A question. And my answer.
Anonymous just asked:
"I am just wondering, as a Christian do you believe that your religion is the one and only way? The right way? If someone is following a path other than your own but they are an all-round good person, does that make them wrong? I am just curious about this as I am not a Christian? "
Wow, that's an amazingly good question, and I'm going to do my best to answer.
I'll start by saying "yes" - I believe that my "religion" is the one and only way. But I need to clarify a few things with that. By "way," there are a few things we could mean: the way to live? the way to heaven? the way to God?
I put "religion" in quotes, though, because I truly believe Christianity to be something other than a religion. Religion, to me, seems dead. Religion, as I perceive it, is a list of rules created a long time ago that offer us a way to live. Christianity, though, is a living relationship with God.
Here's the problem with the idea of just being a good person, as I see it. God is perfect. No matter how good we are, we aren't perfect. We've told a lie in our life, or we hated someone, or we were selfish. Most likely, we were a lot of things.
So, then, the question would be "how good do we have to be?" and "what is the purpose of being good"? I think many people perceive religion as a way to get into heaven. Again, I think Christianity is as much about life here on earth, but to make it easier, let's assume that being good is the way to get into heaven. If God is perfect, and we are not, how good do we have to be to get into heaven? What would the cutoff be? If I died as a thirteen-year-old, it makes sense that I would have done less wrong in my life than if I died as a forty-five-year-old. So would I, as a teenager, have a better chance of getting into heaven than the adult?
That doesn't make sense to me. Likewise, it doesn't make sense that we could be "good enough" to be welcome in the presence of a Perfect being.
What if trying to be our best throughout our lives just isn't enough?
What's awesome about Christianity is that it offers us hope. In Judaism, there needed to be a sacrifice made to cleanse you from sin - to make you perfect in God's sight. The sacrifice was typically an animal sacrifice. When Jesus came, He was the ultimate sacrifice - a Perfect being offered for all of our sins.
So, since I know I can never be good enough and I need another way to God's presence in heaven, I need Jesus, a Messiah, a Savior - which is something that only Christianity offers. In the gospel of John, chapter 14, Jesus says, "'Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.'" Jesus also says, in John 14, "'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
And in Romans 5:8, it says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." It's easy to think about dying for a good person - not so easy thinking about dying for someone who isn't.
But the beauty of Christianity is that it's not just about what happens when we die. It's not just about receiving a moral code for how to live our lives.
Imagine living a life where you *know* - you truly know - that you are loved by the God of Creation, that He is passionate in pursuing you, offering you His love. I think we humans consume ourselves with looking for love - our parents fail us, our friends fail us, our lovers fail us. Deep down, I think there's a desperation in that - a questioning of our own worth and value. But to know that there is a Being who has seen everything I've done in my life - the Very Good and the Pretty Bad - and loves me through all of that - well, it's a tremendous, life-changing concept. There is nothing more freeing than that.
1 John 4:7-19 says this:
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
"We love because he first loved us."
Let me know if I should clarify anything or if you have any questions - I like thinking through this stuff!
"I am just wondering, as a Christian do you believe that your religion is the one and only way? The right way? If someone is following a path other than your own but they are an all-round good person, does that make them wrong? I am just curious about this as I am not a Christian? "
Wow, that's an amazingly good question, and I'm going to do my best to answer.
I'll start by saying "yes" - I believe that my "religion" is the one and only way. But I need to clarify a few things with that. By "way," there are a few things we could mean: the way to live? the way to heaven? the way to God?
I put "religion" in quotes, though, because I truly believe Christianity to be something other than a religion. Religion, to me, seems dead. Religion, as I perceive it, is a list of rules created a long time ago that offer us a way to live. Christianity, though, is a living relationship with God.
Here's the problem with the idea of just being a good person, as I see it. God is perfect. No matter how good we are, we aren't perfect. We've told a lie in our life, or we hated someone, or we were selfish. Most likely, we were a lot of things.
So, then, the question would be "how good do we have to be?" and "what is the purpose of being good"? I think many people perceive religion as a way to get into heaven. Again, I think Christianity is as much about life here on earth, but to make it easier, let's assume that being good is the way to get into heaven. If God is perfect, and we are not, how good do we have to be to get into heaven? What would the cutoff be? If I died as a thirteen-year-old, it makes sense that I would have done less wrong in my life than if I died as a forty-five-year-old. So would I, as a teenager, have a better chance of getting into heaven than the adult?
