John says:
I watched Riligulous yesterday.
|
What is that?
John says:
Bill Maher film about why religion is stupid.
|
Was he right? Did he make any good points?
John says:
I had watched it beause I was curious and didn't want to walk around with a dissenting opinion on something I have not seen. Does he make good points.. I'm not sure. Of everything he touched upon I think what hit home the most was why people have faith. He asked someone why it's good to have faith in something without proof.
The guy said because God said so through the Bible.
I'm just not sure how I feel.
|
"Because God said so through the Bible"..... *scoff* That's weak.
Faith provides us with hope of something that's better than what we see around us in this life.
Faith is being sure in what we do not see.
This is why I can respect other religions. People are naturally spiritual beings in hope of something higher and greater than this tangible, physical world.
I may not agree with their conclusions about the spiritual world, but I respect their efforts to believe and follow something greater than the physical realm.
Without spirituality, we are just what you see: flesh and emotions.
I'm sorry, but those things aren't worth living for.
If that's all there is in this life, I have no reason to live a good one.
John says:
True.
I find I have more questions now than 2 years ago, and I find myself growing more dissatisfied with the "Christians" around me.
It's frustrating at times.
|
Dissatisfied -- how so?
John says:
Hypocritical, judgemental while throwing their stones from their glass houses, faulty logic.
I went to a youth and young adult evening a copule of weeks ago.
The guy who organized it told us it's better to get married right out of high school than to have pre-marital sex. I asked if that was a wise decision, seeing as how with merely a high school education the job options would be limited. He said that that doesn't matter, that it's all in God's hands.
I don't understand that. I find so much wrong with that.
|
Well, I see where he's coming from. He's simply quoting scripture that says it's better to marry than to burn with passion. But he's not doing a very good job of applying it to our current society and lives.
John says:
Yes, ok, God has a plan and will provide for his people, but to get married just because you don' want to be labeled for having had pre marital sex... c'mon man.
|
Yeah. You're right. He should have turned that into a sermon explaining the benefits and acceptability of masturbation in the Christians' life couple with self control and abstinence from lust and pornography.
Rather than promoting marriage too early, he could have promoted a happy medium.
John says:
yes, exactly.
the pastor said that God keeps most of us poor because he knows we can't handle money. But where does free will fall in? If I make the decision to invest in something that happens to sky rocket in 5 years and I'm a millionaire, is God going to try and make me poor because he thinks I have too much money?
|
That's a good way of taking the blame off people for their immaturity and irresponsibility.
John says:
Yes, exactly. One of the members of the parish gave a sermon on why money is evil, and then they passed the plate.
|
Do other people's sermons, beliefs, and hypocrisy affect your beliefs, your faith, or Jesus himself?
John says:
other people. It's the free will thing. It seems those around me think it only comes into play in certain circumstances. They forget that cliche story about the guy in a flood who prayed to be saved and turned down the helicopter and rowboat, only to find that it was God who sent them.
|
Which isn't actually found in the Bible anywhere because I don't think they had helicopters in the ancient Middle East.
John says:
Ha!
Yes
Maybe I'm wrong. I always thought God gave us the handbook on how to live a good life and then kind of let us go in the playpen and let us decide on whether or not we want to follow him.
I just find it difficult to believe [in God/Jesus, the Bible, Christianity]. I wonder what the point is. Why would God create us and then set up a system where if we want to stick with him forever we have to believe that his son died for what we do wrong. We have free will, but what confuses me is if we don't follow his way, we'll pay for it forever. The way I see it is if
you're hanging off a building and holding on to the arm of the guy above you and there are daggers at the bottom if you let go, but if you hold on you have to follow the ways of the guy you're holding onto. That's not the best explanation but it's an idea of how I look at it. It's not really an option. Either follow this guy or be in pain forever.
|
That's one way of looking at it, and I see what you're saying.
But what if the savior's way is to do whatever you want except jump into pits full of daggers?
It's pretty easy to live his way then, isn't it?
John says:
Yes, that's very true.
What if I want to believe and I try to, but when I die God sees I was trying to fool myself but never really had my heart in it? Is that a possibility?
|
I suppose so.
But look at Genesis, John. Look at the Garden of Eden
God didn't say "don't do this or this or this, that, or this. If you do, you're going to hell."
He told Adam and Even to do whatever they wanted, except eat from that damn tree, which I still don't know why was there in the first place. That's a mystery to be solved after I die.
Anyway...
Even after they sinned, God made a way for them. He took care of them.
He found a way for them to be saved.
So let's apply that concept to our lives now.
Jesus doesn't have a list of rules for us to abide by. He says for us to do whatever we want because in his Spirit, we are free.
The only law is the law of love, for all the laws and prophets are summed up in love.
Do whatever is loving
Is this not a better way of life for all of humanity? The life of love?
John says:
Yes, yes it is. That tree baffles me too. At least put it out of reach, ya know? Can you tell he never had children before us? Put a big red button in front of a 12 year old and tell him not to press it and leave the room. I give him 8 seconds.
|
Right
I don't have all the answers
but I don't think the church's concept of God or Christianity are entirely correct.
And by "the church" I mean the Western brand of Christianity we know today.
I don't know about the rest of the world
and I know that the true Church will be saved, yet many "Christians" will go to hell.
John says:
You're probably right.
|
I think God allows a lot more freedom than we take him for. You know? And I think we're all at different levels in our faith, and God understands that. He doesn't expect a drug-addicted hobo to become Benny Hinn over night.
John says:
lol
|
Sure, I do all those things now, but maybe in 10 years I won't.
Does that mean my faith is less genuine now because of it? I don't think so. It means everything is a process.
And it means that you're in the middle of this process, John.
John says:
That's a good way of looking at it. I've often wondered if our faith might be like a muscle. You know how when you work out, your muscle takes a beating an dies a little, but what it does is it forces it to come back stronger? Could faith be like that? We challenge what we believe and it pushes back harder?
|
Absolutely
When I was in China, I felt all my faith had died.
Within 3 months, I was questioning everything I believed.
6 months later, I was growing again.
It was a major strain, but my faith is still here.
It changed, though, that's for sure. At least it stretched.
John says:
And you feel stronger than before you left?
|
Yes, absolutely
John says:
Awesome.
|
I AM stronger. No doubt.
No comments:
Post a Comment