Do You Fear Him?

I've been thinking about this whole Christmas/Holidays thing. Approaching it from a logical angle, its only fair to wonder why people want to wash the name Christ away from everything having to do with Christmas, even to the point that they'd be happy for it to be known only as "The Holiday." Why? What is it about this name, the person -- and the idea -- it represents, that people find so objectionable?

I've come to the conclusion that it is fear, pure and simple. These people, these anti-Christians, anti-theists, non-Christians, and all others, are simply and purely terrified by the name of Christ and what He represents.

I came to this conclusion after thinking about and hearing a few things. First among these was a statement by someone which had nothing to do with this but was actually more directed towards political repression: "People hate that which they fear." I started to think about that statement in relation to this thing, and it started to make sense.

The unrepentant sinner knows they are sinning, and knows that its wrong. However, with this touchy-feely, anything goes world in which we now live, they are rarely, if ever, confronted by people about their sin. No one has the quality of character to say, "This is wrong, brother, and for your own sake, you need to live a different life." No one, that is, but Jesus Christ. He alone stands before them, with is arms open in a hug of pure love, inviting them to come to him.

But they fear this embrace. Taking that step and receiving that hug is tantamount to saying "I'm a sinner, I'm wrong, and I need to live different way." Oh, my...change. We can't have that, can we? We all know people would rather kill themselves than make a positive change in their lives. Change is terrifying, change is hard, change is hard and cold and uncomfortable, so its much easier to just fester in this warm, soft bed of sin we've been in for so long.

Think I'm exaggerating? Think of it, for a moment: Actions that are unhealthy and unhealthful, but not sins. Do you know anyone who refuses to get out of a bad relationship because they fear change, refuses to stop drinking because its too hard, refuses to eat sensibly and exercise because they don't want to make the effort, who is killing themselves with their thinking errors yet won't seek help, knows they will get killed because of what they do but just can't give up the life? I'll bet you do.

These are all habits, learned behaviors picked up somewhere along the line. Most of these are external actions, and people can't kick their habits because of fearing change. Now imagine the need for people to continue in their sinful ways, or being forced to tear down an entire lifestyle, an entire self-image, a whole definition of what their life means and what its all about. They need to not only give up one habit, but change an entire life.

Still think I'm exaggerating?

In addition to this there is the ever present person of the Devil himself. He wants nothing more than for Christmas to become nothing more than a pleasant winter festival, full of over eating, over drinking, indulgence, sloth, and greed. One should easily be able to see his hand in all of this.

I came to this conclusion by thinking about other religions' sacred holidays and how they understand them. Ask most 100 people what Christmas is about, and I will be surprised if two of them say "the birth of Jesus." Ask 100 Muslims what Ramadan is about, or 100 Jews what Hanukkah is about, and you will get a religious answer.

Should we be surprised? Think of all the other junk that interfere with Christ during Christmas. There's Santa, the elves, decorating, buying gifts, getting trees, holly, Frosty, bells, balls, and booze. And that's really just scratching the surface. I was struck by the fact that there are fictional characters and non-Biblical traditions for both Christmas and Easter that diminish the sacred nature of both of these holidays. Why is there no Ramadan Rabbit? Or Hanukkah Hooter? Or any other such nonsense. Because the Devil doesn't care if people practice Islam or Judaism properly because these religions are already separating people from Christ. It his most earnest wish to get people as far away from Christ as possible, and separating His name from the holiday named after Him is a great way to do it.

So let me ask you this: Do you fear Him? Do you have reason to fear his holiness so much that, rather than take a hard look at your own life, you turn your inward facing fear to outward pointing hate? Are you allowing your fear and hate to separate you from the only one who can save you? Or are you of those silly, foolish pawns in the hand of the Devil who allows themselves to be used in his war against God?

Which ever you are, the only way to save yourself is to turn to Jesus now, ask him to come into your life and forgive your sins. Turns out the Christmas season is the perfect time to do so.

Down with Religions!!

"Say what?" they say, looking at the title of this post. "This guy says he's a Christian, yet calls an entry 'Down with Religions!!' What's up with that?!"

I am a Christian, and I do say down with religions. The reason for this is, quite simply, because Christianity at its finest, at its most pure, at its most perfect, is not a religion at all. It is nothing short of a personal, loving, intimate relationship with God. It is getting to know your Father in Heaven better than you could ever get to know your father on earth, or your mother, or your siblings, friends, or spouse. It is the perfection of the most pristine relationship imaginable.

According to the good people at Merriam-Webster, there are several definitions of "religion." The most vague one refers to the worship of God, but because a person can worship God in their own mistaken way with no religion at all, this definition is a little weak. Standing before the ocean, taking a walk in the woods, or looking at the night sky can be a worshipful experience devoid of religious content, so I reject this definition as simply being too imprecise.

But Merriam-Webster offers a second, more detailed definition: "2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices" Ah, yes. Now that's far more precise, and is far more in keeping with the definition most people have in their own minds upon hearing the word "religion." And it is to this definition I say, "down with religions."

