Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
I have something to work on this morning, but I also have a concept that's been gnawing at the back of my forehead trying to get out. It's a thought/question for the Christian evangelicals of the world.
The Bible pretty much makes it clear the majority of folks aren't going to make it out of life alive, while the true Children of God, the true Body of the Church will.
That being the case, why are Christian Evangelicals trying to become the majority?
See, making The Word available, that I can understand. But requiring adherance to The Word of others, even for their own benefit, denies the free will that God gave all humans…the free will, without which, one can't choose God. And that choice is necessary for salvation to be real, yes?
Taking away choice, denying the gift of God…now, who would do that sort of thing? Who has been doing it all along?
Teach your faith, share you knowledge. But in the end, it's you and your true community to whom you are responsible. And remember that even if the teachings are true, the way you teach them can be wrong.
Posted by P6 at October 28, 2003 09:32 AM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2135when i was a fanatical young pre-teenager fresh out of confirmation and high on my own read of the text, i too thought some people were going to heaven and most weren't. i have since, as you may have noticed, fallen somewhat apostate.
trying to think back to those times and that frame of mind, i would tend to think that an evangelical message tailored for the masses would be hopelessly and irredeemably watered down. a real evangelist would try to reach small numbers of people at a time, or individuals. the idea of mass marketing the gospel, much less voting it into office/writing it into legislation completely undermines its purity and extratemporal authority. this leads me to conclude that political leaders who sell this message simply do not believe in it. they don't want to save anyone. they just want power for themselves and their friends. if they thought they could get power by being baby-barbecuing satanists, they would.
and you know what...they sort of ARE baby-barbecuing satanists.
and you know what...they sort of ARE baby-barbecuing satanists.
But you can't tell the people who follow them that, because they identify with them. You can, however, warn them about the accidental evil they themselves are falling into and supporting. The road to Hell's pavement and all that.
This thought isn't a hustle, or I'd have posted the idea of Kicking Ass. I've spent a lot of time and study in religion, ethics, philosophy, teleology and such. It's not something I comment on lightly.
Personally, I don't believe the Bible makes it clear what happens in the next life at all. Jesus makes references to "paradise" which I don't think are meant as anything but a figure of speech.
James, this is why I don't discuss spiritual issues lightly. I have to use other people's metaphors as a metaphor for my metaphors.
There's a pattern I see beneath the words, that the words help you approach…but that, once seen, means you can't grasp those words anymore. And the most frightening thing you can do to a person is falsify the words they depend on, even if it leaves them standing on firmer ground than they ever have before. Because they don't know what the ground is.
Well. On to other things…