in thoughts...
Thursday, October 14, 2004
"I believe in love, not in fear."
was trying to search for stuff for my soci debate that day.
the motion was "Religion is the opiate of the masses."
came across this site and i thought it was good. though not very relevant to my search for material to use in the debate. By this person called Keith Boykin...
and sometimes, religion is as simple as that i guess..
***
June 18, 2002 http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/000498.html
"So are you a Christian?"
Yes, very much, I answer.
"But you don't believe in heaven or hell. You don't believe in sin. You don't take the Bible literally. Are you really a Christian?"
Yes, I answer.
"But you're openly gay. Are you sure you're a Christian?"
Yes, I answer.
"But you don't go to church. Are you positive you're a Christian?"
Yes, I answer again.
"Then what does it mean to be a Christian to you?"
I believe in Christ. When Christ was asked to choose the greatest commandment, he said -- to love (Matthew 22:35-40). This is what Christianity means to me. It means unconditional love, of myself and everyone else.
It's not enough to love those who love me. That's easy. It's more challenging to find a way to love those who hate and despise me. I do not believe in hell because I cannot accept the idea that the same God who expects us to love unconditionally would be incapable of doing it himself/herself/itself.
Nor do I believe that Christianity is the exclusive religion of God. Two-thirds of the world's population are not Christian, most simply by accident of birth. I cannot accept the idea that God, who loves us all, condemned the majority of the world to eternal damnation simply because of where they were born.
"But aren't you afraid of being wrong?"
No, I am a Christian. I believe in love, not in fear.
© Copyright 2002 by Keith Boykin.
the motion was "Religion is the opiate of the masses."
came across this site and i thought it was good. though not very relevant to my search for material to use in the debate. By this person called Keith Boykin...
and sometimes, religion is as simple as that i guess..
***
June 18, 2002 http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/000498.html
"So are you a Christian?"
Yes, very much, I answer.
"But you don't believe in heaven or hell. You don't believe in sin. You don't take the Bible literally. Are you really a Christian?"
Yes, I answer.
"But you're openly gay. Are you sure you're a Christian?"
Yes, I answer.
"But you don't go to church. Are you positive you're a Christian?"
Yes, I answer again.
"Then what does it mean to be a Christian to you?"
I believe in Christ. When Christ was asked to choose the greatest commandment, he said -- to love (Matthew 22:35-40). This is what Christianity means to me. It means unconditional love, of myself and everyone else.
It's not enough to love those who love me. That's easy. It's more challenging to find a way to love those who hate and despise me. I do not believe in hell because I cannot accept the idea that the same God who expects us to love unconditionally would be incapable of doing it himself/herself/itself.
Nor do I believe that Christianity is the exclusive religion of God. Two-thirds of the world's population are not Christian, most simply by accident of birth. I cannot accept the idea that God, who loves us all, condemned the majority of the world to eternal damnation simply because of where they were born.
"But aren't you afraid of being wrong?"
No, I am a Christian. I believe in love, not in fear.
© Copyright 2002 by Keith Boykin.
posted by Sodium-squared at 10/14/2004 03:22:00 PM
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