Yet another personal post

OK, so after admitting that I was an intensely private person, here's personal post #2. I usually consider my faith to be a private thing, too, and very rarely discuss it with people (I know, I know, you're supposed to share your faith joyfully, but--Private!). These thoughts have been rattling around my head for a while now, though, and since it's much easier for me to write about things than to outright say them, I figured I'd post them and let people think what they will.

So here goes: my belief system. I guess you could describe me as a liberal Christian. Lutheran to be exact (as if you haven't already figured that one out!). Yes, I know Lutherans are sometimes described as “Catholic-Lite”, but I’ve always appreciated the liberal ways most ELCA Lutherans look at things. I especially appreciate the focus we put on Grace, taken from two separate Bible verses: Habakkuk 2:4 (any good Lutheran should know this verse), and Romans 4:13 (basically the same verse, only in the New Testament). “The righteous shall live by his faith.” Really, how can you get much better than that? Anybody who sins - regardless of what the sin is - is saved by Grace through Christ.

Another concept I try to live by is “judge not lest ye be judged” (Luke 7:1), or as the story in John, Chapter 8 states: “let he who is free of sin cast the first stone.” I admit that I’m not always the greatest at following these concepts, but I try. There are also times where I may get a little too unduly prideful about my decision to live by these concepts, at which times I have to remind myself that by thinking I’m better than others because I don’t judge is, in fact, judging. It’s a continuous struggle, but I’d like to think that on most days I’m pretty good at following it without being too uppity about it.

And lastly is my most controversial belief: Christians are not the only people going to Heaven. *Gasp!* I know, listen to me! What in the world is going through my mind what I say that?! Simply put, this idea is my personal way of coming to grips that since Christians are a minority in the world, the majority of people in the world is not going to make it to Heaven. That just doesn’t work for my tiny little human brain. I cannot wrap my mind around the idea that God would be that judgmental and unforgiving. In my mind, that essentially means that, if I were “unlucky” enough to, say, be born into a family of devout Jews or Muslims instead of the devout Christian family I was born into, my eternal fate would essentially already be sealed. That stinks of predetermination to me. If I had had Jewish parents who set the same kind of example to me that my Christian parents did, would I ever consider that I was not a member of the “right” religion? I doubt it. Thus comes my idea that Christians are not the only ones who are “right”. I’d like to think that Grace once again comes into play, and as long as a person has a relationship with God, be He named God, Yahweh, Allah, or whatever, that is what is important (kudos to C.S. Lewis in The Last Battle, which is the last book in the Narnia series. He’s the one who helped me come to grips with this idea, whether or not he ever intended it). Christians are just lucky enough to have the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christianity, therefore, makes our lot in life a little easier, because we are lucky enough to know that our sins are already forgiven. That’s not to say we shouldn’t work at living good lives, however…

So there you have it, my theories on life. Hopefully I won’t get any hate mail, now. Remember to “judge not lest ye be judged!” Also remember: these are my own beliefs, and I in no way ever want to force you to come to the same conclusion, especially since I know most people would adamantly disagree with me and others would be quite disappointed in me. It would be nice, however, if maybe I made you think a little, which is really all I would ever ask.