against a Methodist nhnister inrnMarietta, Ceorgia. For sexeu ears, thernRe. Raud Miekler’s 6,’>()()-memberrn.Vlt. BethelOnited Methodrst Cliurehrnhas hosted the baeealaureate seriee forrndie graduating seniors of Walton HighrnSehook I’he serxiee, whieh is a xolnntarxrnexent for the students, has been Christian.rn’Ibis xear, members ol the high .sehool’srnbaeealaureate eommittee wanted to alterrnthat foeus. ‘khex requested that Muslims,rnHindus, Buddhists, and exen Wieeaus berniueor])()rated into the serx iee and thatrnChristian sxnibols in the sanetuarx, ineludingrnthe ero.ss, be eoxered and refereneesrnto Jesus Cdiri.st be omitted. A rabbirnwas also iux ited to delixer the seniion.rnMiekler agreed to the last request, althoughrnhe insisted diat the rabbi s]3eakrnfrom a podium instead of the pnlj^it,rnwhieh is reserxed for Cos|)el ])reaehersrnonlx. As for Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist,rnand W ieeau inxolxement, Miekler saidrnno. He also hrmlx’ rejeeted disguising thernehureh’s Cdiristian identity.rnWalton High Sehool offieials re.spondedrnbx moxing the baeealaureate serxieernto rile C’obb C-onntx Caxie (Center, xxithrnMiekler’s su|3port. i^ut at least one studentrnon the baeealaiu’eate eommittee —arnformer student reporter at CNN —saxx’rnMiekler’s refusal as a niftx media soundrnbite that neatlx’ eaptured the sn]3posedrnjjaroehialism and int(deranee of thernBible Belt.rnAfter the Atlanta media were notified,rnMiekler’s eliureh xxas deluged with inc|rnuiries. I he Mediodist minister’s refusalrnto eouuteuauee a polxtheistie serxiee inrnhis own sanetuarx set off a storm of protests,rnxxirir speeial em|3hasis on the denialrnol the pulpit to a rabbi. What eould thisrnbe but anhsemitisnr?rn”We are Clirishans,” Miekler responded,rn”and the onlx deitx xxe exalt is Codrnpersonified in Jesus Chnst. Wlien it eoinesrnto denxing who we arc, that’s xxliere werndraw rile line.” iXhekler pointed out thatrnhis ehureli regularlx loans its parking lotrnto a nead) Orriiodox Jexxish sxnagogne,rnand riiat Jexxish rabbis baxe s|3okeii at therneliureh—but not from the pulpit. Prexiousrnliaecalanreate serx ices had been nondenominationalrnbutstill Cliristian, Mieklerrnsaid, l i r e eliureh had no obligahou tornhost non-Christian xxorship in its sanetuarx.rnOne of sexeral Athinta joiimal-Coiistitiitionrnstories declared riiat Miekler’s “inflexible”rnand “uuxicldmg” attitude hadrneansed die xxhole commnnitx” to “gasp”rnand had sent C^hristians and Jexxs “reeling.’rn1 he ncxxs])aper recalled that thernMethodist minister xxas eontroxersial forrnhis outspoken support of an anti-honio-rn.sexual-rights resolution approxcd in CobbrnCounh in 199^ and for op|)osing a 1994rnSupreme C’ourt ruliug barring CobbrnConntx from posting the “I en Coiiimaiidmcntsrnin a court building.rnOne of the foremost supporters of homosexualrnrights in C’obb Count}- duringrnthe 199? controxersx xxas Rabbi Stcxeiirn1 ,ebow, die same rabbi x ho had been inxitedrnto delixer die Walton High Schoolrnbaeealaureate sermon. I he latest brouhaharnwas portraxed as a rematch. A homosexualrnpublication called Miekler anrn”agent of hatred and exclusion” andrnpegged liiiii as die direct heir of bis segregationistrnancestors. ‘Hie “oxerxxhelmingrnpublic repudiahon | of Miekler’s church |rnshould enconragc us all. “rnMeanwhile, the Atlanta ]oiirual-Constitutionrnclaimed that other Alethodistrncicrgx in riic area x ere distancing riieniselxrnes from Miekler. Some supposedlxrndisplaxed messages of solidarity’xxith RabbirnLeboxx on their cliureh marc|uees.rnMiekler countered that he had receixedrnhundreds of su]3]3orlix”c messages fromrntelloxx elergx.rnko his congregation, Miekler explainedrnill a Sundax’ message:rn1 want xou to understand, that iiexerrnwould 1 do anxthing to embarrassrnxou or our non-Chrishanrnfriends. At no rime would I exerrnxxanf our Jew ish friends to fecirnslighted, hurt or einbarra.ssed. 1rnthank Ciod for our Jexx ish friends’rnNOVEMBER 2001/47rnrnrn