Monday, February 25, 2013

Shouldn't Christians hope they are wrong?

There are a bunch of things that Christians believe that I find hard to swallow. Yes, I was once a Christian so I can understand how they HAVE to believe these things in order to maintain their doctrines, but I wish they would consider, as I have, that they may be wrong. Some of these things they believe are so terrible that it should compel them to hope that they may be wrong. For example, if I believed that an ancient people prophesied that in three years the world would be impacted by an alien missile that would send the earth on a collision course with the sun and that subsequently every living thing on the planet would become fried - Shouldn't I spend all my time trying to prove myself wrong? Christians also believe that one day billions of people will fry in the flames of hell, but they take it another step further and make it last forever. What an awful thought. Shouldn't this compel them to hope that they are wrong? Shouldn't they be reading all of the critical books that have been written against their religion? Shouldn't they be researching all of the scientific discoveries that may contradict what is written in their holy book? It may dash their hopes of one day reaching their eternal paradise, but in my opinion that is a small price to pay.

A man may spend his life inventing medical cures that save the lives of millions and prevents much suffering, but in the Christian worldview, if he did not believe and dedicate his life to the god/man Jesus then he will spend an infinite number of years wailing and gnashing his teeth in unquenchable flames. 

According to Christian beliefs, I would have been infinitely better off if I had died in a car accident while I was still a Christian than later abandoning my faith in the religion and one day reaping the consequences. 

I'm sure if you asked most Christians they would say that aborted babies all end up in heaven along with miscarriages and other infants who die young. If this is true then, according to Christian beliefs, all of these babies are better off dead and in heaven then having to live here on earth and possibly not becoming a "real" Christian.

Christians look forward to the day that they can leave this earth for a better home where they can eternally be at the feet of Yahweh, worshiping him forever. Unfortunately they have to do this in spite of being aware of his deeds in the Old Testament. Yahweh was at one time fed up with people so much that he drowned a world full of them including plants, animals, children, elderly and everything that breathed. Yahweh also commanded his chosen people to annihilate the people who lived in Canaan and would not allow them to spare anything that breathed (except a group of virgins once). I'm not sure which was worse: being killed with a blunt sword or having to be the one doing the killing. Why do they want to believe this with all their heart? Because Jesus fixed all of this? 

Jesus had some good ideas, but he was not perfect. He supposedly said things like: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword", "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother", and "All these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." If you think that's not so bad, read about what happens in the book of Revelation and I doubt you'll think the New Testament is a nice book anymore.

In a last attempt modern Christians will re-interpret every passage in the Bible that they have a problem with, they will focus on the social aspects of Jesus' words and Paul's writings, and they will try as much as possible to become relevant for the culture of today. Even this modern version of Christianity should raise some eyebrows. Most modern Christians still believe that the majority of the world is going to hell. Most of them still believe that human sacrifice is a medium for appeasing their god (thankfully it was a one time deal). Most of them still focus on the brutal act of a Roman crucifixion and focus on a broken body and spilled blood. Most of them still believe that any day now the world and everything left in it is going to be destroyed and remade. And most of them still become self-righteous and tend to look down on anyone who does not believe what they believe. All I ask is that they open up about their doubts and become honest with one another. They should be open to other points of view. 

If humanity is going to thrive in the future, things like bigotry and intolerance need to be set aside. Superstitions should be cast off. Apocalyptic and doomsday thinking should be kept in check with reality. Attempts at finding the truth of a matter should begin with evidence and probability and should not be based on dogma and presuppositions. The value of life must be upheld. Suffering should always be avoided. People should be kind and thoughtful to others because they want to, not because they want to gain an eternal reward. I'm not saying anything new. This has all been hashed out many times before. The question is, do Christians deep down really hope they are right about these things? Shouldn't they hope to be wrong?