Look carefully at that definition. What exactly is it saying? First of all, it is relating religion to a huge, monolithic institution, not unlike a modern government or other massive bureaucracy. Think of the IRS or some similar organization. Now, emanating from this monolithic institution are a whole long list of things that the adept must do and say, clothes that they must wear, and other details of their outward life. It also speaks of a desire to control what one holds in his or her heart, but the reality of this situation is that religions are far more interested in what outward behaviors one exhibits rather than the purity of one's heart.

So what we have here is a massive organization that has produced vast amounts of rules, regulations, and dogmatic literature in an attempt to effect the outward actions of the alleged faithful.

So if I claim Christianity, when properly practiced, is not a religion, what are some examples of a religion? Almost needless to say, Islam comes right to mind. There are few better examples of a "religion" by the definition of a monolithic organization bent on controlling one's outward actions. I will talk far more on this collection of insane ramblings later, so suffice it to say now that Islam is indeed a religion I'd like to see go down.

Next in line is Catholicism. "OK, now wait," they say again. "Isn't Catholicism Christianity?" No, it is not. Catholicism is its very own religion loosely based upon Christianity. But thinking that the precepts and beliefs of the Catholic Church represent the beliefs of Christianity is like saying the precepts of the KKK represent the belief system of the United States. It doesn't, and it couldn't be further from the high ideal of the original founder. Once again, I'll devote an entire post to the Catholics, so just allow me now to say that this is another religious system that needs to go down before people can be fully free.

Some other religions? Shinto and Hinduism, and Buddhism as most people perceive it. Actually, let me take a moment to say something about quasi-religions like Buddhism. Buddhists are wonderfully peaceful people and are truly some of the most dedicated humanists I know. However, Buddhism itself is not a religion at all. It is a philosophy, not unlike the many systems that came from ancient Greece. The only difference here is that none of the Greeks tried to turn Aristotle, Plato, or Socrates into some sort of divine personage. Siddarthur Gautauma, or Buddha, or whatever you want to call him, was a caring, compassionate, lovely individual, but he was no divine person -- nor did he ever claim to be. So the problem with Buddhism is that people spend their entire lives thinking about a philosophy when they could have been spending their lives getting close to God. It is a wonderful pursuit when combined with Christian faith, but as a philosophy, it is a real waste of time, and therefore needs to discarded with yesterday's garbage.

So how is Biblical Christianity different? When practiced properly, there are no barriers between you and God. You pray to him when you want, how you want, where you want, in whatever way you want, and you can say what you want. There are no formulas to remember, no magical words He has pre-approved at the expense of all other words. You bring him your pain, your troubles, your concerns, you wishes, your thanks, and your sins, and he takes them from you and makes them right. There is no ritual involved, no cleaning process; you're a sinner when you come to him, and a drop of water won't wash away sin. There is no direction to point, as the entire Earth is holy. Because of Christ's sacrifice, we have an open line directly to God, and we can access that line whenever we wish. Christianity recognizes your freedom and encourages you to use when speaking to God.

Christianity doesn't tell you want to eat or what to wear. All of God's creation is holy, so there is no food that could possible make a person "unclean." Why would God make the pig less holy than the cow, or the cow more holy than the goat, or the lobster less than the chicken? He wouldn't, of course. This is just one of those silly, outward control things religions do in order to allow their faithful to ignore the evil in their heart and focus instead on the meat on their plate. What a man puts in his stomach doesn't make him clean or unclean, but rather what he has in his heart. Similarly, Christianity doesn't tell you what to wear. No need for flowing robes from the 10th Century, no need for prayers tied to your forehead (prayers should etched on your heart, not plastered to your forehead!), and certainly no need to hide women's faces.

Which brings me to another, vital difference. Christianity respects and holds up all people -- even the women (Can you hear the collective gasp from non-Christians all around the world?!) The view of women in Christianity was perverted in the Middle Ages due to sexist political practices and power issues, but the truth, the Biblical truth, is that Christianity lifted women up as equals to men in all respects. If the world had implemented the proper Biblical Christian belief system, we would have had complete gender equality long ago.

I could go on and on and on, but I hope you begin to see that there is a huge difference between religions and Christianity. Religions seek to control and dominate people's lives, even to the extent of what foods they can eat and the clothes they can wear. Christianity seeks to change the thoughts people have in their minds and the feelings in their hearts, and seeks to make these changes for the betterment of everyone. Religions seek to force people to do this and to think that, Christianity seeks to have people want to change themselves as a way of expressing their gratitude to Christ for his sacrifice. In the end, religions seek to control people through fear, while Christianity seeks to have people control themselves because of joy and thankfulness.

So because of this, I say down with religions, and up with Christianity!!

So What Is a Christian?

