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Fact or Fiction? I don't know and it doesn't matter. Happy Easter.
What prompted this look anew at my beliefs was a recent conversation I had with a friend. She was giving me the typical California view of faith or lack thereof: Jesus was a good teacher, like Buddha or Mohammed, or the wind, nature, or whatever.
I said, no sweat with me. It is fine for you to believe anything you want. What I didn't tell her was that I was raised in a Primitive Baptist church in eastern NC and church doctrine encouraged a "do not proselytize philosophy". In other words, if you want to go to hell, fine- it's your choice.
PERSONAL BELIEFS
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My friend said something like, "I don't see how anyone can possibly believe in all the illogical things that Christians do: heaven, hell, adinfinitum." Well, it's called faith; and, by its very definition, it cannot be proven.- that's why it's called faith.
Faith is, by the Christian Bible definition, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen(Hebrews11:1-KJV).
CNN has an on-going series of specials on Christianity.(Video: 1)After Jesus: Empire Strikes Back 2)After Jesus, Gnostic Gospels) It was what most of us know if we think about it: Christians are as varied as the population. There are different branches of Christianity that have different beliefs and practices.
For instance, there are the Catholics that are wedded to Canonical law and rules and regulations. There are just some guidelines one has to follow in order to be a "good" Catholic. For most other Christians(with something like 1500 christian faith groups) what it essentially boils down to is faith. It is what makes it faith-again, we cannot prove it, touch it, know for sure what it is. It just is. And, for the person who follows all the ideas of the Bible as well as the person who sees God in nature or pizza dough, it is all about faith.
MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN
I say I am a Christian and it is mostly my faith that makes me so. I don't have a need to be logical about it, prove it, have a theory. Simply my faith comes mainly from the Bible, especially the synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These gospels are what Jesus said and did. The rest of the New Testament is interpretations of what He said and did. Consequently, you can make your own interpretation.
THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCE
What I strongly believe in is the "conversion" experience. Most Christians don't get it; and, simply, every person's experience is different. And no one can say a person's experience is invalid. They might say they don't believe the person, see it another way or even say the person is a fool but they cannot invalidate the person's experience.
For instance, the conversion may come like the Apostle Paul who was struck down on the Damascus Road and blinded according to the Bible. But, all "conversion experiences" do not come like this.
For some, the conversion might be shrouded in mystery, wrapped in logic or the "still" quiet voice. For instance, I was "saved" as a 12 year old at a small rural Church during the annual Revival Meeting. Saved is one of those Christian "buzz" words(part of the lexicon). As I look back on it today, there's an enormous amount of humor in it. Regardless, it was my conversion, I remember it like yesterday and believe in it. From then on, it is a matter of wrestling with life.
SIN AND SINS
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| Sin is one of those wonderful but misunderstood words. When I read that someone has sinned, i. e., so and so is a sinner, I always say, "Says who?"
Jesus provided the best example: when confronted by his enemies about what should happen to a woman taken in adultery where the usual punishment was stoning until death. He used the word sin in one of my favorite scriptures: "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone. " The completed picture to the story is when he says to her, "Where are your accusers? Neither do I condemn you, "go and sin no more." Sin (actually sins) in this case was powerful and loving, not condemnatory. Jesus was the original renaissance man.
What few modern Christians understand is the basic difference in sin and sins. Sin is really the mystery of what Jesus did for us on the cross. All that surrounds the mystery, in other words, the language of Christianity is no small thing-the salvation, redemption, the symbolism of Christ's blood and so on.
The conversion is when we accept what He did: the suffering, the dying on the cross, the Easter message of His life-the resurrection.
However it may be or however it may have happened is almost beside the point. And, in my faith, it never has to happen again. The sin is taken care of forever-you accept what He has done for you- the sacrifice he made.
The rest of life is lived in dealing with the "sins," the living in the flesh. It is part of being human, whatever that may be. Every single individual has to deal with the handling of the sins on his/her own. That is faith. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't. Then of course, there are all the beliefs surrounding faith: heaven, hell, etc.. Part of the faith is believing in all of it regardless of how illogical it might sound. It is faith.
INTERFAITH LOGIC
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| I've never been much for interfaith meanderings. It doesn't do anything for me personally.
People can believe what they want and as a buddy of mine once jokingly said to me, "Don't say God bless you. Say,'may the God of your choice bless you.' "
Well, I don't believe in all these other faiths, plain and simple.
I am a Christian, I am comfortable in my faith. I don't know about these other people. I don't know what their fate in life is and it is not my job to find out. I don't have any doubts into the claims of my faith.
So, there you have it. A last thing: my basic mantra about Christianity is that at its core, it is a faith of peace. Jesus constantly talked about peace. When he said, I have not come to give you peace but a sword. He was talking personal peace, no doubt about it, the dealing with the flesh and wrestling with sins. The most violent thing He ever did was throw the money changers out of the temple. "I will not have you making my father's house a den of thieves. I like it. God bless you. JDA
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