Okay, so I haven't made any blog entries in a while, but the other day coming home from the doggy beach just South of me I was so blown away by *what I had witnessed that I actually felt compelled to go back the next day to photograph it so that I could write a piece on it.
*the website and Pastor have been intentionally obscured.
So, there you have it folks; being a good person is not enough. No, really....being a good person means jack', at least as far as one worldview is concerned. I am elated that this particular church makes no bones about it; it's refreshing to see church folk calling a spade a spade instead of skirting the issues whenever something about Christianity elicits feelings of discomfort or cognitive dissonance. And being a former believer, I know first hand that the doctrine of "hell" elicits both, as does Christian morality. The relationship between the two things isn't quite what one would expect. Be moral and avoid "hell", right? No...WRONG. Again, it's not about behavior or being a good person. These things are not enough.
So, given that Christianity makes good use of the whole "carrot and stick" approach to persuading good behavior, at the end of the day it's not even about behavior; it's about having the right belief and the fear of not having it.
While on the one hand I'm pleasantly surprised to see a church not beat around the bush on this topic, on the hand I find it to be an utter insult to humanity that any belief-system would attempt to put the thoughts that a man may or may not have in his head over the actions or behavior of that man. In other words, what we're essentially talking about here is a mind-crime; that is, it is thought to be a crime and an outright affront to God to not harbor the belief that pleasing God should be put above all else, including human behavior, and by extension, even morals. Whereas this church and its Pastor would surely say that to have the correct thoughts in your head is not only a blessing but a requirement, not only do I find the notion that thoughts mean more than actions to be despicable, but in a worst case scenario I contend that it could actually end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yes, y'all, let's teach a child that he or she is not trustworthy and can't accomplish anything good on his or her own, then.. oh, let's be all shocked and dismayed when that child turns out to be an underachiever later in life, or even worse. Perhaps this could explain why the incarcerated end up "finding God"? But I digress.
So if teaching a child that he or she is rotten to the core isn't bad enough, let's go ahead and really confound things, shall we? Yes, let's make it interesting and get the child to believe that even if he or she could somehow manage to behave and treat his or her friends and family with kindness and respect, we turn around and say, good job, but so the %$#@ what?
It sounds cruel, does it not? Well, tough cookies, because being "good" means nadda when it comes to Christian doctrine, and New Covenant Church knows this. New Covenant Church is keenly aware of the doctrine of "original sin", and let's face it, this is exactly what Christianity and it's totally bankrupt "moral" system boils down to---this whole idea that humankind is inherently "evil" and is in need of the "cure". Okay, well, perhaps "cure" isn't the right word, because you're never really cured. More like off the hook. Excused. Pardoned. Your "sin" is swept under the rug due to something called "substitutionary atonement".
But again, this church is really just being honest. Christianity is not about being moral (vs immoral). It's not about loving your neighbor as yourself (vs hating them). You could blow your neighbor's brains all over the lawn for no reason at all and still make it into heaven. That is, if you die with the right thoughts in your head. Good behavior and good intentions? They mean NOTHING; it is belief that matters, specifically, to possess the belief that you are broken and fall short of what biblegod expected of you and that your only hope in life is faith in Jesus.
Did you catch that? You are expected to be what you can never ever be, and if that isn't insane enough, you deserve to be punished if you don't accept the "get out of jail" card, which of course is analogous to accepting "Jesus" as your lord and savior, etc., etc. Yes, this is what gets you off the hook from receiving what every one of us presumably deserves, starting from the second we exit the womb. And yes, I'm referring to an eternity in hellfire.
To illustrate the utter lunacy here, I like to use an analogy that I've used in the past, which is a hypothetical in which you toss a goldfish into a fish bowl and then blame it for being "wet". It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Welp, that's because it is ridiculous, and likewise, so is this whole idea that we are inherently flawed, or in godspeak, "sinful". And why? Well, because of a one-time poor decision made by what we are to believe were the first two human prototypes, "Adam & Eve".
So, in the words of the late, great Christopher Hitchens, we were created sick and commanded to be well. And I reiterate, this is a morally bankrupt system. All the sermons about "Commandments" and "absolute morality" you heard growing up? It's all smoke and mirrors---it's a diversion tactic meant to obscure the reality of what Christianity is really all about at the end of the day, which ironically has nothing at all to do with one's behavior, but everything to do with having the correct beliefs.
Now, as a disclaimer I have to put it out there that there is a very slight chance that when this church advertises that "Being good is not enough" that they have something entirely different in mind. But I have to sort of doubt it, given that in mission statement no. 15 on their website, they write....
15. WE BELIEVE...A Final Judgment Will Take Place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire.
There's that word "rejected". Okay, what about those of us who are simply unable to honestly believe that Christianity is true? Does God want us to lie to ourselves? Wait....is it even possible to knowingly lie to yourself? And by the way, does the Christian reject Allah? Or like me, do they simply lack any belief that such a being exists?
These are the tough questions. But nothing that a little faith can't overcome, right?