6 comments:

  1. I've thought about this as well. It really used to bother me, and still does to some degree.

    What disturbs me is that if it is truly believed that those who do not accept or believe in Jesus are going to hell for eternity then why aren't we all in the outside every waking moment sharing Christ's message and teachings through action and word. If Jesus is truly The Way (note: not a way) Truth and The Life then what else is more worthy to follow, connect to, practice and share with others?


    It really bothered me. still does to an extent

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  2. sorry for the lack of full stops :)

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  3. Ryan, thanks for stopping by my blog. Are you including yourself in the "why aren't we all outside" statement? Are you a Christian now or were you one in the past? Why does it bother you less now than it used to?

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  4. Hi Dave,

    Sorry it has taken so long for me to respond.

    I believe that Jesus is God, but this belief doesn't really make me comfortable. It doesn't really bother me less now to think of judgement. Maybe I just don't trust God enough atm. I do think there is immense value in Christ’s teachings.

    But the thought bothers me that the more I learn and read, the more condemnation I’m possibly heaping on myself if I then choose to not believe.

    The whole concept of torment in hell just unsettles me in a world where people are not dichotomies. The same people do both noble and cruel things. They may be a caring parent, but a spiteful boss. A person could be a loving husband, but also a cruel bully to others outside of their circle of friends. Life is not black and white, and one person’s hero is another persons antagonist.

    If God exists, then He is the only one fit to judge such fragility in humanity and assess the heart. But I do have a lot of questions, as I assume everyone has.

    It’s also strange to think that we as conscious entities were not developed from a conscious entity. Are human beings the only animal to have such a degree of apparent self-awareness?

    And I’m not saying that humanity is necessarily the pinnacle of development, or the most adapted creatures ever. The Bible talks about turning humanity into new creations through Christ, so Christians believe that the best is yet to come. I just think it’s strange that we seem to have such self-understanding and cognitive ability.

    If an animal can have such independent awareness, then it seems to me that such a consciousness could have created our awareness. I know this is not a new perspective or line of thinking.

    So yeah, human beings seem to me to be walking contradictions in general. I think we all desire organisation and symmetry to some degree. We are pattern-seeking creatures. In the end I think when placing hope on future events it comes to faith.

    Part of me hopes Christians are wrong, from what I read in the Bible. I really don’t know where I place myself. Life doesn’t seem that clear cut.

    I’m just someone who wants to be useful, and actively kind and respectful to others. That’s the goal, and lately I’ve been quite lazy in my pursuit of it. But I figure what we focus on we eventually move towards.

    Hope some of that makes sense.

    Hope you have a great week.

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  5. I agree with you though that no matter our beliefs, we should all be more open and transparent, this helps us better understand one another, recongnise what we share in as members of the human condition, whatever that is.

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  6. Hey Ryan,

    Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You're right. Life is certainly not clear cut. It sounds like your thinking through a lot of things right now.

    Jesus did have a lot of good ideas and I think it's great that people try to model their life on them. I think there are probably other people who have said some pretty profound things as well, like Socrates, Confucius, Gandhi, Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson, etc. Here is one from Gandhi:

    "It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." - Mahatma Gandhi

    Perhaps if there is a creator, he did not want to rob us of the mysteries of life and we would be completely bored if we had all of life's answers. Not sure if you've read my other posts, but I am agnostic on the question of God's existence. I can understand why people think there is one, because it gives a perfect explanation of how we got here. On the other hand, I can see why naturalists see God as an explanation that only deflects the question. To say that complex beings require a creator leaves us with an even more complex being, the creator, and no explanation for why he/she/it exists. Saying that the creator always existed does not really explain why it must be so.

    I wrote a post called "Counting the cost of deconversion" where I said that I think Christians who are happy with what they believe should stay that way. My wife is a Christian and I'm happy with that. What we each believe is really a personal choice and has little bearing on who we are as a person. I like your goal of just being a kind, useful and respectful person.

    Yes, your comment did make sense and I hope you have a great week as well.

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