Saturday 10 March 2001

Pic of the day: "Investor" is the name of the magazine. (Spot the irony.) Cover article: "What has happened to us since the fifties?"

A really big sin

I've touched on this subject before. I came to think of it again last night, when I was on an IRC channel with a very few online friends. One of them is gay, or so he claims. And as it was late and the talk turned to religion, there was a bit of grumbling about christianity and homosexuality. That's all very interesting, but I pointed out that current christianity has other problems that are more pressing. Most importantly, the collection of wealth, which christianity prohibits. Nobody seemed to believe me when I said that. Sadly, I was not able to back it up with quotes at the drop of a hat. But now I'll do.

It may not be obvious from my light-hearted writing, but I often am concerned about the salvation of my soul. As you may know, I am a christian of sorts. Salvation comes fairly easily to us: We regret our sinful life and believe in Christ, and all the bad stuff is buried and gone. But then comes the daily life.

Reading the New Testament has convinced me that christianity clashes very hard with being a big egotist. There is a lot about sharing with the poor and such ... in fact, it seems to be one of the most obvious effects of christian morality. It is certainly very different from what the casual observer of christianity would guess was its priority.

To summarize this for myself, and also for the information of anyone interested, I'll quote a few easy to understand statements from the New Testament, the holy book of christians.

***

First out is John the Baptist. While not an apostle, he was definitely one of the good guys and working on behalf of God. Here he is warning the people:
"The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." (Luke 3, 9-11). Scaringly concrete.

And then comes Jesus, the certified good guy, friend of sinners and son of God (spiritually that is, since God does not have carnal relations). If you think he lightens the load, listen to one of his stories:
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side." (Luke 16, 19-23). It gets only worse from there. There is no hint that the rich man ever did anything to hurt Lazarus; he just happened to have a good time.

And if we claim to love Jesus, here is his comment:
"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' (Matthew 25, 41-45).

No big surprise, the apostles continued in the same way. A bit less crass, perhaps, but here is James' respect for "faith":
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (James 2, 14-16). (This passage, I understand, caused Martin Luther to want James excluded from the Bible.)

And John, sometimes referred to as the apostle of love:
"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence" (1st John 3, 17-19).

***

There are more of these, but it should suffice to hammer something into place: Sharing is not optional. It is not a nice thing to do, if the New Testament is to be believed, it is a hallmark of christianity. To be rich while others are poor (especially those of the faith) is a major sin, and virtually the only one that is repeatedly mentioned together with hellfire. (Hypocricy is up there too, and I wonder if they may not be related.)

So why do the rich still have the front seats in the churches and grin as broadly as if they had stock options in Kingdom of God Inc? And what about the rest of us, who don't think of ourselves as rich but who ARE rich? After all, the vast majority (80%?) of the world lives in poverty; while I am much more likely to die from too much food rather than too little.

Yes, it worries me. It really bugs me. I feel that if I understand at all what I read, the only honest thing to do would be to choose: Either share with the poor until I myself am quite uncomfortable, or stop pretending to be a christian and join the opposition. The steady compromising gnaws on my soul. But of course I'm able to close the door on this most of the time, pretend it's not there, and be happy. Happy happy happy! Don't look now.

I've been rethinking my own priorites for quite a while now, as long time readers will know. But the measures so far have been rather feeble and have not really benefited the poor, except for a certain poor student perhaps. I lack the courage to act on my supposed belief; and above all, I lack the love. (If I loved the poor the way I love her, it would not be too hard to share.) But it is all worthless if I just do it to make distance between me and Hell. There's one final quote that is probably very important to all of this, but I'm not sure if anyone really understands it:
"If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1st Corintians 13, 3.) Now that would really be a pity.