I want to try something a little
different today. Over the past month I’ve focused almost exclusively on
politics, with some pop culture thrown in, and I’ll continue to do so in the
future. For a blog only one month old, with no name recognition on the part of
either the site or the writer, the growth in readership has been impressive,
and I want to thank everyone who takes time out of their day to read my latest
thoughts.
But today I want to take a short break
from both politics and culture, and tackle religion. I should note at the
outset that I have no special qualifications in religious studies, no Doctorate
of Divinity or past experience as a preacher, or anything apart from the same
qualification as every other person on the planet—being made in the image and
likeness of God.
Which really is all the expertise one
needs to understand God (at least as much as any mortal possibly can). My
understanding is intensely personal, because God speaks to each and every one
of us on an individual level. Going to church and receiving communion is
important, to be sure, but just as important is the way each person lives their
individual lives they are in communion with God and His teachings on a daily
basis.
My central understanding is that,
ultimately, God is the only one who can grant admittance into Heaven, or can
truly the actions of a particular person, and the reasons behind those actions.
There are absolute right and wrong actions, and motivations, but at the same
time God also offers absolute forgiveness. Only He can see into a person’s
soul, judge both actions and motivations, and offer true forgiveness. That
forgiveness is something He offers freely to those who want it, but each person
truly has to seek forgiveness, through sorrow, in order to receive it.
This supports the broader concept,
supported by Jesus throughout his ministry, and later by the apostles, that God
seeks to have a closer, more personal connection with each of us. In the Old
Testament, God could be a distant figure, a lawgiver and king remote from His
people and only speaking to a select few. In the New Testament, however, He
shows a softer side, becoming a father figure closer to His children, with
Jesus actively seeking out all members of society, rich and poor alike.
This leads directly to another point—the
common argument that Jesus’ teachings, by virtue of their focus on the poor,
and on the wealthy who must give up their possessions in order to follow Him,
demand some form of socialist-style, enforced-equality government. This
deliberately misconstrues Jesus’ teachings, in which he specifically discusses
individual, private action, rather than that mandated by government, as the key
to entering into heaven. In fact, government-mandated generosity in the form of
wealth redistribution directly contradicts His lessons, which rely on free will
and the conscience choice to serve the less fortunate.
In general, however, I think it’s a
mistake to attempt to use Biblical teachings to support any sort of economic
system, whether capitalism or socialism, or most policy positions. A very few of
the latter, such as abortion, are clearly against God’s will. But as long as we
conduct ourselves and our affairs morally, and are fully aware of the dignity
of every human life, He isn’t too concerned with the details of tax or
immigration policy. The Kingdom of God isn’t any form of government as mortals
would recognize it.
God is intimately acquainted with and
involved in the details of each of our lives, and by no means is he aloof from
the concerns of the world. We are all His children. Yet He endowed us with free
will for a reason, and gives us the autonomy to make our own decisions. Choosing
the moral path and taking care of our fellow man is what, in my mind, truly
pleases God.
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