How Not to Do It...
2/7/2023
The Twitter screenshots above are an exchange that I had with another Twit this morning. Please pardon my language. I have tried to describe how I approach matters of faith. My goal is to treat everyone with the compassion and respect that I would want for myself - as all the major faiths teach. Today I went a little "Jesus tossing tables at the Temple entrance". I was so horrified by what I was reading that I could not hold it together. As "out of character" as Jesus was that day, I was equally bent out of shape by this supposed "christian" who saw fit to torment his brother on the recent passing of the brother's wife.
What this man did may be the only blasphemy I actually recognize. I am sure that he thinks he was justified, in the way that only a fundamentalist could be, in telling his brother that his dead wife is in hell (which is how what he said translates out in the language of the faith he practices badly). My gut tells me that the brother, instead of running to Jesus for comfort, will now instead be one of those atheists who croon about atheism like a vegan overwhelms you with their lifestyle choice.
There is a time and a place to share your faith if you want to - even the dark, gristly parts - but you are to do it with compassion to the person you are attempting to share with. The purview of "judgement" in the Abrahamic religions is solely in the possession of God. You do not judge people for damnation. If you want to evangelize as some faiths promote you aren't gonna make any progress at all by making a point of indicating that a wife, child, mother, father or friend is burning in Hell. Even if that is what you believe. Compassion for the person in pain always trumps shoving the rule sets for your particular God Fan Club (faith/denomination) down the throat of whomever you are talking to.
This is "rubber meets the road" time. I may lose some of you over this but what happens, happens. God, in the many major religions, is put forward as a loving and dutiful parent. Even atheists, from their own belief set, don't think being cruel is a good way to go. A good and loving God does not condemn his children to hell because you eat pork, or worship at that "church" down the street, or don't conform perfectly to your club's rules. God's only interest in these faiths is that we look out for and care for each other. God knows your heart without any of the rules of any denomination or faith, and as God is loving and dutiful, he's not sending good people to hell.
I'm gonna go further. Here's your history on hell. In the Jewish faith, traditionally there is no heaven or hell, there is Sheol (where your spirit goes after death). What you do in your life is "judged" by God, and your proximity to God is determined that way. Better behavior gets closer to God, not so good behavior, you sit in the cheap seats.
Hell found its way into Judaism as a matter of practicality. The Jewish people have claimed that they are the "chosen people of God", yet history shows us that they are more the punching bag of God than anything else. How do you calm down the faithful of the chosen people of God, when your country is conquered over and over, and the conquerors prosper while the chosen people suffer? Well, the scholars debated and the concept of getting justice after this life caught on. This required segregation of the good people (the Jewish people) from the bad people. Heaven and Hell both grew out of the seeming unfairness of life in this world. After awhile, the priests and scholars noted that some Jewish people were not as careful as others about obeying Jewish law, Those people not stringent in their observation of Jewish law would also go to the bad place. By the time of the Roman occupation, this was consensus in Judaism. It transformed from a comfort to the Jewish people to a control system that would give the priests more power over everyone.
When Jesus came along, he was teaching to this audience, and he used references that everyone would understand. In the gospels, Jesus mentions Hell only sporadically, and usually while talking about the Priests and Pharisees whose teachings were often in direct conflict with God's will, according to what Jesus taught. In the Gospels, Jesus mentions hell 9 times in Matthew, which was written to address the everyday Jewish believer. By now heaven and hell were familiar themes in Judaism, so it gave talking points to the first disciples. In Mark and Luke, Hell was only mentioned 3 times each. These gospels were written primarily for the Gentiles, and was referenced in ways that they would understand. Where Hell was mentioned in those Gospels, it was done in more of a Greco-Roman flavor so that the Gentiles could relate easier.
Hell, and Satan, only became leading story-lines in Christianity as the Roman church grew, and gained power & territory. With wealth and power comes corruption. Most of you would be familiar with many of the excesses of the Roman Church during the Dark ages and the Renaissance period. In Christianity, Satan (who will be the subject of another article) was declared enemy number one, and the easiest demonstrations of power were heresy trials which condemned masses of people to Hell unless they made nice with the Church - usually by way of large donations. Fear of Hell was driven to insane heights mostly to keep the "people" in line. Christianity, in many ways, is still stuck in this mindset. I assume this is where the person that I had the exchange with is coming from.
If your still with me, good. If you have steam and smoke rising from your collar right now this next part will put you over the edge. The "Confession" of Christ (the magic words whereby you get salvation) originated from Paul, who logically thought that a public ceremony of siding with God would be a more dramatic way to get new followers. It worked, but over time the "confession" by which God's grace was poured out on you, became a rote part of becoming a Christian. Jesus intended that if you were to follow him, you must make changes in your lifestyle to accommodate his teaching. The Words are not magic. If you are a "true" Christian, you became involved in helping the church community and being an example for others. As much as some people want to believe that the words cover you permanently, If you just "confess" and go on with your life as it always has been, mired in "sin" (another term so overused that it is meaningless now), most would question your commitment to God. Rightly.
Hell and Satan, far from being the idea of comfort that was started to explain how bad guys who do well will have the field leveled, have become the things that frighten people into submission, or atheism. Whatever the legitimacy of the idea of Hell actually has, it no longer does. It is now merely a hammer to beat you into submission to whatever the Priest / Minister / Rabbi wants. Hell, right is as overused on nonsense as many of the political terms of the day are overused to the point of being meaningless.
Should you want to introduce friends and family to your ideas on faith, you don't use a chainsaw, like my friend above did. You do so in the manner that Jesus (and Buddha, and Zoroaster, Confucius) and most of the founders of various faiths did. With love, respect and kindness. You can't save anyone, or damn anyone. It isn't your call. All you can do is open their hearts and minds to your ideas on faith. In the end what they believe is their journey, and their responsibility. Being an unkind ass turns most people off.
Til next time-
In Love, Peace, and Completeness,
Ecc. Robert L Brandner - New Ecclesiastes Ministries