I just waded through all this and wanted to throw out my 2 cents. I was raised Lutheran. My uncle is a Lutheran minister, and my mom's husband is as well so these discussions happen often.
To me the danger of any religion, Christianity included, is that it sets out to define something in a complicated way, that in the end is very simple.
I was raised on the Good Samiritan. I can get around the rest of the bible stuff, but this one sticks as it puts the responsibilty on me.
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: (the parable starts here) "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
I have the choice to be the best person I can be. No excuses for why I don't do the right thing. No verses to let me condemn someone else. Very basic. Treat people right. My actions will speak for me.
I don't like that religion tries to let us off the hook, or put the responsibilty for how I act on someone or something else. God doesn't make me do it anymore then the devil. The gift I have is free will and choice. I always hated back in youth group days that the kids who prayed the loudest, and were the most 'devout' in public, were generally the ones who were the jerks in every day life. Church was almost the weekly, get out of jail free card. I see people use God as their reason for killing, hurting, condemning others all in the name of religion.
To me it's irrelevant whether Jesus rose from the dead or not. His message was what mattered. I think he'd shake his head in wonder at us all trying to hide behind him. I do recall reading him saying essentially, 'look just because I can do good things, doesn't mean you can't. Go out there and do it yourself."
After my kids died in the car accident, I really battled it. I'd hear the minister talk about Jesus doing miracles and I'd get mad. If he was here and had the power to save one families child, why did mine have to die? There is no lesson in all this. It didn't make me better. If he had the power to take away suffering, why didn't he?
In the end I think it's best to seperate faith from religion. Christianity or any other religion at it's minimal best, is all about being good to others. There are no exceptions to this, outside of what man throws in there to justify his cruelty.
I can't help but believe is something bigger than all this. My kids were proof of this. My wife and the love we've shared all these years is proof. The good people I deal with in the world are proof too.
In the end, a loving God, in whatever form you see 'him', is just that. As a father, I never expected my children to stop and worship me, or to bow to my greatness. It seems silly to me that God would expect that of us. As a father he'd have my back and by giving me the freedom to choose, show me that 'he' trusts me enough to be the best person I can be, without having to threaten me with all kinds of bad things to try and make me be good.
That's man at work. If you are good you get a cookie, if you are bad, you are going to suffer.
I remember back in college I was working in a Nursing Home and took care of a minister's wife. She often threw bible verses around to comdemn people. One day I looked at her bible and noted it had been translated 48 times in English, and numerous times in Hebrew. I then remembered that game we used to play where we'd line up and one person would start the story and whisper it to the next. By the end of the line the story had almost completely changed.
again it comes down to me having the choice to be the best person I can be. Nothing more, nothing less. That personal accountablity stuff is tough to argue with as is the lack of excuses for why I can't be responsible for me. It sucks, but I am. No one makes me do anything beyond what I choose to do.
I can't use God, Christianity or any other religion as my excuse. And in the end, how i live my life will speak much more loudly then anything else.
