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From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Discussion moved from net.singles
Message-ID: <731@pucc-h>
Date: Fri, 25-May-84 21:18:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.731
Posted: Fri May 25 21:18:52 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 1-Jun-84 02:40:55 EDT
References: <73@stat-l>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
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>> = Sargent
>  = Rsk the Wombat

>> In fact, anyone reading the New Testament will see that one of the main 
>> emphases of Christ and Christianity is removing discord between people.
>> 'Tis a shame that many, believers as well as non-believers, have 
>> forgotten that.

>	Christ, yes...Christianity no.	The Christ-character in the biblical
> myths certainly had a lot to say about being nice to one another, and said
> it pretty well.  Just fine and dandy.  Christianity has had a lot to say
> about non-tolerance of other faiths ("Believe what we believe or rot in
> hell" and, sometimes, "Believe what we believe or die") and in modern
> times, a lot to say that seems to me very negative about people's
> lifestyles.  ("Don't have sex for fun.  Don't drink.  Don't read this.
> Don't watch that. Etc, ad infinatum)

My strong suspicion is that a great deal of the corruption of the Christian
message, its transmogrification from the message that you are loved and
accepted irrespective of who you are or what you've done and that God can,
wants to, and will (if you let Him) change you from the inside out into the
image of His Son -- to the idea that one MUST believe (or claim to believe)
a particular set of dogma, or to the idea that one must or must not perform
certain actions (cleaning the outside of the cup but inside full of corruption
like the Pharisees) -- came from the church organization being co-opted by
those who were hungry for temporal power.  Indeed, Constantine may well have
done more harm than good by making Christianity the state religion.  The
medieval Catholic Church (from what little I know about it) seems to have had
some similarity to the modern Soviet government; the popes and cardinals had
it nice, just as the Politburo members have their dachas and their Black Sea
vacations, while the ordinary people were and are in poverty and fear.
Similarly, some modern legalists seem to wish to control every detail of
people's lives by force.

Christ, on the other hand, wants to change every detail of your life, yes; but
He wants to bring you to the point where you voluntarily choose the optimal
course for your life.  I happen to believe that the optimal course involves
some things which differ from what most people nowadays consider optimal, the
prime example being that sex was designed not only for fun, but for the
building of a deep communion between a man and a woman who are totally
committed to each other, who therefore trust each other implicitly, and who
can thus be totally free and open with each other physically, emotionally,
spiritually -- that it is truly a means of becoming one, and the shared fun
is part of that.  (There's nothing wrong with having fun per se; it's making
that your goal, or if you will, your god that is the error.  Believe it or
not, I am not of those who disapprove of having a few drinks with friends;
I have done it myself within this very month; but centering one's life
around that sort of activity is going too far.)  If you wish to do something
sub-optimal, that's your choice, and I won't say that you MUST not do that;
I'll just say that it might be wiser, and better for you in the long run, if
you didn't.  And I believe that this is Christ's approach.

(Incidentally, do not infer from the above that I never desire to have sex
without bothering with the commitment of marriage.  I'm human too, though
it's not always obvious....)

>	To paraphrase Lazarus Long:

>	Religion is fine; but do it in private, and wash your hands afterwards.
Wasn't that Pontius Pilate? [1/2 :-)]
-- 
-- Jeff Sargent
{allegra|decvax|harpo|ihnp4|seismo|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
"...I've got to be where my spirit can run free..."