A distorted view of Christianity, Region and the World

Yesterday a Born Again church delivered a small calendar to all the units in my complex. At first I thought this is really nice. Each month had nice pictures of nature along with a Bible verse. 

 

Then I read through each month and found a common theme. They all basically said believe in Jesus and you're saved. It was a very specific and in my opinion distorted view of Christianity.

 

Yes there are many scriptures that say that. James clarified that faith without works is dead. Paul said although I speak with the tongues of men and angels, if I have not love, I am nothing. 

John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus, repeatedly said repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus said the same thing. Jesus taught us to do good and be good. 

He said as ye sow so shall ye reap. He spelled it out and said do unto others are ye would have done unto you for this is the law and the prophets. That is the golden rule that binds all religions together. However, in life it's pretty easy to get a distorted view of Christianity and of any religion.

Christ chased the money changers out of the Temple. Twice. He called the religious leaders of the time liars, hypocrites, extortionists and children of the Devil. That's because they all taught a distorted view of religion. 

The purpose of the church is to give us opportunities to serve. Yet we don't need a church to serve in our community. Christ's parable of the sheep and goats emphasized how important service is. What we say isn't as important as what we do.

Martin Luther King said "anyone can be great because anybody can serve. Life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?" Yet in our economy most of us are just struggling to make ends meet.

This is where Buddhism comes in. "If you can, help others. If you can't help them, do no harm to them." There is a whole lot of harm and exploitation done in the drug world. If you can't help them, do no harm to them. Promoting addiction is doing harm.

Someone recently sent me a video of a Buddhist monastery in the mountains of Vietnam. I looked at the statue and said wait a minute. Who is that? It looks like Buddha but he's fit. 

They said yeah, in India and Vietnam they made Buddha fit. In China they make him fat. I did not know that. 

I like Buddhism because it ties in with Zen and brings me back to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Buddha was a rich kid who left his ivory tower to see suffering in the world. Thus the term the compassion of Buddha. Compassion is the soul of society. Without it we are heartless and soulless. 

That brings us to a distorted view of the world. Martin Luther King said I've seen too much hate to want to hate and every time I see it I say to myself hate is too great a burgeon to bear. Indeed it is. Hate is toxic and unhealthy. The world is full of good and evil. What will we dwell on? The good or the evil?

Lao Tzu said it is better to light one candle than curse all the darkness. This is true. Take it from a guy who has cursed a lot of darkness. This life is a test. We will be judged on what we do in life. I've heard it said that men are that they might have joy. Meaning the purpose of life is to find happiness and peace of mind. The problem is, wickedness never was happiness. 

There is no joy in evil. Alan Watts said the literal translation of the Greek word sin means to miss the mark like an archer misses his target. If our purpose in life is to find happiness, to sin would be to miss that mark. Yet there's more to it than that.

The soldiers who suffered great hardships in the trenches weren't happy. They weren't having fun. Yet the character they developed is something they take with them after the grave. Sacrifice is an important principle in life. 

Christ said blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God. Life does not end at death. Justice will not sleep forever. It's our duty to do what we can because that is what we will be judged on. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. 

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. Whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world." You just have to turn off the noise to see it.