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An Atheist’s Tribute to Tony Campolo An indictment of Christian hypocrisy [1]

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Date: 2025-03-11

Tony Campolo, was one of a kind. He died November 19, 2024, at the age of 89. As a second generation Italian immigrant, he saw the ugly head of racism, and that, in part, motivated him for a lifetime of social activism. He was a Baptist pastor, a highly sought after public speaker, author of many books, and upon receiving his PhD in Sociology, a college professor. He was not shy about calling out the hypocrisy of those claiming to be Christian if they were not supportive of social justice and equality for all.

Needless to say, he was a frequent target of vigorous attacks, that came almost exclusively from conservative Christians. Those attacks did nothing to slow him down.

F earless boldness:

Here are two short illustrations of his unique personality and drive. When speaking to an audience that was mainly conservative, whether it be in a church or Christian college, he would often start by announcing the estimated figures of how many children died the night before of starvation and preventable disease. It was, of course, always many thousands. He then suggested that “most of you really don’t give a shit; but what is even sadder, is the fact that most of you are more concerned that I said a dirty word, than you are about the thousands of children who died last night.”

Imagine the audience shock when he told about picking up a couple of young prostitutes while on a trip to reduce poverty in Haiti. He then explained that after he paid them for the whole night, he took them to a nice room of their own, where he ordered movies, pizza, and ice cream, and as he departed, told them to enjoy the night in peace and as children.

Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University, tirelessly advocated for the rights and dignity of all minorities, including immigrants and LGBTQ+, the reduction of poverty, improved health care, and just about anything that would alleviate suffering and promote dignity for all.

His brand of “red letter” Christianity is really just the common sense adherence of being a compassionate human being who takes seriously the conduct listed in the Sermon on the Mount, and from his favorite chapter in the Bible, Matthew 25. With or without those biblical passages, his lifelong work would not have been much different.

Even the majority of atheists, and I know a lot of them, just by instinct alone, follows more of the conduct outlined in that sermon than the majority of Christians do. People who do good, do good, with or without religion. Those who do evil, do evil, regardless if they are religious or not. However, it is undeniable that a massive amount of people use religion just as an excuse for inhumane conduct and dishonest lust for power and money.

Those who think they need religion to do good and to live an ethical and moral life are completely wrong. Tony Campolo, while he was religious, ignored a lot of the Bible passages and founded the “Red-Letter Christian movement,” that primarily focused on the words the New Testament attributed to Jesus. He believed there was salvation outside of the Bible, and thus by the standard definition, many would argue that he was not a true Biblical Christian, me included. His life was that of a humanist, and not based on a religious one that was hung up on contradictory doctrines and frivolous rituals and requirements that do little to nothing to alleviate the suffering and despair of the masses.

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