Alan, I was not really referring to you specifically when I wrote that post about all the fighting over here about religion. I have always believed that whatever belief system comforts someone provides a real benefit to that person, and I believe in total freedom of religion for everyone. It just seems that a logical person who did not know anything at all about religion and stumbled upon this thread could easily come away with the impression that religious beliefs are narrow and divisive, and that therefore their impact is generally negative. Certainly, if you look at the influence of religion on world history, you would come to the same conclusion.
Why would anyone want something so divisive ruling their life? It seems like feelings of love and joy are totally lost on those who burrow themselves into tiny holes, fighting over their particular interpretation of the Bible.
On a related not, I found this on the web. I think it raises valid questions about fundamentalist Christianity. Certainly, the spirt of the anti-Christ seems to inhabit this thread, but it is not in the posts of the non-Christians where I feel it:
Why Fundamentalist Churches (and other
"Born-Again" religions)
are Really the Devil's Teaching
No, my purpose is not to condemn. Jesus spoke plainly enough in saying: "Judge not, lest by same
measure thou be judged.", but he also said: "Be wise as serpents." We need to understand and we need
to use discernment. I do not advocate a return to the time when Christian murdered Christian over whose
interpretation was correct, but we have become too complacent in tolerating, without argument or dissent, any
notion presented as "Christian". We must face the fact that the mentality behind earlier "Christian" atrocities is
still with us.
I hereby charge all "Born-Agains", who hold any outside authority above the light of God within, to be duped
by the devil into accepting a dangerous and unhealth religion, based solely on a few words from Paul (who
meet Jesus only once), and the manipulations of a few church elders from Irenaeus to Emperor Justinian. This
religion exists in total disregard for the teachings of Jesus, himself, or that of any of his disciples.
"Believe and be Saved" is their cry. You must accept the personal sacrifice of Jesus as the price for the
forgiveness of your sins and your salvation unto eternal life. The "Sacrifice" of which they speak, is his death.
Did Jesus willingly turn himself over to the authorities and offer his life? Did he calmly walk up to an alter and lay
himself down? Was he lawfully executed? No, he was murdered. The fact that he knew his execution could not
be avoided did not change the nature of his death. So, as the price of your immortality, they teach that you have
to praise and give thanks for the murder of Christ, thereby lowering yourself to the level of an accomplice to
murder!
Is this really what Jesus wanted? Jesus said: "I want mercy and not sacrifice" - Matt 9:13. He NEVER
said that we should give thanks for his murder, or that he was to be sacrificed in payment for our sins.
Consequences:
First, since all you have to do to be saved is to BELIEVE, you can commit any crimes or offenses you want
to (providing you can get away with them) since all your sins are already forgiven. Not all people who believe
this way take such liberties, but tales of the crimes of Born-Again Christians are widespread. Many have
claimed themselves to be "Christian" to lower the defenses of the niave in order to take advantage of them.
Second, by accepting Christ's murder, they have established that is is right for the individual to be
sacrificed for the benefit of the many. It thereby becomes alright for them to sacrifice your life and interests to
serve their wants and needs. This can only contribute to the first problem, since it becomes okay to victimize
another individual (or group) in order to benefit yourself. It also tells people in government that it is alright to let a
few innocent people go to prison or die in the electric chair in the effort to get rid of the criminals. It deludes
officials and lay people alike into ignoring the causes of crime, because the immediate problem is alieviated
by sacrificing real (or imagined) criminals. Or it becomes okay to raise taxes or take bribes to increase their
own salaries. The only lives that don't cease to have value are their own.
One of the fallacies with this view, is the short-sighted notion that "Ends justify means". They CANNOT, for
the simple reason that Ends REFLECT their means. Dogma however, has the effect of locking people into not
looking past expectations and superficialities.
Third, many, even among the most virtuous of Born-Agains, reject the importance of works, since works, by
their teachings, are unnecessary. In so doing, they make themselves no better than the priests and Levites who
passed the man on the road who had robbed and beaten. the man who Jesus praised was the "unclean"
Samaritan who stopped out of compassion and helped. More so, good service in their business dealings is
fast becoming a thing of the past. In a country where Service Industries are experiencing phenomenal growth,
the customer no longer comes first; only his money does. Once they have the customer's money, they do as
little for him as they can get away with. According a survey at least a decade old, over 60% of the children in
this country no longer even know what the Golden Rule is.
Of all the authors of the New Testement, only Paul argued that works were unnecessary. John, James, Peter
and Jesus, himself, all spoke clearly in favor of good works. "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the
least of these my brethern, you did it unto me." Matt.25:40
Fourth, it creates a false idea of immortality, that we only get one chance at life, and then either get thrown
into a lake of fire or sent to heaven. (This notion did not come from Christianity, but from Zoroastrianism)
References are made several places in the gospels to a different version of immortality. Matt. 4:5, 11:13-14,
16:13-14, 17:12-13, Mark 6:15, 9:13, Luke 7:27, John 8:56, and 9:1-2 all indicate that the disciples accepted
reincanation as fact. Jesus stated quite clearly: "You are gods" John 10:34 (quoting Ps.82:6). The body dies;
the child of God within CANNOT. If a belief in reincarnation was not a part of early Christian teaching, then the
Fifth Ecumenical Council, in 553 AD, would have been spinning delusions by making that teaching a heresy.
If this view is correct, then immortality is already ours; we need only learn to see with the soul's eyes to
realize it and remember where we have been. (An enormous amount of scientific evidence has already been
compiled from hypnosis, from "living incarnates", and from the corroboration of the information therefrom, to
attest to this possibility.) This view demands responsibility. Whatever we put into this world, we have to live
with, not just for this lifetime, but for as long as it lasts. If it is wrong, we can either fix it, or suffer the
consequences, over and over again, until we do fix it. Since the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, we also have
the power, as children of God, to materialize that Kingdom on Earth.
The Born-Again view, however, imposes no responsibility, neither to the earth, nor to our fellow man. Neither
does it offer much hope for a better world, as even if we improve it, our enjoyment of it is short-lived.
Fifth, all of the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Bible become as naught, because if all you have to do to
be saved is to BELIEVE, then nothing that Jesus had to say has any further relevance and can be disregarded.
Isn't this what the Devil wants us to do? That we should ignore all of the good things Jesus had to teach us
about love, compassion, faith, understanding, the powers of the spirit, and the promise of a better world? That
we should remember, but vaguely, only the commandments of Moses and forget the commandments of Jesus?
Or does it really matter what harm we commit?
The Born-Agains demand that we believe on the basis of authority, presumably the Bible's, but practically
speaking, on this or that preacher's interpretation. Jesus tells up to: "Ask, and it shall be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened for you." - Matt.7:7 & Luke 11:10. However, the
man who has found the authority of Christ within is no longer subject to the authority of preacher, or church, or
state. He is no longer vulnerable to be used as pawn for whatever evil that others may wish him to commit. Isn't
THAT exactly what the Devil does NOT want?
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