There are many who would view the Christian faith as largely selfish. There are those who say, that a Christian acts not upon his own moral views, but upon a desire to "go to Heaven" after his death. In short, there are many who claim Christianity is deluded.
Not so. It is delusion to believe that immediate, earthly rewards are meaningful, just as it is delusion to believe one knows the nature of Heaven and God's grace. In short, rewards, whether heavenly or mundane, are meaningless, and it is delusion to believe otherwise. To be loved, to earn money, to create art, to gain fame and notoriety, or to enter Heaven - all these are but shadowy illusions we make for ourselves in order to motivate our nasty, brutish and short lives. This is not the object of religion, nor is it the object of life. Reward is not what the true Christian seeks.
The Lancea Sanctum tells us what all mortal religions do, but without the veil of ignorance, without the comfortable hope of solace, without the illusions. The Lancea Sanctum tells us God has a plan. That is all. That is all the Sanctified have to hope for, that is all in which the Sanctified invest their faith. There is no hope of redemption, no hope of reward, only the hope of purpose, of meaning in a meaningless existence. This is what all religions seek to teach, though they shroud it in promises of payment, forgiveness and love.
Christianity - Faith- Religion; all these are with us for the sake of having a purpose. If there is no God, what purpose is there to my good actions? If there is no God, why should I help my fellow man? In a world without God, we are all but mites of dust upon a mind-numbingly great, blank floor, to be swept away by the smallest gust of wind and lost forever. In a world without God, we have no meaning. Religion provides us with this. Religion provides us with a reason for why we help one another. Never mind what reward shall come for this help - the important thing is knowing we have made a difference. We have contributed to God's plan. We have done something which was not in vain.
Finding meaning is what drives us all. Religion shows you a way. Religion assures you that though you be damned, God has not forgotten you. Religion is trusting that my actions matter to a higher being - that there is a reason for me to rise every night, that there is a reason for the pain and pleasure we must suffer. This is what Christianity is - not the hunt for some meaningless pleasure in Heaven, but the hunt for some meaningful pain on Earth.
4 kommentarer:
I agree with everything apart from the second to last paragraph, hardly surprisingly.
The Lancia Sanctum are pretty cool, actually. Well, so are all religious concepts that have at least a bit of thought behind their philosophy.
What I still don't understand about religion is the "choice"; how can one choose what to believe in? Either you believe it or you don't, I don't experience it to ever be a choice. Weird.
Well, you can choose with who to associate, what to listen to and what not, and essentially indoctrinate yourself over time. Beliefs work like this, don't they?
I've made myself believe friendship is possible, something I very much didn't believe a while back. Factors outside my own control played in, of course, but it was still a choice. No?
You're right. We have a tad of choice, not much, but enough to change things.
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