Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!purdue!gatech!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!geneva.rutgers.edu!christian From: bnr-fos!bnr-public!hwt@watmath.waterloo.edu (Henry Troup) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: A Scary thought, but I bet I get flamed anyway...! Message-ID: Date: 31 Jul 89 02:00:59 GMT Sender: hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada Lines: 33 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article perryc@forceps.sun.com (Perry Cross) writes: > > ...Further, at some point man has to come to > grips with live on this planet. Dreaming of a wonderful life > after death detracts from the issues that face us today. > Exactly. Much of the practice of Christianity, whether it be scripturally prescribed or not, is that of a mystery religion. I find it hard to reconcile those aspects of Christian religion with my personal beliefs. Much wrong has been done in this world by sincere Christians, such as the Inquisition, and its successors, right up to today. Medieval inquisitors killed freely, believing that if they saved souls, nothing else mattered. I cannot accept that as a position. If I am my brother's keeper, I must treat him with respect and kindness, even if I disagree with him. Similarly, the guardianship of the Earth given to us in Genesis is not license to exploit ruthlessly. Essentially, I hold that the proper eercise of Christian life is to follow God's will on earth, and not to be overly concerned with the next life. I think the parable of the talents could be cited to defend that point of view. We are not commanded by Christ (nor even by Paul) to cloister ourselves, preserving our souls by isolation but to go forth and work in the world. This means that 'liberation theology' is right; the duty of Christians is to right social wrongs, not to go to church on Sunday and take communion. utgpu!bnr-vpa!bnr-fos!hwt%bnr-public | BNR is not | All that evil requires hwt@bnr (BITNET/NETNORTH) | responsible for | is that good men do (613) 765-2337 (Voice) | my opinions | nothing.