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Joe Bill (c)2/1/2001
Everyone generally thinks of Christianity and other similar religions as uplifting. To a degree, this is true. Religion has, in dark times, given people hope. It has given them a method of keeping morals in check. In fact, religion has many positive attributes. However, the underlying method of which Christianity and other such religions attain their end is not a psychologically good thing for anyone.
Let�s think about Christianity. At the very foundation lies the statement that all people sin. Since sin is bad, we can say that most everyone is inherently bad, as they are born into sin. How did we get born into sin? Well, I think it is safe to say that we didn�t commit any sinful act personally. Somehow through the twisted corridors of logic, we inherit the sin that Adam committed. God made Adam, and apparently in so doing, made him to sin. He knew the outcome of Adam when he made him, even before he made him. If everyone is born into sin, and we made no actions ourselves in order to sin, we can only assume that God made us to sin.
If God made us to sin, then why o why does he want us to ask for forgiveness perpetually? After all, he made us to sin, so he should know we are going to screw up. The only logical thing that would follow this is that he wants to hear us apologize. There is a catch though, if we don�t apologize and ask for forgiveness, we go to hell. Let us dwell on the implications of that for a moment, if we follow our inherent nature, which is to sin, which God made us to do, then we are essentially punished for the way God designed us to begin with. Doesn�t sound very nice does it?
Worse yet, sometimes, especially in the old testament, God gets extremely angry that we sin, even though he made us to sin. So what is his solution? He destroys us. He destroys us for being what he made us.
Obviously, people aren�t inherently bad. The above example is to point out the large holes in the logic of the Bible. Christianity loves to thrive off of guilt though, which is directly related to sin.
For evidence of my last statement, we only have to look at a typical prayer in which the devout pray that their sin will be absolved. Christians feel guilty because of the unrealistic expectations they are to live up to. This guilt, in turn, spurs them to ask for forgiveness in prayer. How many churches have you been to that at the end of each ceremony, as for folks to come to the altar because �you just know that you need to�?
Worse than the guilt is the repression that takes place. Humans, like any other creature, are spawned to reproduce. Christianity has all sorts of sex restrictions. It goes something like this �Don�t have sex. Okay, don�t have sex unless you intend to do it in wedlock. Okay, don�t have sex in wedlock, unless you procreate. Well, you had sex out of wedlock, and you didn�t procreate. You had better ask for forgiveness, and in the meantime, you had better deny yourself any future involvement with sex, unless of course you can glorify God with it.� This kind of reasoning leads to a super-duper repression within the mind, and sooner or later all people can think about is what they aren�t supposed to be thinking about, which is sex. It makes the urge all that much more strong. It is similar to the effect when parents forbid two teenagers to see each other. The Romeo and Juliet effect. �Forbidden Fruit� is always much more fun.
The issue of Jesus is also questionable. Up until he came along, people were being killed for sinning, which they had to do by their very nature. Most people would agree that Jesus�s purpose was to come and die for our sins. That isn�t saying very much for the human race is it? I suppose that instead of God deciding to change everyone�s behavior into that of non-sin, he opted for a scapegoat, namely Jesus. Does this make sense? Especially since even after Jesus died you could still possibly go to hell for your very nature? No.
The standard argument is here is that �His way is Higher than ours�. This is a cop out for � I don�t know, that really doesn�t make any sense.� Sometimes we should exercise our minds and go with what we know to be true.
I believe there is a phrase that, � The truth will set you free�. Indeed, maybe it will.
Joe Bill
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