Is Prosyletizing a Sin? (Part 2)

In my last post on this topic, I related a sad story about a kid I used to babysit thinking he was going to Hell because he didn't listen to me, his babysitter, and I said this: emotionally and psychologically harming someone is a sin.

Before I go further on that, I should define the other word I'm using here the way I understand it. Proselytizing, to me, is when someone tries to convince someone else to convert to their beliefs. It differs from evangelism^[1] in that evangelism is more about simply spreading information about one's religion.^[2]

Sunday Thoughts

There's something about this country I don't understand.

See, Christians are a majority here. Maybe not everyone who classifies themselves as Christian is particularly active in their faith, but they were raised with Christian beliefs and still consider themselves such.

So why are so many Americans against programs to help the poor? Whether it's direct as welfare or a national health insurance of some sort, or as indirect as better education, people seem unwilling to pay for government programs, or volunteer time or money or goods to private programs. And some people are pretty heated about their opposition to the former.

I don't understand how anyone can reconcile that unwillingness with what Jesus taught. I don't think I need to pull out Bible verses for this; anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the Gospels should know that Jesus was pretty explicit that helping the sick and the poor was the right thing to do, and that giving up one's own wealth for that purpose was the best thing to do.

I find it difficult to understand why anyone who calls themselves a Christian would have any trouble giving to a cause that helps the poor. Churches which run food pantries or other helpful programs are struggling to meet demand, so it's not even happening there. And when it comes to government programs and any hint of suggestions of tax raises, it's met with anger and refusal. Is that really the Christian response?

Sunday Thoughts

We just got back from an early-morning drive through the city and I was thinking of writing something about that, about beautiful sunrises and birds singing at dawn, but I don't know if I have the right words to explain why that and the otherwise silent city means so much to me. I've said in the past to people that sunsets and kittens are two good reasons to believe in a loving God and love creation, and you can put sunrises and joyful bird wakings on that list, too, but it's more a personal thing than something I expect anyone to really share. Still, I can say there's something beautiful and even awe-inspiring in getting to see those things in the middle of a large city before most people have stirred from their homes. A moment where you can glimpse a peaceful creation is something wonderful.

And that might be enough for today, but I thought I'd grab a random Bible verse to see if it inspired me to write something more anyhow.

The Bible verse I got led me to Chapter 12 of Romans, and it does touch upon something I've been thinking about, so I think it's probably a good idea for me to try to explore what it means for me.

Is Proselytizing a Sin? (Part 1)

I imagine now there's someone out there thinking: how can something that preaches about God be a sin?

Well... "Sin", to me, includes anything that harms other people, a word that can be used both within religious discussion and apart from it.

Now in the context of religion, it's generally defined as an offense against God. Well, while Jesus was more to the point about harming people being Bad, God himself had a few words to say on the matter, too. Most of the Ten Commandments are about one's treatment of other people, after all. So while "sin" may encompass things other than "harming other people", it definitely includes it even in that context.

With me so far? Good. Let me tell you a story about my past, then. This is gonna get a little long, so I hope you like reading.

Sunday Thoughts

I've written before on my difficulties with reconciling the idea of a loving God with a God that would condemn people to eternal punishment for not saying the right words, and why it is I came to believe that the latter is wrong. It's an important topic for me, though, so I have some other thoughts on it.

It's not about a deterrent

More than once, I've seen someone basically ask this: "If there's no Hell, why would you bother? What would make you want to follow God's rules?"

Of course, the easy answer is: I still believe in Heaven. I believe the choices are between Heaven and nothingness, and I find Heaven more comforting than nothingness. That's a good reason right there, but it's the easy answer, and it's not, really, the important bit.

I imagine everyone reading this has someone they love—more than one someone, one presumes, since I don't mean just romantic love here. Someone who you care about a great deal, whose opinion is important to you.

I imagine that everyone reading this has, at some point, wondered how one of those people could possibly love you back. You may've gotten to that point from a different place and for different reasons than I have, but I'm sure it's fairly universal to wonder "Why does this person love me? How can they keep loving me the way I am? What if they stop loving me?"

I also would bet you've at least thought about being willing to change something about yourself to ensure that person keeps loving you. Maybe you didn't do it, but you probably find the idea familiar.

There's also a pretty good chance that at least once in your life, you've decided to to choose to not do something because it would hurt someone you love and who you know loves you.

And why? Not because that person threatened to do something bad to you. Not because you feared they would. (That's probably happened, too, but it's not the point of this wondering.) Because the idea of losing their regard, their love, and their presence in your life was sufficiently worrisome to you that you were willing to at least consider changing something, whether small or large, to ensure that didn't happen.

Now if you believe, as I do, that God loves you, wouldn't you think it would make sense to apply that to Him?

Sunday Thoughts

Random Bible verse thoughts again this time. This coming week I'll try to get some non-Sunday posts up, too, but in the meantime:

I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.—Isiah 45:7

It is quite possible that the most-asked question by people about the Christian God is this: How could a loving God allow bad things to happen to His creation? I've certainly asked it myself, and a lack of answer certainly figured into my falling away from Christianity. But these days, I think I understand a little better.

There's two ways to look at it, really. The first is: the only way to know if an experience is good or bad is to compare it to other things. You can't know what darkness is if you only experience light. Loneliness only feels lonely because we know what it's like to have someone's company. Comparing and contrasting is just how humans tend to think. Naturally, if that's how we think, it makes sense that all of those things have to be in Creation. It allows us to appreciate the good times when we understand there are also bad ones.

There's also the fact that we have free will. Free will is meaningless if there are no choices, and choices aren't choices if there aren't different outcomes. Sure, God could make it so that those choices always led to the best outcomes for everyone, but would that really be free will anymore?

Free will may not always be a blessing, particularly when it's exercised by people who aren't inclined to regard their fellow humans with charity or love, or by those who have been hurt and therefore choose to be selfish. That sort of human suffering is the part of it we question. Why should some poor toddler lose their life because someone else felt a need to avenge some perceived wrong her family did to him? (To name a not-so-random example from the news recently.) It seems unfair. Capricious. Why would a loving God allow that?

But would the lack of free will really be a blessing? If we didn't know what it was like to suffer loss or hardship, how could we ever appreciate our needs or desires being met? Life would be simple and pleasant, but would we even realize that?

I admit life with no pain and no conflict sounds wonderful, but only because I know what pain and conflict are like. If I did not, it would have no meaning.