Monday 18 June 2007

A Blog On Purpose

I was reading Ben's blog quite recently and had a question/thought that was stirred by reading it. I had had the feeling that I should post a comment but didn't find it overly relevant to the rest of the discussion. Also I needed a new post.

I have many problems with the fundamental structure of the christian faith/church/beliefs. This doesn't stop me from calling myself and believing strongly in the fact that I am a Christian, because I do believe in much of the same things, it just means that it can get frustrating, confronting or confusing at times.

It was not only Ben's post but also something that was said during the church service on Sunday by a member of the Church that struck a chord in me and does every time I hear it. It generally goes something like,
"The sole purpose of the church is/should be to convert/save all people." Implying that all that we do as a group of people is done so that we can reach the ultimate goal of converting everybody to Christianity.

I guess, to me there is a greater goal or meaning to what we are doing and that is something along the lines of simple human decency. The above idea has never ever sat well with me. I'm not entirely sure why. I think it has something to do with the fact that I associate the statement more prevalently with words like heaven hoarder, arrogance, shallow, selfish, glory seeking, than words like self sacrificial, helpful, saving, grace, love or caring. It just doesn't feel right to me.

I didn't expect my blog to turn into some sort of religious discussion board but with who I am I should of really seen it coming. It's an idea that has been bothering me and I have been a honest as possible so I hope I don't deeply offend anyone. I would greatly appreciate honest response to the thought.