4:07 p.m. - 2004-11-09
article of my faith
so i've been thinking about my impressions of this religion thing. i hate religion - i think it really detracts from the whole point. i believe that God exists and that the bible holds truth. i also believe literally that Jesus walked the earth as God in human form, experienced humanity's ups and downs, and was killed, and that this was God's plan to restore humanity to himself.
what i don't believe though, is that God expects or demands perfection out of us human beings. I like to think of myself as somewhat logical, and it doesn't make sense to me that if Jesus paid the price for my sins, that I need to "do" anything further to be OK in front of God.
i guess that i have some very catholic views. i believe that we are here as God's children to learn to relate to him, and that it's a parent-child love affair that he is after with us. not an authoritarian, dictatorial right vs. wrong heavy handed rulership.
i have bought into fear, condemnation, and the whole holiness thing for years and have only just begun using my brain and heart to really analyze things.
i believe God would never test us beyond our means or ask us for anything we are incapable of doing. i don't believe that he asks or demands of us a robotic emotionless obedience - after all he created us in his image, with free will, and he understands the limitations of our nature.
too many people have this view of God vs. humans as master vs. servant, or ruler of all and tiny insignificant sheep, etc.
catholicism isn't perfect - but for the most part, i believe that it's honest and real. there isn't the same legalistic bent that other denominations promote, there is not the "high and mighty" looking down on others, and it's such a different world view that those issues don't even tend to come up on the radar.
faith isn't about those things. they are only distractions from the true essence of faith.
for example, sin. for a catholic, sin is a fact of life. you can't avoid it altogether. it's gonna happen. you try to become a better person by making the right choices, and you hope that God will work in you to remove the desires for sinful things, but there's no pressure. you approach the altar of God with a repentant heart and ask forgiveness. the blood of Christ is sufficient.
assuming you can become like God, no matter how you package it (denominational differences, holy spirit, etc.), is a lie that diminishes the self worth of many christians.
i don't believe that sin is what is going to keep us from heaven. if that were true, then we'd all be damned.
i believe that our lack of desire to seek out God and be with him is what can keep us from being with him someday.
since the Bible doesn't explicitly state any "rules" beyond following Christ's example, too many people focus on the facet of Christ that was his sinless perfect nature. they get hung up on sin. to me, that is like saying you go on a long journey to see your father who is waiting for you with open arms and then he tells you that you can't come into the house because you're too dirty. doesn't make sense. why do you think he set up the shower in front of the house? (meaning the sacrifice of Christ's blood for our sin)
if we go through our lives seeking him, we're gonna get dirty. Christ's blood is there to wash us and make us clean to prepare us to be reunited with God, which is the real goal of this life (to choose him).
so.. these are my thoughts from yesterday and today... spurred on by a conversation with my husband this past weekend and with a friend last night.
