Losing My Faith (I Am Ashamed)
Considering that the bible is full of stories about the frailty of man and his own judgement and understanding, I am amazed how bigotted modern Christians can be. Everyone knows the story about the seven blind men describing the elephant. Since Jesus never claimed to give us the complete revelation about God and His purposes, but what is needed to gain salvation and eternal life, why are so many Christians so sure that theirs is the only correct interpretation of the truth?
Considering the multitude of interpretations of the gospel message not long after Jesus' cruxifiction, the founding fathers of the church tried to stem heretical teaching in their eyes. However, many tenets of faith that we as Christians hold true, were actually formulated at the Council of Nicea, a few hundred years after the cruxifiction. Just how sure are we about the absolute fidelity of the message?
The Vatican recently issued a statement, claiming to be the only true Christian church. Then again, is not the original church from Jerusalem, whose modern day decendent should be the Eastern Orthodox church? Then there are the Protestants who claim to follow the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, and all of the commands of the Torah, and yet celebrate Sabbath on the wrong day! If we are supposed to follow the Law of Moses to the very word, then why do we think it is alright to wear a shirt which is a cotton-polyester blend? Or eat a steak in a cream-based sauce?
Ask any Christian in Singapore about when Christianity came to Asia, and they would most definitely answer you that Christianity came with the Europeans, when they colonized Asia. Yet, this has been clearly a way for the then-colonial-masters to subjugate the local population. For records have shown that Christianity did exist in parts of China and Central Asia long before, introduced through the Silk Road.
If the ultimate expression of faith depends on personal interpretation and understanding, why does everyone get so worked up about alternate points of view? Is it truly the idea of tainting the truth, or is it really about control and power over people?
Considering the multitude of interpretations of the gospel message not long after Jesus' cruxifiction, the founding fathers of the church tried to stem heretical teaching in their eyes. However, many tenets of faith that we as Christians hold true, were actually formulated at the Council of Nicea, a few hundred years after the cruxifiction. Just how sure are we about the absolute fidelity of the message?
The Vatican recently issued a statement, claiming to be the only true Christian church. Then again, is not the original church from Jerusalem, whose modern day decendent should be the Eastern Orthodox church? Then there are the Protestants who claim to follow the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, and all of the commands of the Torah, and yet celebrate Sabbath on the wrong day! If we are supposed to follow the Law of Moses to the very word, then why do we think it is alright to wear a shirt which is a cotton-polyester blend? Or eat a steak in a cream-based sauce?
Ask any Christian in Singapore about when Christianity came to Asia, and they would most definitely answer you that Christianity came with the Europeans, when they colonized Asia. Yet, this has been clearly a way for the then-colonial-masters to subjugate the local population. For records have shown that Christianity did exist in parts of China and Central Asia long before, introduced through the Silk Road.
If the ultimate expression of faith depends on personal interpretation and understanding, why does everyone get so worked up about alternate points of view? Is it truly the idea of tainting the truth, or is it really about control and power over people?