Hello all. Since it's been a month since my last rant, I figured I was due. Things have been going well in our household. A new baby has changed things. Kind of different when it's been four years since you had a newborn. It was a decision we made a while ago to have another one, but not one that we took lightly. We weighed the pros and cons, talked finances, and ultimately prayed about it. So now we're a family of 5, and we love it.
As for my rant, there's something that's always been frustrating and annoying to me and that is the idea of Christianity as it's seen from a world view. Now, let me start off by saying that I am 100% Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. There are many things that have helped me come to this conclusion, but that's for another time. You might be asking, "Well, that's nothing special. There are millions of Christians in the world, are you annoyed at yourself?" My answer is longer than just a word or two.
To understand why it's frustrating to me, we need to look back in history. If we strictly go by the Bible and other second-hand accounts, everyone agrees that Jesus was a great man, defied the established order of the time, and taught a lot of things. Even Muslims and Jews agree to that. But where things get diluted is a few centuries after his death. While there were a lot of things lost almost immediately, the big changes came with the formation of the Catholic church. Before I go any further, let me make it clear the I feel there are great and amazing and inspired people in Catholisism, Protestantism, Judaism, and every other religion. I am not deriding the religions. My intention is to show why I see things differently.
So the Catholic church is established and things are running pretty smooth. They are the law of the land, they are the government. They influence laws and punishments made at the time. The Crusades happen. But in all that time it is taught that Jesus saves all men who are worthy, but it's the church that decides that worthiness. Those who are truly saved are few, according to the dictates of those in charge. The Catholic church has very strict rules that define who makes it to heaven and if anyone sins, they can just pay their penance and their good, regardless of how many times it happens.
On the other end of the spectrum, Protestant churches teach that once you accept Jesus as your Savior, you're good no matter what else you do. I served an LDS mission in the Bible Belt of the USA. I can't tell you how many times I talked to people who drank excessively, used vulgar language, indulged in various sexual sins, were dishonest with people, and just plain didn't try but were sure they were going to heaven because they loved their family and they had been "saved". All of that despite the fact that the Bible says, "Faith without works is dead, being alone." While accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior is an important step, it's not the only step. The bible continuously teaches that we must be obedient to God's laws and try our best to live as He lived. That seems to be left out of the teaching of most churches.
Now, considering those two views of salvation and Christianity, let me tell you what I've learned. In the LDS church we are also taught that it is only through the Savior that you can get to heaven. But we are also taught that you can have your sins forgiven if you take the right steps. The differences are that once you accept Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, you also promise to give up anything that would make it so you are less like Him. Swearing, watching inappropriate movies, drinking excessively, anything that would harm your body, mistreating and lying to your fellow men. Also, to be forgiven of sins, you must promise to forsake that sin, not keep doing just to try and repent later. What is the point of religion if it's not to make you a better person.
We are by no stretch of the imagination perfect in the LDS church, but my frustration comes from people who profess to believe these things (Catholic, Protestant, or LDS) and use that as an excuse to be dumb. I feel it's the fault of all of us who profess a belief in certain things and then think we can act differently than those beliefs and be okay. Those actions and that mindset is why people view Christians as fanatics, hypocritical, and why a lot generally stay away from religion. The only thing we do by not living what we believe is make ourselves look like idiots and show people that religion doesn't hold the promises they've been told.
So the next time you think to yourself, "I'm fine, I'm a believer." Remember that faith is an action word. Regardless of your religion, to profess a belief in something means that you are willing to act according to those beliefs, not say a prayer to be saved then live whatever life you want. Not to be a weekend warrior and feel "safe" because you go to church on Sunday. "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." Remember, I love people of other faiths, and there are great people in other faiths. So please don't twist my words and take offense.
I feel that if we as Christians, as a whole, make a greater effort to live what we profess, we could make a great change in the world. Stop being weekend warriors and live as He would live everyday. It's an overused and misunderstood statement, but anytime you are faced with a choice, ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" If you feel that he would get drunk and lose control of his senses, then by all means, make that choice. If you feel he would be less critical of those living life the best they can, then maybe we should be, too. But there is a change that needs to be made. I'm speaking to myself more than anyone, but there is room for all of us to improve.
