Just Needed To Rant

[cobrakai]

Beliefs obviously affect our behavior. In some cases that is obvious, like a Muslim who blows himself up to kill the infidels or an abortion clinic bomber that believes abortion is an abomination to god. However these examples are what people label “extremist” when in fact they are just following the orders of their doctrine. Looking at these examples makes me wonder if most Christians (fundies and moderates) even believe what they say they do. We as ex-christians are often told we never truly believed, I would say that neither do those that still say they do. They believe in an idea, the idea of Christianity. They believe that because they supposedly have it figured out in their own heads they will be safe from hellfire. They have convinced themselves that as long as they align themselves with this idea that they are “living right”.

 

But how could they possibly really believe in all that the faith entails and not dedicate their life solely to those beliefs? Look at the lives of most Christians, especially the moderate, “progressive” Christians that inhabit the new mega-churches of the day. They are loose with drinking, drugs, and sex. They listen to what they want to when it comes to music, and watch the movies they want to watch. They live off the amenities of the modern world, though they are supposedly against the world. They do all this with the idea that they are saved, forgiveness is cheap, and as long as they are against homosexuals and abortion all is right with the world.

 

I find it odd when I look at the lives of most of the Christians I knew at church. How were they separated from the world? Most of them drove VERY nice cars, they worried about their careers, their families, their clothes, their appearance, and craved sex. After service it was off to Starbucks, or the mall or a restaurant for breakfast; the sermon of the day already out of mind. It was a social club. It had cliques and the popular crowds just like high school. I think of a Christian couple I know and there is nothing that would ever make me think they are different or living “the right way”. Their facebook page has the usual little props to god here and there but most of it is about how much they travel, or an avenue to show off their new born son and how cute he looks in his little new outfit from Macy’s.

 

The faith goes much deeper than most dwell upon each day. If you say you are a Christian then you HAVE to believe that the Bible is the infallible word of god, that Noah and the flood are true, that god really did create the world in 7 days, that god does not want a woman teaching a man. FURTHERMORE, you have to believe that a supposed “nether realm” exists. You have to believe that angels and demons truly do exist, and that right now in a spiritual realm which we cannot even conceive, they are battling for the souls of mankind. This imagery doesn’t seem to jive with the “good vibes” teachings of a Joel Olsteen or with Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life”.

 

How could you possibly believe that all of this stuff is truly real and not have it send you into a wide eyed panic? Better yet how could you truly believe in this and not devote your whole life to it? How could you say you honestly believe that the book of Revelations will come true and spend your Sunday watching a football game? How could you pretend that something so big is just in the background of life while you shop with your friends? It is like the idiotic phrase “Live everyday as if it is your last”. We know that is foolish because if we really believed that we would not go to work, or do chores. We would shun our responsibilities for pleasure. So why do Christians shun the responsibilities of their faith if they truly believe it? They honestly don’t. I think most Christians live by Pascal’s Wager. It is a big maybe in their heads but because they fear death and hell it gives them comfort that just maybe they will be okay when they die. They also like the idea of standing for something, it makes them feel good to be against the supposed evils of the world like abortion and homosexuals (even though most really don’t give a shit).

 

If the stakes are that high and all of this shit is real then Christians have no excuse why they are not trying to save souls everyday. They should be out on the streets in droves constantly telling us about Jesus. They shouldn’t be worried about their sports teams, or their drywall, or buying that new video game. But that’s not the case. Instead they will continue to live off of the world that is mostly developed because of humanism and scientific achievement, while still trying to hold down the non-believer.

[Seeking]

I came to the exact same conclusion while I was still a Christian, and it freaked me out to think that it had to be all or nothing. A "luke-warm" Christian was really no Christian at all, in my mind.

 

Fortunately, I have put all that behind me now.