That doesn't make sense to me. Likewise, it doesn't make sense that we could be "good enough" to be welcome in the presence of a Perfect being.
What if trying to be our best throughout our lives just isn't enough?
What's awesome about Christianity is that it offers us hope. In Judaism, there needed to be a sacrifice made to cleanse you from sin - to make you perfect in God's sight. The sacrifice was typically an animal sacrifice. When Jesus came, He was the ultimate sacrifice - a Perfect being offered for all of our sins.
So, since I know I can never be good enough and I need another way to God's presence in heaven, I need Jesus, a Messiah, a Savior - which is something that only Christianity offers. In the gospel of John, chapter 14, Jesus says, "'Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.'" Jesus also says, in John 14, "'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
And in Romans 5:8, it says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." It's easy to think about dying for a good person - not so easy thinking about dying for someone who isn't.
But the beauty of Christianity is that it's not just about what happens when we die. It's not just about receiving a moral code for how to live our lives.
Imagine living a life where you *know* - you truly know - that you are loved by the God of Creation, that He is passionate in pursuing you, offering you His love. I think we humans consume ourselves with looking for love - our parents fail us, our friends fail us, our lovers fail us. Deep down, I think there's a desperation in that - a questioning of our own worth and value. But to know that there is a Being who has seen everything I've done in my life - the Very Good and the Pretty Bad - and loves me through all of that - well, it's a tremendous, life-changing concept. There is nothing more freeing than that.
1 John 4:7-19 says this:
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
"We love because he first loved us."
Let me know if I should clarify anything or if you have any questions - I like thinking through this stuff!
posted by Heather at 11:03 AM
3 Comments:
Thank you for responding to my question. And I am glad I gave you something to think about :)
I am still not sure though why your "way" is the right one? Dont get me wrong, I totally respect your beliefes, as I do anyone's, even if I do not agree with them. The thing is I believe we create our own God/Goddess (the reason I also say Goddess is because the Goddess is a major part of my faith.), so if someone is already follolwing a "religion" or spirituality that they are completely faithful of, why are they wrong? If you met somebody like this would you try to "convert" them?
I do hope I'm making sense. And I would like you to know that I mean no offence!
I am interested in hearing your response!!!
Question for you :-)
I've never actually ventured over here, but I have some time on my hands and I figured this is much better than wasting it in front of the tv. So I read some of your posts, and particularly this last one I find interesting. I think this is part of the reason why I can still "stand" you, even though you're a christian :-) You're not the type I usually come across who is oozing with godly-ness and "I am so much more perfect than you"... Anyhow, that was a compliment :-)
But my question is, if you view christianity the way you do, what do you think of those so-called mega churches? There was an article in a magazine here a little while ago (the german equivalent of National Geographic) and it just completely creeped me out. I'm not sure what exactly I found so creepy, but I think it was that, first off, they think they're so much better than everyone else, and cultivating this "betterness" by mixing only with "their kind" (even as far as home schooling, and letting kids attend only activities sponsored by their local church, which runs their whole life already) and then the thought that with a little "Jesus is great! Amen!" you can fix everything, and just praying and being a "good christian" will mean that your family will succeed and that you're all going to be perfect. It's sort of a "christianity light" in a way.
I'm not sure if the article just presented it that way, or if they really are that way, but I'd love to read your thoughts about it when you get the time to write.
I loved reading this post! I hope I can ask some stupid questions pertaining to this post hehe
1. Your answer makes a lot of sense to me, because of The Bible verses. (Since I haven't read the bible yet, but I just bought one, so hopefully soon my questions will be more intelligent hehe) But what if (Please don't be offended by this question, I've always always wondered this and no one seems to be able to give me a real answer, or they don't want to...) What if The Bible is a work of fiction ? What if God thinks The Bible is nonsense ? What if a group of religious people gathered one day a long long time ago and decided to write a book to make the people behave, scaring them into behaving ? I haven't read the whole Bible, but I've read parts, like Genesis. I really can't grasp how we can know for sure that the Genesis story is true. Who was there ? And also how do we know that Noah really built a gigantic ark for a gigantic flood and that he was sane ? The Bible says that Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came on earth. How do we know this ? It's probably not an easy question to answer huh ? hehe Sorry... I just have always had this question bugging me.
2. How does one truly know that God loves them ? Does one just 'know it', 'feel it', or do they know for a fact, without a doubt, that there is a God and that God loves them ?
3. What do you think of all the different Christian denominations ? (baptists, catholics, etc)Is one church "better" (for lack of a better word) than the other ?
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