Christianity and its repression

Christianity tends to cause followers to repress their feelings. For example, there is often a pressure being put on people to forgive others in Christian circles, without giving them room to come to terms with their feelings. Maybe those who condemn others for not forgiving have forgotten or ignored the fact that the book of psalms has a number of examples of the psalmists calling upon God to take revenge of their enemies or destroy their enemies. It is testimony that humans need to find outlets for expressing their hurts and sufferings in safe ways. It is unfortunate that there are Christians today who do not encourage others to feel their feelings and instead shame them for not following their so-called "positive" messages about forgiving others and moving on, without giving them freedom to do so in their own time and space. This only tends to cause the feelings of resentment to bottle up and explode later on. Maybe it is why Christians who repress their own feelings become callous towards others because they have not been in touch with their own humanity too.

Meditation on a quote by Dennis Wholey

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." ~ Dennis Wholey

Yes, being a good and kind person doesn't quite guarantee that we won't be treat unfairly by the world because we may at times come across or encounter people who are at war within themselves, and we may be unfortunate recipients of their own self-hatred and jealousy. Even for the peacemakers who seek to do good and bring justice and freedom to the oppressed, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, John Lennon, Rob Bell and so on, they have been attacked by those who are jealous of them. Perhaps we have to accept the fact that we live in a world system that is influencing people in a negative way through the separatist and egoistic mindset, and remember we are not of the world. This will help us remember to keep a distance from those who tend to hurt us/others, and remain focused on who we are and what we can do to help make the world a better place in our own ways.

Love and freedom

"If you spend a good amount of time around religious folk you soon begin to pick up on the fact that most of their focus and energy is upon being good. In order to achieve this goal they have built their individual and collective way of relating upon form. A set of rules and regulations that when kept do produce a temporary feeling of being good. This of coarse also comes with a side dish of fear and the realization that if you fail to keep up the rules you are no longer good. Leaving the evil religious empire we walk out into the realm of the secular world. Here we find the focus is not on being good, especially (your version of what that means), but instead on feeling good. Pleasure seems to be the highest rung on the ladder. For someone fleeing the strict rules of religion this can feel like the ultimate freedom. And though there is an allowance to participate in many things once forbidden you get the sense that you have traded on small jail cell for a much larger one. As I have observed these things in my own own life and in those around me I have found that in both you can have powerful experiences that touch things deep inside and as these are awakened they demand more from those systems than they are able to give. For me the freedom that I desire has not been found in form i.e.,the strict adherence to rules of men or in feeling i.e., the pursuit of what fulfills my senses, but in faith. Faith here is simply the belief that there is something apart from myself and those systems that can and has met my deepest longings. That which both the world and religion have awakened but failed to satisfy.The freedom it produces is not a freedom from religion or from this world but from myself. A freedom from a self centered life. A freedom from those deep longings that are motivating every human being as they strive to be good and to feel good.It seems for me that when I find this foundation beneath my feet the world and religion loose their hold over me and I can see clearly to move about and make rational decisions rather than feeling like a junkie looking for his next fix."

- Rodney Stepp

Yes, living a fulfilling and satisfying life would entail avoiding both extremes of religion/asceticism (trying to be good by following rules and rituals) and secular hedonism (trying to feel good by seeking sensual pleasures continually to find fulfilment). As the post noted, religion makes people temporarily happy when they think they obey the rules and miserable when they think they fail to be good. While secular hedonism may seem better, it doesn't satisfy one's deepest longings permanently. 

The middle path therefore is practising non-attachment to self and living a life knowing we are already loved and seeking the highest good of all. The pleasure that comes with seeking highest good is a complementary by-product. The act of loving and seeing others helped and blessed and uplifted is a pleasure and reward in and of itself.

 

 

"Doomsday was never God's idea"

"Doomsday was never God's idea; it is a doctrine invented by religion to distract from the powerful message of the cross
Religion cannot bear the thought of an innocent world
That would make them lose both their power and their income"
- Francois Du Toit

I agree with his observation that religion is about power and money, so it is perhaps no wonder they invented the idea of doomsday to control people with fear and make money as well from the sales of their books, CDs, DVDs, etc about doomsday theories.

