Christian Philosophy Lite: True freedom comes from above
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By Raymond Smith
Someone has said that man was born free, but everywhere man is in chains.
From time immemorial, men have been enslaved or have had only limited freedom. While a few countries down through the ages have given their subjects relative freedom, many times class differences kept a large number of citizens in poverty. Today, largely because of the efforts of many religious founding fathers, America sets the standard for freedom throughout the world. Many early settlers came here to obtain religious freedom - freedom to worship as they pleased; freedom from persecution and even imprisonment. Horace Greeley said, "It is impossible to enslave, mentally or socially, a Bible reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom."
In repressive societies all over the world, Christians find their religious expression limited. Yet in their minds they are free, remembering the words: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Madame Guyon wrote from the Bastille: "My cage confines me round; abroad I cannot fly; but though my wing is closely bound, my heart's at liberty; my prison walls cannot control The flight, the freedom of the soul." The greatest Bible study one can do is to strive to understand Jesus' mind-set. We are under the new covenant and we are to have the mind of Christ.
Let's look at some of the freedoms proclaimed by Christ: He pronounced freedom from the yoke of custom, ritualism and legalism. The Jewish leaders of the day had placed excessive burdens on the people by interpreting the law so strictly that that religion had become difficult and constraining. In place of enslavement, the Christian finds new rewarding relationships with people, a concern for the less fortunate and a love of beauty, truth and the finer things of life.
As Christians, our minds are free from guilt and fear. While we remain sinners, Jesus has covered our sins with His blood. This does not give us a license to sin because the true Christian wishes to please his heavenly Father and will strive to live a sanctified life. Death has no dread for the Christian. I have talked with many elderly Christians who are perfectly at ease with the idea of their passing.
There is freedom from destructive personal habits. Alcoholics Anonymous has for years delivered many from the curse of alcohol, by stressing a "power from above." From that success story came many other AA organizations like Overeaters Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous, just to name a few.
Freedom implies and even demands responsibility. While the atheist's mantra is, "Do as thou wilt," the Christian is expected to abide by God's law and our nation's law. Frederick Schiller said that freedom does not mean that everyone can do as he likes, but that he can become what he should.
Eternal vigilance is the price of earthly freedom, but Christ's freedom gives us an everlasting peace. We don't have to fight for it - just accept it.
Raymond F. Smith is a deacon at Fellowship Bible Church in Victoria and president of Strong Families of Victoria.
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Rollinstone, you say dogma, I say reality, in the end it'll all shake out...
May 9, 2011 at 12:50 p.m.BorgLord, it sounds like you're preaching.....dogma I might add.
May 9, 2011 at 12:09 p.m.Kyle, I can't definitely speak for Mr Smith's view of an atheist, but for most born agains, "the atheist"--note the objectification--is the ultimate boogie man. He believes in nothing supernatural so he is more resistant than others to infection with the evangelical god virus, because he has no active god virus infection to piggy back off of. Those who already believe in superstitions are easier to turn to your superstition than one who has seen the light of reality. Also because he rejects the idea of any god, he must be the most evil and depraved of all humans because he is so far from god that he's not even getting any overflow influence from some permutation of god.
May 9, 2011 at 11:53 a.m.Jared, its only a dogma if I try to force or coerce you to believe under some penalty for failure to do so. Christian dogma threatens you with hell if you refuse to believe it and in some venues both past and present, actual force is deployed against if you refuse to believe it. You can believe or not believe in gods as far as I'm concerned. I am certain gods do not exist. I would like for everyone to see this light of reality. But I'm not going to force anyone to accept my perception of reality.
May 9, 2011 at 11:46 a.m.BorgLord, is this "I know there is/are NO god(s)" not a dogma?
dogma: "An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dogma
I don't know if science (empirical) is supposed to answer the question on the existence of God. To me, that is like wanting to find out if something tastes good by pressing it to my forehead instead of taking a bite. I typically use different tools to measure different things.
May 9, 2011 at 10:39 a.m.There are two kinds of atheists: formal and informal. The informal atheist may never elucidate a statement of disbelief in a god, but they live as though gods do not exist--you can call them practical atheists. Formal atheists make one of two affirmations: 1) I don't believe in god(s); 2) or I know there is/are NO god(s). The latter is a hard Atheist. I fall into the later category. I know based on the best empirical data available to me that there are no gods. Religion--and belief in gods--are at best an evolutionary adaptation that has gone awry; at worst it is a delusion that permits the worst of human nature to run amok and say, "That god told me so."
May 9, 2011 at 9:52 a.m.Ah, Mr Smith edges ever closer to the true identity of his column. All he need do now is get rid of the "Philosophy" in the title and change it to "Dogma" and the truth will be fully revealed!
May 8, 2011 at 8:37 a.m.I be willing to bet that there are of quite a few God-fearing Christians out there. And Christians never fill guilty? Huh. I guess those confession booths don't have anything to do with feeling guilty about something.
May 7, 2011 at 9 a.m.I thought "Do as thou wilt" was the mantra of Satanism? Then again Deacon Smith likely believes atheists are Satans minions!
May 7, 2011 at 8:21 a.m.One thing about atheism - the atheist will never murder in the name of the Lord....
May 7, 2011 at 8:14 a.m."The atheist's mantra is, "Do as thou wilt".
Atheists don't have a mantra or a shared moral system. Atheism merely means a lack of belief in gods. You must ask yourself why the highest crime rates are in those states with the highest religiosity and why atheists are heavily under-represented in the prison system.
May 7, 2011 at 7:12 a.m.