A Self-Created Problem

Last updated on: August 7, 2012 at 9:14 pm by Libby Anne

A Self-Created Problem 2012-08-07T21:14:03-04:00 Libby Anne

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For a long time, I couldn’t understand how anyone would turn down God’s gift of salvation. Who wouldn’t want to be saved? But really, the answer to that question was right in front of me, and I should have seen it. I was taught that the first step of evangelism involves convincing a person that he or she is a sinner. Once you’ve convinced them that they’re sinners, then you tell them, using the Bible, that the punishment for sin is eternal torture in hell after they die. Once you’ve got them convinced that they deserve eternal damnation, then you share the gift of salvation. In other words, Christianity solves a problem that it itself creates.

I’m reminded of the following excerpt from an atheist website:

Imagine you are strolling down the sidewalk and a man excitedly calls you over to his front porch to share some “great news,” Protestant minister-turned atheist author Dan Barker asked his audience on Wednesday.

The man’s got a gruesome torture chamber in his basement, Barker said, but you don’t have to go down there. Instead, you can come over, hug the man’s son, say you love him and you can all move in together in the attic and tell them how great they are forever.

“Isn’t that great news?” a sarcastic Barker asked the crowd…

The gospel message is only actually “good news” to those who have been convinced that eternal damnation awaits them and that they deserve it because they’re sinners. The thing is, even the idea of “sin” is an invention.

The Romans had no concept of sin, for example. The Romans believed that Gods were capricious things who only cared that you properly honored them (with sacrifices, for instance), but didn’t actually care how you lived your life or what you did. The concept of sin did not exist. Christianity creates that concept. (This is not to say that Christianity is the only religion to have such a concept, but rather simply that the concept itself is invented rather than universal.)

Christianity solves a problem it itself creates, and the gospel message is only good news if someone has been convinced that he or she is a sinner and doomed to hell. Personally, I don’t think there is any such thing as sin – I think people are just people, not perfect but not evil either – so trying to tell me that I am a sinner would make no sense. Similarly, I don’t believe there is a God, so trying to convince me that some doom awaits me after death wouldn’t do any good either. And finally, I don’t see the Bible as in any sense authoritative, so quoting from it wouldn’t make any difference.

I wonder sometimes if the reason that this line of evangelizing can bear fruit is because so many Americans, whether they attend church or not, have a sort of Christian background and way of viewing the world. Ideas like sin and judgement make sense to them, and they see the Bible as somehow vaguely authoritative. With this background, the one two three evangelism style (you’re a sinner, you’re going to hell, but Jesus can save you) can be very effective.

It would be easy to analogize this self created problem to parenting as well. I could tell Sally the following, for instance:

Sally, you are a selfish rotten little girl. You are always asking for things you want and getting in the way when I’m trying to work. Because you’re such a naughty, despicable girl, starting tomorrow I’m going to have to punish you by taking away all of your toys, only feeding you bread and water, and having you sit in the timeout chair every minute you’re awake. But even though this is the punishment you deserve, Sally, I love you and I’ve found a way to forgive you of your naughtiness by hurting myself*. Now, if you tell me you love me, I won’t have to punish you at all. Isn’t that loving of me?*

Actually, that’s not loving, that’s really bad parenting. I was taught growing up that God is our father, but it seems to me that a good father would try to earn his children’s love rather than threatening his children with horrible punishments if they won’t love him.

Weirdly, I was also told that God is loving, and I was taught to have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus, and to make him my best friend. I think sometimes that when you’ve been raised within a belief system you cannot truly see its oddities or problems without first stepping outside of it. Now, looking back, I can see that Christianity of my youth merely solves a problem it itself creates. At the time, though, I couldn’t see that.

Note: Fundamentalists and Evangelicals do all sorts of mental gymnastics trying to make this self-created problem make sense. They set up God’s nature in such a way that he couldn’t help but send people to hell for disobeying him, for example. Then, when God finds a way to forgive humankind without sacrificing his holiness by having his son serve as a human sacrifice, he is to be praised. The problem with this, though, is that it means God cannot be all powerful. After all, if God IS all powerful, he creates the rules and sets up the systems. There are lots more rationalization attempts, but they only prove that if someone REALLY wants to believe something, they’ll find a way to do so.

Note 2: I am aware that many liberal Christians no longer believe in sin or damnation. The fact remains that the vast, vast majority of Christians today do, as have the vast, vast majority of Christians across the two thousand years of Christian history.

Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism

Previous Post

October 15, 2011

Vision Forum and Titanic Worship

Next Post

October 17, 2011 Why I Am Not a Libertarian

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atheism Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism Family Feminism Homeschool Meta Parenting Patriarchy Politics Purity Quiverfull Social Justice Uncategorized Worthwhile reads

Select a Month February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Jesus do for His disciples at the Last Supper?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Washed their feet Gave them money Fed them fish Sent them away