Is Choosing God Choosing Good?
[More Thoughts on Religion and God by ~burning woman~ ]
Question: Recently I got a reply stating that free choice is given to man by God so that man can “choose” to obey God, but (says the reply) man will generally choose evil over good.
My question is, does choosing to believe in God automatically entail a choice for “good” and choosing not to believe in God automatically mean that mankind is choosing evil?
Seems to me, after being raised in a totally Christian environment and possessing a rudimentary knowledge of man’s history, that man’s choice to believe in God has had the opposite effect than claimed above. More social evil has been caused by “Christians” and other factions of organized official religions than any other institutions or movements of man.
It appears that truly religious people wear the strangest blinders. Christians cling to their Bible, a document of highly questionable authenticity whose teachings are completely out of sync with modern society, and claim it is the inspired Word of God, to which nothing new need be, nor can be, added (to which, in full sarcastic mode I add, “Thank God for that – and how about deleting the entire document except perhaps the first chapter of Genesis?”).
If one accepts the absurd claim that the Bible is the inerrant and completely inspired and revelatory Word of God, then it becomes crystal clear that “God” is a certifiable monster whose character by far exceeds that of a madman like Hitler. Imagine an all-powerful God stating that he’s fed up with mankind and he’s going to drown the whole lot of them: absolute genocide of an entire sentient species, and to achieve his goal he will also commit absolute genocide of all other living species who cannot survive in the waters, i.e., mammals, reptiles, birds and most insects – plus an uncountable variety of plants. And that’s just the beginning. After hundreds of years of shenanigans in which this all-powerful God again loses control over a re-populated planet (yeah, don’t forget Noah’s ark and the pairs of all condemned species saved therein, including mosquitoes and rats), he “chooses” a tribal group living in slavery in Egypt to make them his own special people. After culling them for 40 years in the Sinai desert and teaching them to stone and murder each other in his name, he unleashes them against the relatively peaceful tribes in the land called Canaan – a land which he had previously “gifted” to the patriarch Abraham on the understanding that his descendants, the Hebrews, would utterly wipe out all the existing inhabitants and take over their land and possessions for themselves. This they accomplished in part while using superior weaponry supplied to them by their genocidal God.
The draconian laws, the attempted genocides and the enslaving of the original possessors of these lands – that’s all in the inspired Word of God – so that can’t be denied by those who hold the Bible to be their operations manual. Historically true or not, it matters not to those who put themselves, by faith, under this yoke, nor does proving it isn’t true provide any help to their victims. I am constantly being reminded, as if I needed it, that “faith in God” is not bound to any proof. The concept is, “We believe it and as Christians, we are right.” Which naturally reminds me of Rudyard Kipling’s Ape Chant: “We're all right because we say we are, and if we say we are it must be true .”
I’ve been accused quite a few times of beating up on God. Guilty as charged! I have every reason to do so because I have made a study of God’s people and their ways. There is no greater hypocrisy than that which exists among theistic people. While bemoaning the sinful conditions of their world, their finger is ever-pointing at non-believers, or pagans for all the evils in the world, never at themselves. In their heydays, the Jews lived thus, hence why they became hated by their neighbours. As they carried this superior attitude in their various diasporas, the hate followed them and periodically exploded in violent persecution. They never “got it” that they were sowing these seeds of hate themselves!
Once politically and economically ascendant, Christians adopted the same judgmental attitude, causing untold horror wherever they tread among “unbelieving” nations. They too have been living their own historical heydays since their religion basically took over the Roman empire (around 300 CE) until now. Now they are in crisis, some retreating into fundamental “Biblicalism” and some liberalizing to the extent that they are little more than social clubs and commercial enterprises in which belief in God is no longer mandatory.
To the question, then. Is the non-Christian world going to turn on Christianity as the non-Jewish world became anti-Semitic? If that happens – as in you reap what you sow – will that mean the non-Christian world has chosen evil over good? Why is it OK for Christians to commit socially evil acts, including atrocities and acts of genocide against “non-believers,” that contradict the severe teachings of their own New Testament, and that is not considered choosing evil over good, but it’s not OK for a non-believer, who does not have a divinely inspired text to go by, to do same? If this is the case, and it is, then God is the prime instigator of injustice and the prime promoter of a double-standard in judgment, which is also the case. Conclusion, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, choosing God is choosing the greater evil – the proof being in the acts of organized religion.
