In many cultures and societies, as long as people do not break the law and follow social guidelines they are considered upstanding individuals. And following the precepts of each religion is also good enough to label one as righteous. At the same time, most people consider themselves to be inherently good, even if others might not be. And in reality, your typical person is not a hardened criminal. Some individuals have never even gotten a traffic ticket, or stolen a pencil! Their behavior is impeccable. But, …does God also measure us by such standard?
Among the religions, Biblical Christianity used to be the most outspoken when accusing human beings of being no good sinners deserving of hell. Although, today, many of today’s Christians believe that they have been saved and will no longer face the wrath of God, so they do not worry about eternal punishment. In many areas of the world, religion has lost its power and influence in our lives. Therefore, the idea of being accountable to God for behaving sinfully has been mostly relegated to the distant past. Even denying the existence of a god has become fashionable. In fact, today there are more atheists on this planet than there have ever been in history.
But atheism is just another belief system in line with every religion since it has never been able to confirm beyond a doubt that god does not exist. They simply believe there is no god. However, it is cavalier and arrogant to alienate a possible existing god by denying his existence. Atheists cannot be completely certain that in the next life, there will not be an angry god waiting for them. So, …probably not a smart move!
The adage “There are no atheists in the foxholes” is a scenario that I have experienced in my own life. In the past, more than once I was in perilous circumstances, where my sole and urgent recourse was to ask God for help. Against all odds, I came unscathed from my troubles every time. So it would be truly ungrateful of me to share the enlightened reasoning of the atheists. Therefore, in my forthcoming ideas, I will assume that the existence of God is quite possible and real; and not simply the belief of gullible, ignorant, or naive religious believers (which is most people) as atheists often would like us to believe.
But going back to our original issue, Christianity used to be the exclusive institution affirming that we are not as good as we might think we are. This religion almost alone strongly proclaimed the idea that God’s view of mankind was negative. But not anymore! Today, Christianity’s toothless version is that God is all love and forgiveness; a doormat god in essence! So, at this point, hardly anyone thinks of the possibility of facing an angry god and damnation in the afterlife. Thus, why is it important to determine if Christianity had it right originally? …Because the Bible maintains that with God’s negative perception of humanity comes eventual wrath and everlasting condemnation in the next life.
Wars, genocide, and corruption hint at our dark side. But most people are not murderers, thieves, or rapists. Many people can do wonderful things for others and generally maintain good behavior. So, what could our reprehensible sins be? The fact is, although we can be nice and good, we are essentially not that good!
Although we are already born with a moral core, by default, we are naturally selfish and uncaring. Infants do not care if they wake up their mother at night with their cries when they are hungry or feel uncomfortable. When toddlers see something they want, they immediately steal it from another toddler. The usual reaction from a toddler who has been robbed is to strike the thief who stole from them. Kids can be cruel and fully capable of bullying other kids to death, literally! As you will see, the root of the problem is our character and nature, more than specific sinful acts. The Catholic Church relates our imperfect inclinations with the idea of an“Original Sin”, we all share. So God’s negative view of such nature is reflected in the dreadful existence that he created for all of us; instead of having made us immortal, happy, and pain-free.
According to Christian doctrine, our sinful behavior will bring eventual death (see Romans 6:23). If this is true, then death is the punishment for our behavior. And as far as I know, everyone, including myself, is going to die. Therefore, the Christian God has been labeled as a vindictive, cruel, and unforgiving god. Some people even try to portray God as the actual problem (he, being the sadist). But in reality, we simply have a problem with perspective and truth. What is common has become normal, so we do not see the wrong in what is common anymore, even when it is really not that normal.
Today, many of Christianity’s original biblical truths have been replaced by false doctrines and beliefs taught by charismatic preachers, where we are not sinners anymore. We have been saved by a loving God, although we have not done anything deserving of that privilege. This is the moment when Christianity became just another religion; one that is in decline, I might say! Many “saved” Christians in the afterlife are going to face an angry god, regardless of their present beliefs to the contrary. Based on what I know about the Creator of the Universe, God will not have mercy on the teachers, pastors, or priests who might have so thoroughly misled and perverted this large group of idiots (their flocks).
Calling ourselves “good” and being nice allows us to sleep peacefully at night. But the truth is we are not that good. Nice and good is not the same. You can be nice, while you still are not good. The human suffering caused by other humans is greater than that caused by all illnesses, accidents, and environmental and natural disasters combined. We are nice and good until given permission not to be anymore with an excuse, justification, or pretext. Under the correct circumstances, the best of us will immediately change from good to shameless monsters. So God is more than vindicated when threatening mankind with afterlife punishment, as Christianity used to proclaim. Christianity had it right the first time!