Yes, God's idea is never about doomsday, but about the unveiling of Christ in us the hope of glory - it is not about the destruction of the physical world but about the transition from the old world system of law and control to the new world system of grace and freedom. The message of the cross is indeed about dying to the old way of thinking and living in condemnation and conformity, and resurrecting to a new and higher way of thinking and living in peace and authenticity. The cross brings to end the illusion of separation and unites humanity as one family of God/Divine Unconditional Love.

God is love, and there is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

How we can deal with belief systems that make us suffer

"Examine your possible motives for wanting to suffer. Do you deny that there’s anything wrong? Do you think it makes you a better person not to show others that you hurt? Do you enjoy the attention you get when you are sick or in distress? Do you feel safe being alone and not having to make tough choices?

Belief systems are complex—they hold together the self we want to present to the world. It is much simpler not have beliefs, which means being open to life as it comes your way, going with your own inner intelligence instead of with stored judgments. If you find yourself blocked by your suffering, returning to the same old thoughts again and again, a belief system has trapped you. You can escape the trap only by ending your need to cling to these beliefs."

~ Deepak Chopra

In response to the contemplative post above, I suppose belief systems are complex because we human beings are complex as we are all conditioned or influenced by different worldviews and experiences as we grow up in life. Perhaps our way of thinking as little children tends to be simpler and more carefree, but after growing up and facing hardship and disappointment, we begin to form certain beliefs about ourselves and others. Usually organised religions may appear to offer some help in relieving these sufferings, through their promises of "eternal life" and "salvation", but they are limited at best and misguided at worst and may only add to the suffering, such as their sin theology which causes people to think there is something wrong with themselves and others, or the idea of denying one's humanity.

Like what Deepak Chopra wrote, letting go of old limiting belief systems and being open to life can help relieve people from self-imposed sufferings. I think the Christian religion often propagates the idea of "martyrdom" in that the followers think they must silently suffer for "God" and bear hardship and even glory in their "persecutions". While there is a place for cultivating patience and endurance in life, regardless of one's religion, I think sometimes religions carry things a bit too far in this aspect, to the extent the church culture allows abuse and manipulation to go unchecked or unnoticed by preaching submission to leaders or elders and frowning against any open display of honest questioning and any expression of doubt, hurt, anger or bitterness. A recent blog and Darin Hufford's article "The Bitterness Phenomenon" came to mind, which remind people that it is ok to feel angry or bitter, and we can choose not to allow ourselves to be guilt tripped by those in the religious circles for expressing our humanity. It is our way of finding greater freedom through recovering our humanity and being true to ourselves.

A word of encouragement by Robert Rutherford

We are all faced with challenges. Loss.... Disease..... Death of loved ones....financial catastrophe.... Abuse..... Hurt..... Pain..... All of these things serve to strengthen us..... To make us better.....
To prepare us for the rest of the journey. In the middle of the trial... We must focus on the strength within... And, look to the finish line. We will make it. The challenge at hand is our friend. It will help us. Don't hate the pain.... Embrace it.

~ Robert Rutherford

Yes, we all face challenges in life, at different times and in varying degrees of hardship, and I also agree that these things serve to strengthen us - we will emerge not only better, but stronger and wiser. It reminds me of an athlete training for a marathon - each training exercise, each lap around the running track, serves to prepare us for the long journey ahead. As we progress further down the road, I believe we will be able to look back and marvel at how our past hurt and pain have bolstered us and given us the strength and endurance and wisdom that we have acquired which we would not have otherwise acquired without the initial hardship, and we will find ourselves coping or faring much better. Yes, embracing our pain and loss is the way to experience more freedom and peace in the long run.

Truth is an outsider - Mick Mooney

"Truth, I have discovered, is an outsider.

If you want it, you’ll never be allowed to remain in the circles of main stream acceptance; like Jesus, truth isn’t accepted in religious circles.

I tried to make it work, to find a middle ground, we all do.

But there came a point when I simply stopped understanding the religious mind.

It is a strange thing, because that was my mind for so long, but I can’t sympathise with it any longer; I want no part of it.

And I am not alone.

