It seems to me, all the time while I was Christian, and even the 20+ years I was a Mormon, the common mantra was that Satan was looking for ways to keep me from the "one true path" back to God. I was constantly vigilant, on guard against Satan, because I didn't want to be "trapped" or "led astray". I lived in fear of losing my toehold on God's narrow path, and I worried about my immortal soul perishing in Hell for my petty sins of lust, envy, greed, sloth, pride, gluttony, or wrath.
I'm now Mormon-free, Christianity-free, and you know what? The devil leaves me alone.
No more worries, guilt, shame, or fear. No more attending church because of what the neighbors or the minister might think. No more participation in endless meetings, temple rituals, scripture studies, and Bible classes to make sure that Satan doesn't "get" me.
Now I'm actually feeling sorry for the folks who think I'm the one going to Hell. Seems to me they're already living in it here on Earth.
As a practicing Wiccan, I have heard the occasional comdemnation from Christian folks. "Thou shall not suffer a Witch to live" etc. And I've even been accused of having Satan over for parties.
He must be way too busy teasing the Christian zealots. I've never met him. We do not share zip codes.
Something else that bothers me is the use of Bible quotes to prove that I'm wrong in my understanding of the human purpose. Because I don't acknowledge Jesus as my personal savior, I'm going to be burned. Well, then I guess there will be plenty of folks there with me, and I'm not so hip to acknowlege a God that would punish me simply for living a simple life free of drug and alcohol use, free of harm to others, free of polluting the earth, and doing what I can to improve the lives of others and the world around me.
In alot of ways, I'm more like Jesus than most Christians I've met. What if that was the point? what if Jesus really wasn't trying to tear down Judaism, but uplift it, or improve it? What if there was never supposed to be anything like Christianity, just a new and improved Judaism? He was a Rabbi, a teacher, and a JEW. And Christianity didn't even put down modern roots until the Council of Nicea almost 400 years after his death.
Christianity is stupid. I have to agree with a recent post found on The Gods Are Bored:
How Fundamentalist Christianity Works
You want to travel from Detroit to Tampa.
There is only one route from Detroit to Tampa.
It is Interstate 75.
You may not take any other route from Detroit to Tampa.
There are certain exits from the Interstate that you cannot take, because they may lead you to a store that sells fireworks or some such. Or worse, those exits might lead you to an alternative route to Tampa.
There is no other destination if you are leaving Detroit, except Tampa.
No other city is as great as Tampa.
Don't listen if anyone tells you that, say, Indianapolis is just as nice, or that you can actually proceed past Tampa to Sanibel Island. Or that you can get to Tampa by taking a little detour and winding up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and maybe in comparison to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Tampa suddenly doesn't seem as appealing.
My Thoughts Exactly.
Thanks to Anne Johnson over at The Gods are Bored. She is very witty and thought provoking, and I encourage everyone to go see her.
2 comments:
There are those that would say that the devil leaves you alone because his work with you is done.
I agree, Joel. Those who believe in Satan also believe that I am loyal to him, serve him, and revere him as well. Why? Because in their small world, there are only two options. Serve God or serve Satan.
"If you're not with us, you're against us."
To those people, I would suggest Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason". I also recommend "The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You to Read"
I would hope that people would eventually choose to live in a world of free thought, instead of a world of fear and condemnation if you decide to wear a tanktop in July or drink iced tea.
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