Religion's Crime Against God

Hi again Al Thinker -



I enjoy reading your articles, but I found that several of the items in article #22 seems to contradict what you had posted earlier and this leaves me confused.



You posted earlier that the greatest commandments was the expression of love towards God and to your fellow man.

But then you say that devotion to family is "the biggest distraction" that keeps us away from God.



I believe that that things that we love the most are a direct reflection of where our heart lies. Which is most important to a man To Serve or To Be Served? Those whose interests are self-centered are prideful and ungodly. Those whose interests are selffish reflect the godly attributes that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.



I was taught "that when you are in the service of your fellow man, you are really in the service of your God." We also define that to love our fellow man begins first with our immediate family and other close associates where God has given us a divine calling to provide for their spiritual and physical welfare. If we strive to make our home into "a piece of heaven on earth", then we will readily invite the holy spirit's companionship there to bless not only our lives, but also that of our loved ones. To me a righteous marriage is the most holy ordinance and gift from God and due diligence in teaching my children the ways of righteousness is the greatest gift I can offer.



The flip side interpretation of this is what drives the hermit and celibacy movements of certain religions. This isolates what are suppose to be the leaders and righteous examples from the community. It is based on concepts of ignoring your neighbor and family. The community is left to struggle. Independent Surverys (such as YouthAndReligion.org) have shown that the young generation has a very retention rate of participating in their parents religion. Whereas religious systems that emphasize love and godly service towards family and neighbors have a retention rate that is upto four times higher.



The number one mission of God is bring to souls to repentence and salvation, and the greatest service we provide to Him is when we help Him to accomplish this divine mission by striving to help ourselves and our neighbor to embrace the principles of His Gospel.



B



You asked about my background - I a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (in Southern California) and serve weekly as the Scoutmaster in the boy scout troop that includes my son and his friends, and is sponsored by our local congregation.
 

Roland, thanks again for your comments. That is an extremely good point that you brought up. And I truly understand were you and many others are coming from. To neglect one’s immediate family, is the most unnatural action a person can believe in–unless a person is a drunk or a derelict. Before I go any further, let me bring up what Jesus Christ is quoted as saying in the book of Luke, 14:25-26. “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.” Here is another verse in Luke that is similar, but talks about leaving one’s family for Christ’s service. “I tell you the truth,”Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brother or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many time as much in this age and in the age to come, eternal life.” Luke 18:29-30. Some may be saying, “What, is this man Jesus, out of his mind? I do know that the Apostle Paul in his Epistles tells a different story. In this, just one of many Biblical contradictions, I choose to believe what Jesus said, because, it is more accurate to get one’s information straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Let me give a more plausible meaning of what our Lord meant: It would be extremely difficult for a disciple of Christ to give his/her undivided attention to furthering the Gospel message when giving their family primary attention. Another even more acceptable interpretation is this: The word hate that Jesus used most likely means (to love one’s family LESS than the needy in the family or potential family of God). Let me give you a vivid example: Up north where it gets cold in the winter months, a genuine Christian man, whose son wants to go out and play in the first snow of the year. But he outgrew his old shoes and has been playing outside barefoot since then. His father has only enough money to buy one pair of cheap shoes for his son. Then he found out that his son’s playmate was in the exact same situation. No shoes that fit and no money. The question is: should he buy shoes for his son and silently say “the hell with the other kid”? Or should he explain to his son that, to God, his playmate is just as important as he is, and that Jesus would like him to buy his friend shoes first and maybe next week he could afford to buy his son’s shoes? Can you see what Jesus is talking about now. Roland, I challenge you to show me where it says or even implies in either the Gospels or Epistles what you said. I will quote you. “We also define that to love our fellow-man begins first with our immediate family and other close associates. . .” I have been studying and attempting practicing what Jesus desires of his followers for over 40 years, and this subject is one of the most contentious in the Bible. Here is a clue as to what is an error and what is correct when trying to understand what God’s Will is concerning a portion/s of the Bible; if it is easy and feels good, most likely, it is wrong; if it is difficult and may hurt or be next to impossible, it surely is correct. Remember, the road is narrow and difficult and only a few will find it. When you fully understand the aforementioned, I don’t think it will conflict with what you now believe. God bless you and your family. Looking forward to hearing from you when another extreme blog passage hits you where it hurts. By the way, if you haven’t already, scroll down to # 2: “Hard Edged Bible Verses.” If they doesn’t shake you, nothing will.