psychboi85
09-28-2007, 12:17 AM
Today I had an interview with the director of a homeless shelter in Dallas. I was seeking an opportunity to work with homeless women and children. While I am in nursing school, we are to complete at least 8 hours of community service directed towards the area of nursing we are studying (in this case, mothers, women, and children). The shelter that I wanted to do some volunteer work is Christian based. They believe in meeting more than just their clients physical needs (clothes, food, and shelter) and promote spiritual guidance as well as taking care of their physical wants. I believe that spirituality (whatever that might entail) is one of many important needs that factor into one's overall well-being, so I had no problem with the mission of this shelter.
I was thoroughly disappointed by the interview I had with the director of the shelter today, however.
Upon meeting with him, he basically drilled me about what I believed. He asked me why I believe Christianity versus all the other religions out there. All my answers started with, "well, I believe..." which was unsatisfactory to him. It was "too subjective and based on opinion", he said. He then proceeded to explain how one could "know" that Christianity was the truth. He asked me why I wasn't in church, why I couldn't make time to go to church every week, and advised me to "get my priorities straight" (which means church before everything). He also asked some intrusive questions about my father and his recent decision to stop pastoring. At the end he offered me a deal: Find a church to go to, and he would consider letting me do a children's chapel service; otherwise, I could answer the phones or serve a meal at the men's shelter.
This all upset me very much. This man had an agenda he wanted to push from the very beginning: What he believed was the only "right" way, the only "truth" that there is. Anything else was illogical opinions or based on lies.
The absolute fact of the matter is this: When you strip Christianity down to its basic belief, it is based solely on what a person chooses to believe. There is no way to prove that Jesus takes away sin. There is no way to prove that there is a heaven and hell after death. These are beliefs and opinions that Christians hold, and we make a choice to believe them. There are many aspects of Christianity that are true and are factual. It seems to me, however, the parts of Christianity that really matter are not like this. I believe the God would not have given us a free will if God wanted us to have "facts" to trust instead of "faith" to believe in.
Church has its benefits, but it isn't everything. When I look at the life of Jesus, he spent far more time OUT of church than IN the church. He was out feeding the hungry, healing the sick, loving others instead of lecturing to them. He wasn't with the preachers, he was with the prostitutes. Is church really more important than family? Is it more important to God that you attended church every week than spending quality time with your loved ones frequently? If that is what is true, please let me live my life believing a delusion.
We human beings have an innate desire for something more than ourselves. People meet this need in a variety of ways - healthy and self-destructive. Religion is nothing more than an organized system to help people meet this need (a relationship with that which is more than us). It isn't always right, and it isn't all that there is. I can't say that all the other world religions are not helpful to people, and I can't say that all the believers of other world religions are going to burn in hell.
I think when it's all over, and when eternity is before us, we will be shocked at how many Christians are in hell, and how many Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islamists, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists [insert non-Christian religion here] are in heaven. A label is nothing more than a label; it does not mean it's the real thing. Jesus is the only way to God, this I believe. I do, however, believe that there are other ways to get to Jesus than through your local Baptist church.
A good friend of mine made an excellent point I want to bring up, "it's important to be a part of the church. I don't think that if you're not in one you're going to hell, or you have your priorities off. However, I believe 100% that it's imperative for us to get connected with other believers. Those relationships help build us up and keep us accountable. Also, I think it's helpful for us to look at what has been revealed to others (ie sermons) to help our own relationship..."
Church meets so many needs that can't be met outside of it. I actually enjoy church and what it promotes.
Think about this: When God created the world, God didn't establish a church or set the framework for how churchs should be run; God established human relationships. I wonder if that doesn't have some significance for us today.
I was thoroughly disappointed by the interview I had with the director of the shelter today, however.
Upon meeting with him, he basically drilled me about what I believed. He asked me why I believe Christianity versus all the other religions out there. All my answers started with, "well, I believe..." which was unsatisfactory to him. It was "too subjective and based on opinion", he said. He then proceeded to explain how one could "know" that Christianity was the truth. He asked me why I wasn't in church, why I couldn't make time to go to church every week, and advised me to "get my priorities straight" (which means church before everything). He also asked some intrusive questions about my father and his recent decision to stop pastoring. At the end he offered me a deal: Find a church to go to, and he would consider letting me do a children's chapel service; otherwise, I could answer the phones or serve a meal at the men's shelter.
This all upset me very much. This man had an agenda he wanted to push from the very beginning: What he believed was the only "right" way, the only "truth" that there is. Anything else was illogical opinions or based on lies.
The absolute fact of the matter is this: When you strip Christianity down to its basic belief, it is based solely on what a person chooses to believe. There is no way to prove that Jesus takes away sin. There is no way to prove that there is a heaven and hell after death. These are beliefs and opinions that Christians hold, and we make a choice to believe them. There are many aspects of Christianity that are true and are factual. It seems to me, however, the parts of Christianity that really matter are not like this. I believe the God would not have given us a free will if God wanted us to have "facts" to trust instead of "faith" to believe in.
Church has its benefits, but it isn't everything. When I look at the life of Jesus, he spent far more time OUT of church than IN the church. He was out feeding the hungry, healing the sick, loving others instead of lecturing to them. He wasn't with the preachers, he was with the prostitutes. Is church really more important than family? Is it more important to God that you attended church every week than spending quality time with your loved ones frequently? If that is what is true, please let me live my life believing a delusion.
We human beings have an innate desire for something more than ourselves. People meet this need in a variety of ways - healthy and self-destructive. Religion is nothing more than an organized system to help people meet this need (a relationship with that which is more than us). It isn't always right, and it isn't all that there is. I can't say that all the other world religions are not helpful to people, and I can't say that all the believers of other world religions are going to burn in hell.
I think when it's all over, and when eternity is before us, we will be shocked at how many Christians are in hell, and how many Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islamists, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists [insert non-Christian religion here] are in heaven. A label is nothing more than a label; it does not mean it's the real thing. Jesus is the only way to God, this I believe. I do, however, believe that there are other ways to get to Jesus than through your local Baptist church.
A good friend of mine made an excellent point I want to bring up, "it's important to be a part of the church. I don't think that if you're not in one you're going to hell, or you have your priorities off. However, I believe 100% that it's imperative for us to get connected with other believers. Those relationships help build us up and keep us accountable. Also, I think it's helpful for us to look at what has been revealed to others (ie sermons) to help our own relationship..."
Church meets so many needs that can't be met outside of it. I actually enjoy church and what it promotes.
Think about this: When God created the world, God didn't establish a church or set the framework for how churchs should be run; God established human relationships. I wonder if that doesn't have some significance for us today.