As for my rant, there's something that's always been frustrating and annoying to me and that is the idea of Christianity as it's seen from a world view. Now, let me start off by saying that I am 100% Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. There are many things that have helped me come to this conclusion, but that's for another time. You might be asking, "Well, that's nothing special. There are millions of Christians in the world, are you annoyed at yourself?" My answer is longer than just a word or two.
To understand why it's frustrating to me, we need to look back in history. If we strictly go by the Bible and other second-hand accounts, everyone agrees that Jesus was a great man, defied the established order of the time, and taught a lot of things. Even Muslims and Jews agree to that. But where things get diluted is a few centuries after his death. While there were a lot of things lost almost immediately, the big changes came with the formation of the Catholic church. Before I go any further, let me make it clear the I feel there are great and amazing and inspired people in Catholisism, Protestantism, Judaism, and every other religion. I am not deriding the religions. My intention is to show why I see things differently.
So the Catholic church is established and things are running pretty smooth. They are the law of the land, they are the government. They influence laws and punishments made at the time. The Crusades happen. But in all that time it is taught that Jesus saves all men who are worthy, but it's the church that decides that worthiness. Those who are truly saved are few, according to the dictates of those in charge. The Catholic church has very strict rules that define who makes it to heaven and if anyone sins, they can just pay their penance and their good, regardless of how many times it happens.
On the other end of the spectrum, Protestant churches teach that once you accept Jesus as your Savior, you're good no matter what else you do. I served an LDS mission in the Bible Belt of the USA. I can't tell you how many times I talked to people who drank excessively, used vulgar language, indulged in various sexual sins, were dishonest with people, and just plain didn't try but were sure they were going to heaven because they loved their family and they had been "saved". All of that despite the fact that the Bible says, "Faith without works is dead, being alone." While accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior is an important step, it's not the only step. The bible continuously teaches that we must be obedient to God's laws and try our best to live as He lived. That seems to be left out of the teaching of most churches.
Now, considering those two views of salvation and Christianity, let me tell you what I've learned. In the LDS church we are also taught that it is only through the Savior that you can get to heaven. But we are also taught that you can have your sins forgiven if you take the right steps. The differences are that once you accept Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, you also promise to give up anything that would make it so you are less like Him. Swearing, watching inappropriate movies, drinking excessively, anything that would harm your body, mistreating and lying to your fellow men. Also, to be forgiven of sins, you must promise to forsake that sin, not keep doing just to try and repent later. What is the point of religion if it's not to make you a better person.
We are by no stretch of the imagination perfect in the LDS church, but my frustration comes from people who profess to believe these things (Catholic, Protestant, or LDS) and use that as an excuse to be dumb. I feel it's the fault of all of us who profess a belief in certain things and then think we can act differently than those beliefs and be okay. Those actions and that mindset is why people view Christians as fanatics, hypocritical, and why a lot generally stay away from religion. The only thing we do by not living what we believe is make ourselves look like idiots and show people that religion doesn't hold the promises they've been told.
So the next time you think to yourself, "I'm fine, I'm a believer." Remember that faith is an action word. Regardless of your religion, to profess a belief in something means that you are willing to act according to those beliefs, not say a prayer to be saved then live whatever life you want. Not to be a weekend warrior and feel "safe" because you go to church on Sunday. "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." Remember, I love people of other faiths, and there are great people in other faiths. So please don't twist my words and take offense.
I feel that if we as Christians, as a whole, make a greater effort to live what we profess, we could make a great change in the world. Stop being weekend warriors and live as He would live everyday. It's an overused and misunderstood statement, but anytime you are faced with a choice, ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" If you feel that he would get drunk and lose control of his senses, then by all means, make that choice. If you feel he would be less critical of those living life the best they can, then maybe we should be, too. But there is a change that needs to be made. I'm speaking to myself more than anyone, but there is room for all of us to improve.
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