Sunday, 09 November 2008
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"Running from hell-Growing up in America’s most hated family"
A recent web surfing distraction has led me to an incredibly interesting article entitled "Running from Hell-Growing up in America’s most hated family" (followed by an interesting debate)
To briefly summarize this...
the writer describes his encounter with Nate Phelps and his personal account of his journey through religious "conditioning" which includes physical, mental, and emotional abuse conducted by his family, particularly his father--Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps."I know that very early on [my father] was under the influence of those drugs,' Nate said. Pastor Phelps was attending law school and would take amphetamines to stay awake and barbiturates to come down. 'It spiralled out of control [and he] was prone toward violence…."
"Conditioning" of his religious belief, as the writer describes it (whether one agrees is an orthodox approach or not), has eventually led Nate break free not only from his abuse, but from his belief as well.
“I do declare myself an atheist now,' affirmed Nate, 'although I’m willing to admit that there’s stuff in life that I’m not real clear on yet...I think the best way to answer that is what I said to my wife when we were fighting at the end...That I just want peace. I want to not wake up fearful every morning.”
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Questions:- Those of you who actually took the time to read the article, what are your thoughts?
- Even on Xanga alone, a number of us claim to be "Christians. With all due respect of whatever denomination you're in, whatever theological school you're coming from, where do you draw the line of loving and rebuking/acceptance and rejection? Are we rejecting the sins committed by sinners, or are we rejecting the sinners themselves as human beings?
- Is the "reward/punishment" or "action/consequence" system then, a crucial part of Christianity? If Christians are to be "warriors" in the biblical sense, should we inflict (physical, mental, emotional, etc. ) harm as punishment on those who are not the followers of God? In the end, is it even our task to punish/judge fellow sinners?
- Does "salvation" become something this fearful and threatening that peace is no longer associated with our faith.. and what we believe in, has stripped down to a mere "belief" and nothing more?
- Those of you who actually took the time to read the article, what are your thoughts?
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Comments (3)
Hello Thinker,
Thank you for your comments on my article. From my experiences, the vast majority of Christians believe that we all go to either Heaven or Hell when we die. My "inspiration" stems from Jehovah’s Witnesses’ belief that neither one of those two places are our destiny at all! The "Heaven or Hell" myth is just one of many that I tackle for the enlightenment of the Christendom masses. More important are the popular myths concerning the "Christian trinity god", the sacred cross, "Christian holidays" such as Christmas & Easter and many others. Jehovah’s Witnesses make this important information freely available to the public for an important purpose prophesied in the Bible long ago: 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) (NIV)
Regarding your current post, here is where the line should be drawn as far as loving and rebuking/acceptance and rejection goes: 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (Matthew 10:14-15) (NIV)
The "reward/punishment" or "action/consequence" system used to be a crucial part of Christianity - for the Catholics! The only reason they don't bring back the Crusades and Inquisitions is because we have guns and police now!
As for salvation, people are being judged on what they do, whether they know it or not. If people do not abide by God's requirements, they will be disposed of regardless of what they were taught or believe. "Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in." (Matthew 7:21) (CEV)
thanks for giving me those encouragements.
yes, i'm feeling better, not much, better at least slight after finding a place to rant out things which were kept unknown for years.
but still, i can't be truthful to anyone...
not my closest bestfriend nor my dearest kin...
i don't know what else to do, my pride and my ego have taken over me and it's too late for me to uncover lies that have accumulated over these years.
i...
thanks anyway... :)
Ironically, this is something I've been thinking about lately myself.
I was at a bible study that was a part of one of those fast growing city-network church things, and I noticed that everyone kept saying things like "I wanted them to believe in Jesus because I don't want them to go to hell" or "and I asked them, 'don't you want to go to heaven, not hell?'" and the famous" if you were to die tonight, do you know if you would be in heaven?".
I have grown up constantly exposed to/participating in all kinds of Christian jargon, yet I realized it has been at least a decade since I had been surrounded by this heaven vs. hell talk, and ....hmm.... it's been about a decade since I had a sensible (not perfect) understanding of the Gospel.
I hadn't even been trying to oppose or avoid the heaven/hell thing. I was just so preoccupied with Christ's grace, and His call to establish Himself through His Church, and my duty to obey Him because of Who He is, I never thought much about people going to heaven or hell.
Christ talks about heaven, and He even presents hell as a punishment, but I don't believe the purpose of Christ is to keep us from going to hell as much as it is to reconcile us to Himself.
I think it is flat out wrong to lure people into Christianity with the shiny promise of heaven as a reward. It is just as wrong to scare people into Christianity with the burning doom of hell as the alternative.
Our salvation isn't about afterlife. Its about the entirety of our lives. To suggest that life on earth is so great the only reason one would have to follow Christ is to avoid the horror of hell is to say that our current sinful state isn't serious. We need Christ because of our now. We need Christ need Christ because our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. We need Christ because nothing we have now compares to what we have when we have Christ. And yes, if we have Christ, we won't burn in hell eternally. But there is so much more to Christ's calling for us.
We are not saved so we can go to heaven, we are not saved to stay out of hell. we are saved so that we can be God's Children, representatives of Christ, speaking Christ's truth and furthering Christ's kingdom, both on this earth and in the eternal one. We are saved to build His Church. We are saved to preach the Good News of Christ, not merely a descriptive threat of hell.
I believe it is very possible to present an accurate Gospel message without scaring the crap out of children or adults. However, if we acknowledge the reality of sin, there is no getting around some sort of negativity. I think Nate's Father has literally perverted the truth of the Gospel, almost line by line, truth by truth.
I rarely mention hell in any of my "witnessing" attempts. Its not that I avoid it, It just never comes up. I believe we should come to Christ to be new creatures, so the old will pass away, here and now, not because it will get us out of that burning place, but because it is what God has created us for.
oh, and thanks for your comment.