What is a Christian? A Christian is, first and foremost, a sinner. I get so sick and tired of the non-Christian view of us as sanctimonious do-gooders who don't have a foul bone in our body. I know full well this attitude is based more from an attempt to make us look like hypocrites every time one of us falls short of Christ's ideal -- which is only every single day -- to weaken the faith rather than out of respect. However, non-Christians are always thinking Christians are lily-white and pure as the wind-driven snow. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Much more so annoying to me than the non-Christian having thins opinion is when the Christian does. I despise it when Christians think that just because they have turned their life over to God and accepted Christ as their savior that they are now no longer sinners and are, therefore, better than everyone else. We are not better than anyone else, we are still sinners, and we are in fact held to a much higher standard than is the non-Christian. If you only ever accept Jesus as your savior then do not make an attempt to live a sinless life and recognize when you fall short, then you are only pretending to be a Christian and will be judged far more severely than the non-Christian ever could be.

Christians are sinners, just like everyone else. It was the dreadful weight of our sins, the burden of our mistakes, that drove us to our knees to begin with and made us accept Jesus as our savior and to ask Him for help. But even after doing this we are sinners. Everyday, in every way, we continue to sin. The only difference between us and the rest of the world is that we are very well aware of these sins, we ask forgiveness when we do sin, and we make a very earnest and honest attempt to not fall into the trap of that sin again. But that doesn't make us sinless. It only makes us willing to recognize ourselves as sinners and eager to ask forgiveness and try harder.

Let me personalize this by putting my own sins on the line. God made me a very passionate, sensual, person-centered man so I could do my work as a social worker with the intensity needed to heal the sick. The Devil has twisted that gift -- and I've allowed him to do it -- such that I'm a lusty and and sexually obsessed man as well. If I allowed myself, I could be a complete hedonist, living a life of sexual debauchery. In my youth, I did allow myself to fall into that trap of sexual sin before I was fully dedicated to Christ. Yet even now, I struggle with that sin. I fight the urge to flirt more than I know I should, I fight the desire to lust a woman in my heart, I need to make a conscious effort not to sin in a very real flesh-on-flesh way. I have sin in my heart, which is bad enough, but I need to fight to make sure that sin doesn't flow into the real world. So I see my sin, recognize my sin, ask forgiveness for my sin, try not to sin in the same way, and when I fail, ask for forgiveness all over again. This I do because I have faith Jesus Christ, and I know He will forgive me and help me do better. But in the end, I am painfully well aware of the fact that I am a sinner.

So what else is a Christian? A Christian is compassionate, being aware of others' pain and struggles and wanting to help. A Christian is accepting, loving all people as God made them, even if they despise the sin in their lives. A Christian is forgiving, following the pattern set by God Himself in our daily lives and not holding grudges for the injuries done to us. A Christian is peaceful, always trying to use words and God's love to resolve any situation. A Christian is aware of all God's creation and takes a personal responsibility in caring for it. A Christian is full of faith, always believing that God is in control of things and that things will turn out all right, no matter how bleak they look at the time. A Christian is aware of the suffering of others, especially the weak, the poor, the down-trodden, and he oppressed, and is willing to do what they can to end their pain. A Christian is humble, recognizing that, in the end, they are nothing but a dirty sinner, and has received God's grace not because they deserve it, but only because God loves them so very, very much. A Christian loves all human life and fights to persevere it.

Look hard at this list of attributes. See anything odd? What I find ironic about this list is that, while Christians are always being railed against for being closed-minded and sanctimonious, the real fact of the matter is that the very belief system considered to be "modern" is in fact Christian. Aren't these the same list of attributes we wish more people espoused, whether Christian or not? Don't commentators constantly remark on the need for more of these behaviors, even as they criticize Christians for being thoughtless and cruel? Isn't this the very base of the modern world?

It is, of course, painfully true that not all Christians live like this. Many Christians continue to live as sinners in sin their whole lives, never making any attempt to change. They are two-faced and hypocritical, and are the very lowest form of liar. However, there are many teachers that are cruel to children, many policemen who are criminal, many soldiers who are cowards, many parents who are neglectful. Yet do we judge the group by the exception. Dare I say it, there are many blacks who deal drugs, many whites who are racist, many Jews that are cheap, many Hispanics who commit crimes, many Asians who can't drive, many gays who are girly and many lesbians who are butch. Yet in out hypersensitive world, would we ever dare to publicly denounce the whole group by the few individuals who exhibit these attributes? Of course not. Then why do we judge the totality of Christianity by those who do not fit the mold?

Historically, Christianity has not always lived up to its promise. The dominance of society by the church in Medieval Europe, the Spanish Inquisition, the Thirty Years War, the forced conversions of Jews and American Indians. But these represent a complete rejection of the teaching of Christ in the Bible, are were a willful twisting of the Word to suit specific, evil, very real world wants. This is a tragedy, but hardly represents what Christianity is. Yet, once again, the exception is held up to defy the norm.

Ultimately, though, the Christian represents the very best of the modern world. Everything that is wrong with our world is because of the rejection of Christian values, while the surest fix for what is broken is more Christianity. What can we do to make that happen? What can you do, today, right now, to make that happen?