Many "christians" will be in for quite a shock when they cross the Great Divide...

[bluesbassman]

I consider myself a Christian. That is, I believe in the teachings of Christ as I understand them from the words written in the Bible. I also understand that the Bible is a translation of a translations of work written by men, and in the course of time there are undoubtedly errors both unintentional and intentional. I do feel that I have a pretty strong moral compass, so where I encounter something in the Bible that is at odds with my core, I defer to what seems right to me. In that vein, I also afford my fellow Earth bound travelers the same liberty I take myself to either believe all or part of what they find written in the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc., or to not believe any of those teachings and follow their own lights as they see fit.

To get to the point of my OP title, there are many in both my faith and all the rest who do not feel as I do, and in fact go to the extremes of dogmatically believing every word they read in their respective religious works, and worse, every word preached to them by their clergy, elders, and leaders. It would be a small matter if these "christians", and their equally zealous counterparts in other faiths subjected themselves only to their narrow and rigid views, but unfortunately they do not. They ridicule, and shame others for their beliefs and actions, and incredibly, often demand that others live and believe as they do.

I don't really know if there is any "more" on the other side of this mortal plane, and if there is whether a person would even remember what they had experienced or left here. What I do believe with every fiber of my being is that at some point in every person's life comes a moment of clarity when, if only to our own self, we all have to account for the actions of our lives. My guess is that in that one moment, there will be many "christians" who will receive the shock of their lives

[dawg]

1. Jesus mingled with the outcasts and sinners ...

It was the religious folk who had him put to death.

[bluesbassman]

3. Precisely. I don't think they really cared who he hung out with...

his "crime" was disrupting the status quo.

[dawg]

5. He implied that those people were just as good ...

the Pharisees, and that was more than the prideful Pharisees could handle.

[bluesbassman]

6. Absolutely. To associate with tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes, etc. was one thing...

and to say that God cared about these people just confirmed in the leader's minds that Jesus was a crank. But to imply that they had the same worth in God's eyes cut them to their core.

[dawg]

8. It still does.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. that's actually a teaching attributed to Jesus, exactly that.

'I was hungry, and you fed me not' and all of that. They will be dropping names at the door, but the velvet rope shall not drop for them. Thus saith the Nazz. Matthew Chapter Something, Verse Whatever.

[bluesbassman]

4. In my vision of our "accountability", we'll all squirm a little for some of what we believe...

The ones that will "burn" though, are the hypocrites that use their version of religion as a club, yet don't adhere to even the basest of it's tenets.

[DinahMoeHum]

7. Heck, it's not for nothing that Jesus said (Matthew 21:31)

that tax collectors and prostitutes would get to the Kingdom of Heaven ahead of them.

[mercymechap]

9. In my opinion, I believe that many

Christians want to look so good before Jesus that they go beyond what is required of them, then they believe their position is the only way and look down on those who don't see it their way. Many Christians are Republicans and are against abortion but they dismiss the need for healthcare reform, Obamacare, and the fact that people die because they don't have healthcare. They don't see it as controversial to their passion for saving a fetus.

These type of people existed back in Jesus' day too, they were called Pharisees. They were so concerned with every rule, they went beyond the rule but their hearts were not pure and Jesus called them whitewashed pillars.

[RagAss]

10. He knew the ego was a man-made illusion...

All the enlightened ones know this to be true.

[RVN VET]

11. Underpinning of christianity

The belief stressed universalism -- in the sense that everyone and anyone was urged and welcome to come and believe as Jesus did or -- and here's the part that the so many Fundy Christians can neither support nor stomach -- regardless whether they believed, certainly to be loved and loving. They only believe the first part and, frankly, if you don't "believe", they figure you're a god damned (literally!) lost soul going to hell and they have no place for you in their stunted hearts and atrophied souls.

I know Christians I love and respect. I also know assholes who go to church and think that pharisaical outward displays of religiosity -- including contempt for the rebel and outsider -- mark them as "saved" and heaven bound.

If I were St. Peter, I'd have me a ball turning the assholes away from heaven's gate and leading the choir of surprised stragglers -- the rebels and outsiders -- in singing hymns there.

Just sayin'

Pax!

[Bertha Venation]

13. "regardless whether they believed, certainly to be loved" --

Mrs. V.'s mom is Southern Baptist, perhaps the most strident and rigid denomination. She ran the food pantry at her church for years. Never -- never -- were the people who came for food preached to or at. The people in the church never even handed out tracts to these people, or asked if they were saved or went to any church. They just gave them food and loved them. (The church also gave away clothes.)

That's what Jesus would do, in my opinion. In my opinion, that's what Christians should do.

[Bertha Venation]

12. Very well said, BBM.

Mrs. V. agrees with you about this: she says she wants to be in line behind certain people when they greet Jesus and they expect "welcome home, my good and faithful servant," but what they hear is "depart from me, for I never knew you."

I don't know if he'd say that to "Carla." She's not mine to judge -- but here I am doing it anyway. I am still seeing red. Miserable hypocrite!.

[bluesbassman]

15. Thanks Bertha.

Lots of "Carlas" in the world. People provide us with insight to their character with what they say and do. We make observations based on these actions. That's all you've done, nothing more, nothing less.

Oh, and thanks for giving me the impetus to write the OP. It was something that has been on my mind for a while, and I just needed a little push.

[Zax2me]

14. 'I don't really know if there is any "more" on the other side of this mortal plane'

It's a very non-controversial basic tenant of Christianity that there is.
Maybe you consider yourself Christian but it just reads like you may be something else.

[bluesbassman]

16. OK. Thanks for the input, but I'm fine with where I'm at. n/t