I will preface this post by informing you of why I'm writing this. Most people who know me know that I'm pretty much an atheist. Deism is a better word to describe my relationship with God. I was raised Lutheran, however I lost my faith back in my late teens. While I still believe the Big Man is up there, I don't see any benefit to organized religion. I tell you this because I have volunteered to help at my church's VBS (vacation Bible school) this week. I still call it my church because if I have a sudden epiphany, I know they will welcome me back with open arms. It's nice to feel productive during the day seeing as I work nights 99% of the time. I really can't remember why I said I'd help, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't come up with a logical reason to not to. In some twisted way, it's interesting to see the indoctrination of young minds. Yes, I'm a sick individual, but that's my psychology training kicking in. I really feel like I've been behind enemy lines all week. Now, onto the bulk of this post.
What set me off was a lady that I'm working with this week. We've been getting along great, don't get me wrong. But something she said just kind of crawled under my skin and is festering there. This year the focus has been on Paul and his ministry. The stories have been focusing on his travels and how he was arrested for teaching others about Jesus. The kids were on the other side of the room listening to the teacher, so they didn't hear her. The teacher said something about it being nice that we don't have to worry about being put in jail for talking about Jesus. But she just made some snide comment about how it may not be that way for much longer. That just got me to thinking about how Christians these days keep saying that the US is a Christian nation founded on Christian values, which in turn got me thinking about what Jesus really taught us and how his teachings are being hijacked to serve these people's desires. It mostly pissed me off simply because religious intolerance has led us to the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust and other innumerable events.
So, what did Jesus really teach us in the Gospel lessons? The first couple of stories are about him after his birth are him being baptized and his temptation by the devil. There isn't much to learn from these stories, as they just show that he is the son of God and that he can resist temptation from even the devil himself. Soon afterwards he started healing the masses and spreading the word about God's kingdom. His first glowing speech was the Sermon on the Mount, home of the oft-quoted Beatitudes.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake." (Matthew 5:3-11).
I think that the meaning of this part of the sermon is that if you are downtrodden, your faith in God will ultimately make your pain and suffering worth it, as you will receive God's blessing and St. Peter will let you through the pearly gates into heaven. Not a bad moral to this story.
I do think one of the more interesting Beatitudes is the one regarding peacemakers, who will be called his children. What do you think Jesus would think of all the wars that have been carried out in his name? If peacemakers are going to be called children of God, shouldn't Christians strive for peace and avoid wars?
But my all-time favorite Beatitude that illustrates the hypocrisy of the modern church is the one about being humble. If the meek inherit the earth, what would Jesus have to say about the evangelical mega-churches? They get millions and millions of dollars, and yet most of it goes to the upkeep of their monstrosities of churches and other frivolous things. You know the Touchdown Jesus I wrote about last week? That church paid a quarter of a million to build a 62 foot tall statue. There's a group on Facebook petitioning the church to use the money that has been donated and money they were going to spend on rebuilding and putting it to better use. It has over 10,000 fans after a week. The church says that it was fully insured, so it's going to be getting money from it's insurance company anyways to pay for a new one, yet they are asking for donations. Do you really think that money will go towards the new statue? Most likely not. The people who operate Solid Rock Church and other mega-churches run them like businesses. It's a house of worship. Operate them as such, not some scheme to get you rich. Jesus lived in poverty. I'm not suggesting everyone live in poverty. I just think that it would be more Christ-like for the pastors and the people who operate these churches to not be making 6-figure incomes, live in mansions and drive expensive luxury cars. That is in no way humble. And don't give me this bullshit about how Jesus wants us to be successful. There is a definite line between success and excess, and these folks have crossed it. Jesus wanted us to use our success to help the unfortunate, not make extravagent purchases. You're supposed to tithe 10% of your income to your church, but that usually only ends up paying to upkeep costs. Like the Touchdown Jesus money, a lot of your discretionary spending is put to better use by making charitable donations. Remember those ubiquitous "WWJD" bracelets? I think that's what Jesus would do if he had any amount of money. Use what he needs to live comfortably and give the rest to charity.
Anyways, this is only part one of a series of posts on Christianity and why I think it's gone awry. Come back for more later.
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