There can be many conflicts in our lives. Most people believe that it is what they believe that define who they really are. To me, this is not necessarily true. Sometimes, what you believe in can be just an illusion in your subconscious state. What you believe and who you are can be messed up due to the conflicts. It’s like two forces within you. One is trying to pull you to what you believe, and the other one is trying to pull you to who you really are or want to be.
Have you ever thought about making a mess of your life? I have. Let me share with you my own experience. I wasn’t a Christian, but I was curious about it. Then I started to hang out with some friends, who happen to be Christians. By hanging around them, I got exposed to churches, the Bible, contemporary Christian music, and who is Jesus. Of course, I also had fun hanging out with them. There was this time that I truly thought that I was ready to become a Christian, but I had never been baptized. I wasn’t feeling comfortable to do that by then. But things changed in my life. I started to attend fellowship, got up on Sunday and went to church, listened to contemporary Christian songs, and not to mention prayed to God. This was going on almost about a year. Within me though I realized that I was struggling between being a so-called Christian and being who I really am. By looking back at it now, I feel that I made a mess.
Christianity is not about religion, but it’s about what you believe in. The Bible is always open to mankind’s interpretations. Some call themselves Christians, but they believe in something that they have to go against other Christians’ beliefs. The question is does any of those Christians who really know the truth? And whether or not their beliefs are the exact doctrine that Jesus approves? I’m afraid not. Therefore, without knowing the truth and I don’t think I ever find the truth until Jesus reveals himself; I do not want to behave in a way that even I don’t know what is right and what is wrong to be a Christian. In other words, I do not want to be a hypocrite. I do not want to debate by bringing up the Bible and say the Bible didn’t say this and that. The truth is, I am still a mankind and I definitely don’t have the absolute truth about Christianity.
Obviously, it is what we believe that we sometime use it as a shield to protect us. It seems to me that to be who you really are, you have to create that sort of shield or excuse to protect us from others. Isn’t that tiring? Doesn’t that make your life confused and sometimes even struggling? Granted, you don’t have to live up to anyone’s standard or judgments, but be true to yourself, and make your belief and who you really are run parallel with one another instead of two different forces that try to pull you to the opposite ways. If you are “this,” then you believe in something that agrees with your “this,” and you strive to reach the idea that supports your “this.” It can’t be “that!”
The idea of living life to the fullest is to enjoy the moment that you are in, and hope that sometime you can show who you really are. If years are gone, and you are still hiding around, then there might be an issue about your belief system and who you are. Like one of my friends said “I believe in God, but why would I want to go to a church that condemns me?” When I heard that sentence, it meant a lot to me. He believes in God but also wants to go to a church that accepts him. His goal is to have his belief and his authentic self go the same direction.
Have you ever thought about making a mess of your life? I have. Let me share with you my own experience. I wasn’t a Christian, but I was curious about it. Then I started to hang out with some friends, who happen to be Christians. By hanging around them, I got exposed to churches, the Bible, contemporary Christian music, and who is Jesus. Of course, I also had fun hanging out with them. There was this time that I truly thought that I was ready to become a Christian, but I had never been baptized. I wasn’t feeling comfortable to do that by then. But things changed in my life. I started to attend fellowship, got up on Sunday and went to church, listened to contemporary Christian songs, and not to mention prayed to God. This was going on almost about a year. Within me though I realized that I was struggling between being a so-called Christian and being who I really am. By looking back at it now, I feel that I made a mess.
Christianity is not about religion, but it’s about what you believe in. The Bible is always open to mankind’s interpretations. Some call themselves Christians, but they believe in something that they have to go against other Christians’ beliefs. The question is does any of those Christians who really know the truth? And whether or not their beliefs are the exact doctrine that Jesus approves? I’m afraid not. Therefore, without knowing the truth and I don’t think I ever find the truth until Jesus reveals himself; I do not want to behave in a way that even I don’t know what is right and what is wrong to be a Christian. In other words, I do not want to be a hypocrite. I do not want to debate by bringing up the Bible and say the Bible didn’t say this and that. The truth is, I am still a mankind and I definitely don’t have the absolute truth about Christianity.