I’ve become part of a band of rebels who have found each other along the path of honesty.

We’re not considered rebels because we are looking for a fight; we are rebels because we openly reject the cry of religion, demanding we return to captivity."

- excerpt from Losing The Christian Economy: Confessions Of An Ex-SuperPastor

Yes, the moment we decide to be intellectually honest and seek the truth that sets us free, we will not find ourselves remaining in the circles of mainstream acceptance. We have become rebels, so to speak, who have found company with those who are also seeking freedom from the religious mindset. For me, I no longer find any resonance with the church mindset of "saved" versus "unsaved", for example, so being away from the institutional church system and feeding on my own through inspirational pages on facebook (as well as nuggets shared by my beloved) has helped keep my spirit buoyant.

1 John 2 What Does “Love Not the World” Mean?

Does “love not the world” mean to renounce all worldly pleasures like listening to pop music or watching movies? Or does the “world” refer to the deserving system of the world based on do’s and don’ts, as opposed to God’s system of undeserved favour?

Samuel Mathew wrote an enlightening article on this topic.

1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

The apostle John exhorts us, not to love the world and the things in the world namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. For these things are not of the Father, but of the world.

The “world” here refers to the world’s system in general. The whole world runs by the system of knowing right & wrong, good & evil and doing the good or right thing as much as possible. The reward is determined by one’s performance. The driving forces behind this system are called the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The flesh denotes human strength and ability. The flesh always wants to live life based on one’s strength, will-power and ability. The prospect of living a life based on one’s resources and ability and achieving the end result looks very appealing (lust of the eyes). Pride in one’s ability is also a factor.

Verse 16 says that this system is not of the Father. In the garden of Eden, God told man, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. God never wanted man to live by knowing good & evil or right & wrong (Law), but He wanted them to live by eating from the tree of Life (God’s life). God made them in His image and likeness — just like Him. All they had to do was to live by His life and enjoy everything that He had created for them to enjoy freely. He did not give them 10 or 15 rules or principles on how to live a holy, moral, successful and prosperous life. The only command he gave them was to stay away from living by knowing good and evil or living by rules or principles. He warned them that eating that fruit would result in death.

But the tempter came and told Eve that eating this fruit would cause her to be like God. Remember, they were already like God, not by any of their works, but because they were created in His image and likeness. So Satan, put this idea in the mind of Eve, that she could be like God by her own doing and not by how God made her to be. She decided that she wanted to be like God, independent of God, by her own works by knowing good & evil. Gen 3:6 says that the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh) and it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes) and a tree desired to make one wise (pride of life). By eating that fruit, man implemented this system of works or performance for the whole humanity.

Beloved, are you still eating from that forbidden tree by living by knowing good & evil or rules & regulations or are you living by the tree of life (the life of Jesus in you)? Living by rules and commandments may appear very good, may boost your ego by your performance and will satisfy your flesh, but the end result is death. Are you satisfied with how God has made you to be like Him — holy and righteous in Christ Jesus or are you trying to become like God by your holy living and good works? Verse 17 says that the world and its system will pass away, but he who does the will of the Father will abide forever. The will of the Father for you is to believe on the good news of the removal of your sins by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, whereby He has made you perfectly holy and righteous, just like Him, free from any of your works!

I think religious people, especially those in institutional churches, tend to target young people maybe because they are more impressionable and can be easily brainwashed with fundamentalist doctrines. Also they see themselves as "elders", and out of their insecurities, like to feel "respected" by young people, and do not like to see young people having fun and enjoying their life, especially while they think they are the ones serving "god" and working hard to "please the Lord". Miserable people love company, so they prefer the young people to join their misery as well. Deep inside, they are envious of the freedom young people usually have. As you also noticed, religious people don't like it when people in general are enjoying life and freedom - religious people think this is "worldly".

But if the truth be known, "worldly" actually means "conforming to the world system that is performance-oriented, and based on the principle of doing in order to become" (as we have learnt earlier). To be worldly is to be law-minded and sin-conscious. Anyone with common sense and growing to take responsibility for their own actions would rather abide by the universal principle of "all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial", rather than the oft-used religious threat of a mythical hell and God's wrath to try to keep other people and themselves under control.

