I was lucky. I had wonderful parents. I didn’t fully appreciate that until recently, way too late to tell them.
They were religious and raised me as a Christian in the Episcopal Church.
At least I thought they did.
I haven’t been a strong participant. But maybe that’s good.
Because now I’m having to accept that I didn’t understand the first thing about being a Christian.
I have come to see that, as a child, I learned archaic ideas that don’t reflect true Christian values.
How do I know?
I’m being taught every day by those who want to set me straight, to turn our country into a Christian nation so we all will be on the right path to salvation. No matter what we thought we believed.
For example, I was taught to be kind to people, even those who were different from me. What a wicked concept! I now understand that kindness should be shown only to those who look like me, and certainly not to the poor or desperate. For those others it is Christian to uproot them from their lives and send them elsewhere so they will be out of the way. How do I know this is a Christian concept? Well, so many of our current leaders have professed a strong Christian faith, and they are the ones carrying out these policies that I once thought were un-Christian. They must be right. After all, they are our leaders.
Another incorrect concept that my parents had me believe was the Golden Rule which has versions in many of the old religions. You know, the religions we thought gave excellent guidance but now we realize how grievously wrong they were. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It just sounds so good. It’s easy to see how someone could actually be swayed by such a radical concept. I thank our current true Christian leaders for telling us it’s okay to prosecute or otherwise threaten someone for disagreeing with us. I imagine, if the current leaders are ever stripped of their power, they will follow their beliefs and be more than willing to accept persecution from the other side.
I also learned something you are going to be amazed would be taught. When someone does you wrong, turn the other cheek. What? I’m just supposed to allow someone to hurt me and not retaliate in kind? It was always a difficult concept because it does seem to go against normal human behavior. But that didn’t phase my old-fashioned minister. In fact, he said the ability to do that would show others the Christian love of all mankind. Well, now I am learning with relief that the concept is incorrect. The right approach is, if you determine someone is not treating you right (according to your definition of right), you should retaliate in kind (or worse). For example, suppose you go to a church, making sure everyone knows what a good Christian you are by doing so, and the female cleric implores you to be kind. What an affront! The thing to do is to get back at her by scathing her on social media and also have flunkies demand that this cleric, who happens to be an American citizen, should be deported. Thank goodness I’m learning how to unnecessarily escalate tense situations.
I feel there are more lessons that will be imparted in the future and my understanding of Christianity will become clearer.
If there is an afterlife, I look forward to the day our leaders can set God and Jesus straight.
They were religious and raised me as a Christian in the Episcopal Church.
At least I thought they did.
I haven’t been a strong participant. But maybe that’s good.
Because now I’m having to accept that I didn’t understand the first thing about being a Christian.
I have come to see that, as a child, I learned archaic ideas that don’t reflect true Christian values.
How do I know?
I’m being taught every day by those who want to set me straight, to turn our country into a Christian nation so we all will be on the right path to salvation. No matter what we thought we believed.
For example, I was taught to be kind to people, even those who were different from me. What a wicked concept! I now understand that kindness should be shown only to those who look like me, and certainly not to the poor or desperate. For those others it is Christian to uproot them from their lives and send them elsewhere so they will be out of the way. How do I know this is a Christian concept? Well, so many of our current leaders have professed a strong Christian faith, and they are the ones carrying out these policies that I once thought were un-Christian. They must be right. After all, they are our leaders.
Another incorrect concept that my parents had me believe was the Golden Rule which has versions in many of the old religions. You know, the religions we thought gave excellent guidance but now we realize how grievously wrong they were. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It just sounds so good. It’s easy to see how someone could actually be swayed by such a radical concept. I thank our current true Christian leaders for telling us it’s okay to prosecute or otherwise threaten someone for disagreeing with us. I imagine, if the current leaders are ever stripped of their power, they will follow their beliefs and be more than willing to accept persecution from the other side.
I also learned something you are going to be amazed would be taught. When someone does you wrong, turn the other cheek. What? I’m just supposed to allow someone to hurt me and not retaliate in kind? It was always a difficult concept because it does seem to go against normal human behavior. But that didn’t phase my old-fashioned minister. In fact, he said the ability to do that would show others the Christian love of all mankind. Well, now I am learning with relief that the concept is incorrect. The right approach is, if you determine someone is not treating you right (according to your definition of right), you should retaliate in kind (or worse). For example, suppose you go to a church, making sure everyone knows what a good Christian you are by doing so, and the female cleric implores you to be kind. What an affront! The thing to do is to get back at her by scathing her on social media and also have flunkies demand that this cleric, who happens to be an American citizen, should be deported. Thank goodness I’m learning how to unnecessarily escalate tense situations.
I feel there are more lessons that will be imparted in the future and my understanding of Christianity will become clearer.
If there is an afterlife, I look forward to the day our leaders can set God and Jesus straight.
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