Obviously, it is what we believe that we sometime use it as a shield to protect us. It seems to me that to be who you really are, you have to create that sort of shield or excuse to protect us from others. Isn’t that tiring? Doesn’t that make your life confused and sometimes even struggling? Granted, you don’t have to live up to anyone’s standard or judgments, but be true to yourself, and make your belief and who you really are run parallel with one another instead of two different forces that try to pull you to the opposite ways. If you are “this,” then you believe in something that agrees with your “this,” and you strive to reach the idea that supports your “this.” It can’t be “that!”
The idea of living life to the fullest is to enjoy the moment that you are in, and hope that sometime you can show who you really are. If years are gone, and you are still hiding around, then there might be an issue about your belief system and who you are. Like one of my friends said “I believe in God, but why would I want to go to a church that condemns me?” When I heard that sentence, it meant a lot to me. He believes in God but also wants to go to a church that accepts him. His goal is to have his belief and his authentic self go the same direction.
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wow...being a christian for me is never a religion, because religion seems to divide people...i believe that being a christian and believing in Jesus Christ is personal connection with God...a personal journey of faith...uhmmm...setting all the practice the substance is how you live in Christ's love and doing your best to be the best person and i guess that is the choice every people should make...hehe
cool site added you to my roll...thanks!
Roneiluke:
Thank you for leaving your comment and I totally agree that Christianity is not all about religion but rather your personal connection with God. I just don't like to see some people take Christianity as a way to live their life and start judging people around base upon their own interpretation from the Bible. Moreover, I also hate to see some poeple out there that behave against their authentic self. I just hope that we can live our life to the fullest that we want, and just be true to ourselves.
Pheng,
Thanks for bringing up this topic. It made me think a lot on this subject...here are some of my thoughts.
Within the context of human values, throughout the ages many famous philosophers and great thinkers have offered up a variety of social paradigms/ social constructs in an attempt to explain how humans should behave and respond to the universe, the world, and to others. Relative to these social paradigms, some have argued that in any given area, there can be no more than one correct opinion on anything (Monism). Others have claimed that cognitive, aesthetic and ethical values are really independent of human thinking, thus the world can only be viewed in an objective sense (Objectivism). Still others have maintained that beauty, truth, etc. are timeless and unchanging qualities (Absolutism).
The popularity of these views have at times been quiet in vogue, and other times have lost their tenability. There are two views of social thought related to values, however, that have unquestionably held firm over the years… one being Moralism, and the other Relativism.
A modern day definition of Moralism might be: One who drives all their decisions based on perceived morals, especially one who enforces them with censorship. The operative word here of course, being “perceived”. In the United States, an example of a Moralist might be someone who is affiliated with the religious right, or the so called “Moral Majority”.
Relativism is contrasted with Moralism by its definition, which sometimes (though not always) interpreted as saying that “all points of view are equally valid, in contrast to an absolutism which argues there is but one true and correct view”. Importantly, some relativists claim that humans can understand and evaluate beliefs and behaviors only in terms of their historical or cultural context. A modern day example of someone who is a relativist is someone we might label as a “liberal”, contrasted with someone who is a moralist, who might be labeled as a conservative. Some in the U.S. might even might even take it a step further and say that if you are a Democrat, then you are likely to be a relativist, and if you are Republican there is a good chance that you are a moralist.
Irrespective of these two opposing views of thought, both claim that their view is correct. Moralist say you must do this and that to live a good life, while Relativists say it doesn’t really matter how you live your life—that you should be free from any type of value system, and you should live in a way that you feel is best for you…that values are “relative” to what is important to you. Again, both the Moralist and Relativist say that there view is correct.
Two thousand years ago, moralism and relativism was just as alive and well during the time of Christ as it is today. Only the names of the players have changed. Moralist then were likely to be identified with the religious right, the Jewish leaders of the time, labeled the Pharisees—who believed that they had all the answers as to how one should live, what was right and wrong, and how the pathway to eternal life (heaven) was to be obtained. The Pharisees tenet was that it was the things on the outside (not your heart/mind) that mattered, and that you basically “earned” your way to heaven.