Has God been Misrepresented by Christianity?

Video commentary:
There is hardly a man, woman or child who has not heard of the “wonderful” Christian God who will torment in eternal flames those who stubbornly refuse Him. How does this caricature affect the moral decisions of those who dare believe it? Martin Zender contends that such a heinous perception of God can only lower the standards of morality wherever it is taught. After all, why should a person behave any better than his or her Deity? Want to save people from moral ruin? Teach the God of Scripture!

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith (“righteousness by faith” teaching), giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron (being perpetually conscious of sins), forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
(1 Timothy 4:1-4, comments in parentheses are mine)

I love what Martin Zender said about the doctrine of eternal torment (as in burning and suffering) in hell being a doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1) because it is born out of sin-consciousness, and as he put it, it appeals to the self-righteous and religious sensibilities in people. This false doctrine needs to be refuted in order for people to experience true freedom in Christ, as well as know and appreciate the loving and gracious heart of our heavenly Father more fully.

Martin Zender considers himself the most outspoken Bible scholar. You can find out more about his ministry here.

Related links:
The Infamous Hall of Christian Terrorist Organizations of the World
Lazarus and the Rich Man

According to the Good News, What is the “Second Death” that the Bible is Referring to?

[The following post is adapted from an interesting discussion in Yahoo Answers which presents some liberating truths.]

The book of life is the book of Grace. Those who have been trying to live by self-efforts instead of God’s grace would have been cast into the lake of fire to be tormented (basanizo – tested, purified) in their consciousness, until they experienced the SECOND DEATH (coming to the end of themselves) and saw their need for Jesus (“Who shall deliver me from this body of DEATH?“~ Paul wrote in Romans 7.) For further information, please click here.

Do you know that the lake of fire is something that has continued right after new heavens and new earth? Do you also know that we will ALL have a part in it?
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Yes, we ALL have a part in the lake of fire, as Jesus said, “For EVERYONE will be seasoned (tested or purified) with fire“. (Mark 9:49)

The lake of fire is something that has continued right after the new heaven and new earth, in which we are living today. The second death happens when a person who depends on self-efforts to get right with God comes to the end of himself/herself and finds freedom and perfect peace in Christ Jesus. The lake of fire is meant to cleanse us from self-righteousness or religiosity, so that we die to our old performance-based mentality, and live according to our new identity in Christ based on grace and truth.

There are two kinds of death in the Bible. The first death is spiritual death or condemnation. Remember the ministry of death is also called the ministry of condemnation. (2 Corinthians 3) Those who are under law will experience condemnation in their conscience.

The second death is the end of condemnation. (Romans 8:1) It spells freedom for a person because when he/she experienced grace or undeserved favour, he/she will be set free from guilt and condemnation and enjoy righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit – which is the kingdom of God within each of us. 
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The book of Revelations was written by the apostle John before the destruction of the temple in AD70. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem signified the end of the old covenant age or world, that is, the end of the Jewish religious law system.

Ever since AD70, we are living in the new covenant age or world, which is the new heavens and new earth.

We know God is not some sadistic, mean and vengeful God who burns people for eternity in hell. It is time for people to reexamine the context of Revelations 20-22, and study the Greek meanings for “torment”, “lake of fire”, “hades” and “forever and ever” (aion meaning for an Age). If the lake of fire is a physical place like some people said, how can death (which is non-physical) be cast into it? The lake of fire is a metaphor.

Last but not least, Revelations 21:8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral sorcerers, idolators, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” simply means the doing away of the old identity.

Because God has become all in all ever since the end of the old covenant age in AD70, we are now new creations living in the new covenant age. Therefore, we no longer see ourselves in the worldly or fleshly perspective, but we see one another in our new identity – we are all new creations, and sons and daughters of the Most High God.

“Behold, I make all things new.” May we all see one another in our new identity – we are ONE in Christ. 

Related Posts:
“Tested in the Lake of Fire” by Gary Amirault
“Misunderstandings about the meaning of hell (Part 2) – Lake of Fire versus Gehenna” by Jath van der Westhuizen