When man chooses to do evil over good, that has nothing to do with any belief in any god. It has to do with deliberate personal choice. In this, man always has a free choice and a free will to follow his choices, be they for good or ill. As for those who try to hide their evil behind their faith in God, they are the worst kind of evil-doers. This is especially true of all those who lead, teach, preach Christian “values” and claim to be Christians. In the eyes of God a believer may be able to have his cake and eat it too; in the eyes of a changing, watching and judging world, that may have serious consequences. To religious hypocrites everywhere, I would say, “Beware the changing tides of social perception.” For when things really tighten up and real troubles begin to shake this world, there will be a need for recognizable scapegoats. If I were of those who push God on others who don’t want any of it, I’d be a bit concerned that the mob may not agree with me this time around.
Seems to me that Christians (and Muslims) could learn a lesson from the Jewish pages of history and mend their ways. They should repent of their oppressive and violent ways and choose to align themselves with the poor and oppressed of this world, in humility and without any special protection or succour from power groups such as the UN, their national governments’ military apparatus, their denominations or ubiquitous charitable institutions. If there ever was a time to demonstrate personal empowerment, this would be it: the clock is ticking.
Seems to me that Christians’ hope for a better world would be served more effectively by choosing to live a humble and compassionate life over the evil of religious self-righteousness, open greed, overt lies, covert lust and the insufferable arrogance of self-assurance; it they chose to emulate their own messiahs and prophets who taught them humility and the need to become servants of all. That, after all, is the central teaching in the New Testament. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (Book of James – 2:26) Let me add here that in context, the word “deeds” refers to acts of compassion towards those in need, not to preaching and certainly not to erecting monuments to “faith” or claiming membership and attending sundry religious meetings or masses.
Seems to me that every God-believing individual already has “everything good” possible. Isn’t eternity in heaven already guaranteed? Why waste time playing with political power and accumulating worldly wealth when the path to heaven, as stated by their teachings, lies strictly in humble service to those in need; in detachment (from worldly concerns) and in compassion? Those who live thus have no need to prove anything, hence of those, one could accept that their faith needs no proof.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them.”
(from the gospel according to Matthew, chapter 7)
“If you can’t be good without a god it doesn’t mean you need one; it means you’re a shitty human being.” (Anonymous)
Love ya!
Jane
But then, there is forgiveness. This is the escape from bad behavior (sin) that I hear from so-called Christians and especially from those who claim to have been "born again." Knowing that they are "forgiven" for any transgression, large or small, these fools go on doing anything they see fit, knowing that, in the end, merely by "believing" that their mind can be free from whatever they have done--a very neat and nice escape from reality.
Like that famous quote: "I did not have sex with that woman!" They will go on to their death believing that, by believing, they didn't really do it.
Ron
I am a Christian. I was born a Catholic but now I am a Born again Christian. So, what in the world does that mean?
Well, as a Catholic I was suppose to accept the way things as they are and not question the wealth of the church. Well, I could not accept all the ceremonies and politics of the day. So I broke away from the church and for about 10 years I explored other religions including the Jewish religion. Unfortunately, I felt empty and sad after attempting each one. So I came back to the Christian faith but I explored different denominations of Christianity such as Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and others. All have good qualities and some undesirable traits as well. Now I attend a simple basic Faith-based Christian church that truly practices the principles in the Bible. There are a mix of oriental, white, black, Hispanic and people from all races that attend our church. It's feels like attending a place that is close to what Heaven should be like. I also belong to a local ministry called Love and Compassion Ministries that helps the poor, homeless, elderly, ex-prisoners and orphans. So I am much happier now because we actually practice what we preach and although we are far from perfect we are trying to help others in this imperfect world. So, when people say that they are a Christian I feel it's misleading unless they are actually serving our Lord and His people.
Amen.