If that isn't a reason to stay out of church, then I don't know what is!
Seriously, all I learned when I attended church was how to conform to the way other people wanted me to be, that if I didn't tithe regularly I was full of sin, that to question the church's "authority" was the same as rejecting Christ, and that my questions, thoughts and opinions as a youth/young adult meant nothing. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the whole "all the bad things that happen to you are punishments from god" because of some past sin. Because according to Fundamentalists, if you're a "true" believer then everything works out for the best and you don't have to worry about anything - because god will take care of you. (Just keep telling yourself that if your husband/wife beats you up every day)
Believe in god, if that's your thing. But for your own sanity, don't believe everything you're told in church. Read your "holy" book. I mean, really read it. Don't gloss over the things that make you uncomfortable or those things that you read and dismiss because "that was then, this is now and no one lives like that in these modern times," because you know what? They do. Some people still believe that adulterers, liers, thieves should be put to death. Some people still believe that homosexuality should carry a death sentence and that (LGBT) people will go to hell. The christian bible says that god himself will kill over half the earth's population - and enjoy doing so. Really read the bible and then tell me that you still believe that every single bit of it is true - if you can.
I do believe in the Bible and I do believe in God. I also still go to church. However, I don't believe mankind will ever get things right when it comes to God or ever have a complete understanding of the Bible. I believe in Satan and I believe that he has blinded mankind to many of the truths. Because we are all sinful and because Satan has so much control over the earth and the people on it we will never be able to live the "right" way. No matter how hard we try. I know many christians who would say once we are born again then we can understand and chance our fleshly ways. To them I say no we can not. As long as we have these fleshly bodies we can not ever be free of sin no matter how hard we try. I don't care if you are the Pope or Mother Teresa. You where born into sin and you will die in sin. I do believe that the earth will be restored into a Pardise and then and only then when man is given a new body and Satan is removed from the earth will we experience a sin free life. I do believe Jesus died for all mankind and we will all stand before the judgement throne of god. At this time "Every knee will bow and every tounge confess that Jesus is Lord." This is my own personel opinon but I think God will then give each man (women being included)a last chance to say I want to follow you or I do not want to follow you. I most definitly do not believe that you must call upon the name of Jesus before you die to be saved. If that where the case then why would all mankind have to then stand before the judgement throne? I believe no religion has it right or ever will. I do have faith that mankind will not have to live the way we do forever.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteYour beliefs are not that of most fundamentalists and you seem to have really thought about them. I respect this immensely as a lot of religious people just tend to repeat what they are told verbatim whether it makes sense or not.
I agree with you that "no religion has it right or ever will." Religion is man made and is therefore imperfect. Religious books have been (and still are) changed according to what the people in charge want others to believe. Things are added, things are taken away until what is left is only a shadow of what it originally was.