In contrast, the Relativists of the time, so-called modern thinkers, namely the Romans—whose empire had dominance over much of the world at the time, held a much different view—adhered to the idea that belief in one God, one creator was really relative, hence their polytheistic practice. To them, everything was relative, as long as it made sense to the Roman empire.
In reading the four gospels of the New Testament, one sees that Christ spent considerable energy and time condemning the Pharisees. Scripture after scripture places Christ in direct confrontation with these ancient day moralists. Several verses attest to the fact that these moralistic Pharisees hated Christ so much for his radical views and opposing views that they wanted him killed.
In one of the most amazing verses in the New Testament (Mark 8:15), we find Christ addressing both these ancient day moralists and relativists, with a warning to his believers…”Be careful, Jesus warned them, watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod (the Roman ruler of the time—who represented all the Roman empires values)”.
In this one little verse, Christ totally nails this concept that there is something very wrong in being either a moralist or a relativist. Both have their appeal, but we are warned that neither paradigm is right, healthy, or good for our lives. Christ tells us that to live your life as a moralist, thinking you that you can life your life as though you will “earn” your way to heaven is just as wrong as the relativist, who says everything is relative—live your life freely, with no boundaries, and if it feels good, go ahead and do it.
Some might argue that none of us is a pure moralist, or a pure relativist; that deep down most of us are some sort of mixture of the two, some days being moralistic or relativistic than other days. To quote CS Lewis from his book “Mere Christianity”, “man’s greatest dilema is that we all have this internal moral compass that we know we should follow, and we expect others to follow, but consistently don’t follow it”.
The question is, if moralism is bad, relativism is bad, and at the same time we all have this inborn moral compass (which begs another question for another time, in where did this come from?), then how are we to live our life—what social constructs should we live under? Or do we abandon all social constructs, and let everything go? If so, I submit this would mean we dissolve the entire criminal justice system, get rid of all laws, knock down all street “STOP” signs, lay off all police officers, and let every man fend for himself. This way, if someone want to rob you, well, you are on your own, with the certainty that the offender will face no jury trial. Or if someone cheats you of your entire life savings, too bad…all laws against this have been thrown out.
Again, the question is how are we to live our lives? What values if any do we follow? Where do we draw the line? Society is totally dependent on rules, laws to function properly. Similarly, I submit that our individual lives are no different. To function properly, to be our happiest, to live life to the fullest, there must be some order in our life. Otherwise, we will eventually crumble just as other lawless societies have done over time (like the great Roman empire).
The relativist says that there is no real or absolute truth. Christ--God incarnate…the one who said he is our maker, our creator, says that there is absolute truth…but, it is only found in Him. He tells us that if you want to truly be happy in life, and be fulfilled, you cannot be a moralist, or a relativist…you must take a very different pathway…one not man made, but rather one that is spiritual—one that realizes and truly understands our weakened condition—that we all know we should be moral, but are not—and calls us to depend on him for forgiveness…not to act as some “shield”, but to be fully open and honest with each other.
Some say they cannot believe or trust in something they cannot see. I say stop and think about the fact that some of the most powerful forces in nature, that we deal with on a daily basis, are things we cannot see or feel…like gravity, the wind, radio waves, gases, electro-magnetic waves, even black holes! I see God as the ultimate power of nature, admittedly one of the most intriguing and puzzling forces, an unseen force that must be reckoned with, one that we cannot escape, no more that we can escape the power of the force of gravity pulling us down off the side of a 100 story office tower.
Our creator, God, says that if you are a moralist you are wrong, and if you are relativist, you are also wrong. The reason both are wrong is because they fail to see the real pathway to meaning and purpose in life…that is to live to serve our God. Is anyone of us perfect? Absolutely not…but, we have a God who loves us, and is willing to forgive us, even more, willing to die for us, to make His point…to show how much he cares for us. None of this gives me the right to go on doing whatever I want…I am tempted daily, and I think impure thoughts daily—and I want others to see me as a imperfect person, but He tells me that He will forgive me of my wrongs if I ask Him. I have my good days, and my bad days. All I know is that I have seen and read about the moralists and the relativists, and in my view neither makes much sense.
Lan