The Issues of Morality

Over at The Thinking Christian blog, there is a discussion on issues of morality. As I read it and the multiple feeds concerning the blog, I was struck at the similarities between some of today's Christian leadership and those of the Pharisee and Sadducee leadership during Jesus Christ's time. History has demonstrated untold brutality from the "Church", from the Inquisitions, to the Northern Ireland war between Catholics and Protestants, etc. So much of the frustrations and disgust of the common man, then as today, has been on the hypocrisy of ideology of Christian leadership. The Christian Worldview is high on Ideology but seems to lack ideas. Jesus Christ attracted multitudes of people with His ideas and lightness of His yoke (ideology). The Pharisaical Leadership worshiped the Law instead of the Lawgiver. Maybe we can learn from their dysfunctional, non-leadership taskmaster-style and return to the message of hope, love, joy, caring, compassionate, humility and thankfulness of Jesus Christ's actions.

Maybe we need to learn from the Centurion in Luke where Jesus says:

"I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith."
(Luke 7:9)

So here we have a heathen, an idolater whom Jesus says has greater faith than anyone in the nation. Maybe we should listen to Jesus' words and recognize there are those who do not follow the Law, but the Lawgiver - they do not say "the Christian mantra" yet have more faith/morality than us or our so-called Christian Leaders. Maybe humility is more powerful than selling books that make the best-seller lists.

Maybe we should stop judging and present ideas of humility, compassion, mercy, hope and thankfulness. Maybe we need to use the current language of today to articulate the ideas to the common people instead of the ideology of condemning opposing worldviews. Last time I checked, the only condemnation Jesus had was for the Religious Elitism (the leadership of the Mega-Church so prevelant today or politicians) not for the common man. In fact the common man was drawn not repelled by Jesus Christ, and who was repelled?

There are religions of the world who justify their deadly violence because of their god. There are religions of the world who justify their ownership of government because of their god. There are those religions of the world who justify their physical abuse of women and children because of their god. What do we use our God to justify our ends?

Morality is to be demonstrated as an attractive idea that we enjoy as an action of our soul. It is not an oppressive ideology to be crammed down the peoples throat. Morality is good and not the sole property of a religion. Remember the Centurion, remember the Lawgiver not the Law? If we are practicing Christians then people should see us as a home rather than a house. Are people drawn to us because they want what we have in our hearts, our soul; or are they repulsed because they see our oppressive ideology of the Law?

Food for Thought, If you are Hungry

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