October 13, 2013 6:59 AM

A reminder of the true purpose of religion

If God exists, I hope He has a good excuse.

  • Woody Allen

When my mind wanders onto this subject, I find myself thinking of an old Joan Osborne song, “What If God Was One Of Us?” It poses a pretty simple question: What if those we see as “less worthy,” or poor and downtrodden were actually God in human form? Would we regard people in those circumstances differently? Would we treat them better or more respectfully? It’s a valid question that goes right to the heart of the teachings of Jesus Christ (and of most faith traditions), which at their most basic are about things like love, charity, tolerance, and caring for those among us who find themselves in need.

What if God looked like this?:

Would you keep on walking? Would you ask him to leave your church? Would his mere presence leave you uncomfortable and possibly fearing for your safety? One pastor put this theory to the test, dressing as a street person and entering the church before the Sunday morning service. The results made it clear that, for many people in his congregation, the teachings of Jesus Christ are something acknowledged once a week for an hour or so. So it is with far too many who profess to revere the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I don’t mean to pick on Christians, because I suspect the same phenomenon could be found in any religion. In this country, though, where 80% self-identify as Christian, talking the talk is far more important the walking the walk. Call it hypocrisy, laziness, or whatever else might apply, butI have to think America would be a far better and more compassionate place if those 80% actually lived their beliefs.

God isn’t the problem; would that the same could be said about His fan club.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on October 13, 2013 6:59 AM.

Christianity: It's SO much easier when you only have to be holy once a week was the previous entry in this blog.

And this is why Jesus decided to stick to his day job is the next entry in this blog.

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