Christian identity theft & the conformity prison
No,
no, my intentio
Charles
Sheldon wrote a book that went on to be a classic in the
Christian world entitled “In His Steps: What Would Jesus
Do?” Having read that book early on in my past Christian life,
I look back and think of its message. The gist of the book is
that you (as a Christian) look upon everything that you are
thinking or about to do, and ask the question of the book’s
title. What would Jesus do if he were currently in your
situation? If one is sincere in their faith and proceeds to live
by this mantra, this would confirm that ones own individual
identity has already been surrendered to Jesus. The transaction
was so smooth that hardly anyone noticed the heist! The
acceptance of Christianity would be an ethical, legitimate free
will choice if only it were entered into with full factual
disclosure and without the employment of extortion.
This ex-minister contends that Christian folks have been sold a
“bill of goods” and issues a caveat emptor for those
considering the faith!
When
a man accepts Christianity, although he keeps his name, he
begins to be identified as a Christian. At church, John Smith,
begins to be referred to as “brother John” by people who
have no common blood relationship. The power of this identity
transaction is evident when a man can leave a federal
penitentiary with real steel bars into another prison without
any (church) and within a relative short period of time be given
a position of trust.
Everyone
is unique from the moment of birth onward. Usually, one is given
a name and identification numbers and the child’s personality
and development are “off and running” in no time it seems.
That same John Smith from birth will chart his own course in
life once he is given reigns (departure from the “parental
nest”). But one should be careful not to so easily squander
their freedom to pirates waiting in the wings.
When
one accepts Christianity, they are not fully living their life
anymore. They accept Christ as their Master and per their
original agreement with Christ they conform to his will! Take my
life for example; growing up I wanted to become an architect. To
make a long story short, my architectural plans were uprooted
once I felt God wanted me to be a minister. Yet, this whole time
I was in full control of my choices and had the right of
self-determination for my career destination. At the time, I was
a willingly complicit slave to this, but only because I
thought Christianity was true!
Acting school, imitating another (Christ) is what your script reads
One
gets plugged into an acting role when they accept Christianity.
Although you are still John Smith, you are John Smith with the
identity of being John Smith the Christian. Your life unfolds as
Christ wants it or you are embroiled in inner turmoil for
non-conformity to the mold of Christ. What a struggle this
becomes that eventually leads to guilt! The pressure is to act
like Christ wants you to act. Conformity leads to the peace that
Christians speak of, but what a price one pays for this peace!
People often trade freedom for peace, sound familiar? The result
is usually you get neither!
I
say one becomes an actor (imitating another) because they are
not playing out their natural roles in life, but a hybrid mix of
their own and Christ’s as a Christian. In Emily Bronte’s
“Wuthering Heights”, Laurence Olivier wasn’t Heathcliff,
be just played the fictional role of Heathcliff (he was an actor
portraying a role in a movie). Christian individuals do the same
with the fictional character of Christ, they are acting out
Christ’s life with varying measures of success. The difference
being that the professional actor’s role ends with the
completion of the movie, but the Christian’s role continues on
unabated for a lifetime! If John Smith abandons his
Christianity, he can return to the pursuit of his wishes for his
own life, minus the complexity of the burden of the Christian
acting role. Unless you have been there, this is an invigorating
experience that begs to be experienced!
Being
stuck in a role that you don’t want to play is dreadful. If
someone calls the Christian a hypocrite, chances are that the
Christian feels trapped in a role that they are not enjoying
playing. Meanwhile, folks around these uncomfortable Christians
have to deal with all the uncertainty and inconveniences of a
man that is unsure of who he really is. Is John Smith a
Christian, a pretender (hypocrite or a bad actor) or stuck in a
role that he cannot legitimately play?
Perhaps John would be much happier without the charade?
Are
you stuck in a role that you do not want to be playing? Do the
world a favor and those around you by simply dropping the role!
You can rightfully feel justified in so doing by ascertaining
the truths (as I have documented on this website) to be armed
with enough facts to have intellectual reason to abandon your
faith. The case against faith is based upon facts; it is not
based on feelings (which is the foundation of faith). All one
needs is to be willing to read and the ability to reason. If one
simply does these, you can get your life back! The intellectual
part is the easier aspect of the equation.
What
I found be the most difficult was the unfolding realization that
emotionally many Christian’s whom you thought cared for you
were simply acting as if they cared about you! The
reality is that it was you that stroked their Christian ego;
once you cease to do this they may decide that they do not need
you around any longer! If they are a quality person, they will
probably be hurt but will still care for you. If not, then you
know that it is time for you to just move on! What is the old
saying, “If you love something, set it free... If it comes
back, it’s yours, If it doesn’t, it never was yours…
It’s possible to have peace in prison if it weren’t
for the knowledge of the freedom outside of those bars.
Brian Worley Ex-Minister.org
April 4, 2009
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