Writeous Living http://writeousliving.posterous.com Most recent posts at Writeous Living posterous.com Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:50:17 -0800 9 Reasons Why I Used to Be a Christian http://writeousliving.posterous.com/9-reasons-why-i-used-to-be-a-christian http://writeousliving.posterous.com/9-reasons-why-i-used-to-be-a-christian  
Living in the United States allows us the freedom to choose a religion (at least by law). Although we are granted the freedom legally, there are many reasons why we choose (or choose not) to follow a religion. The following are reasons I have used to justify being a Christian.
 
  1. Escaping Hell. Anyone who knows anything about hell would understand why becoming a Christian would be an intelligent decision. Since John 3:16 says that all I had to do was “believe” in order to escape hell, I had decided that I believed.
  2. Lack of Responsibility. Hell was taken care of because I believed. If I sinned, I knew Jesus would forgive me. So, no matter what I did – I believed that I wasn’t going to hell.
  3. Expectation. Since I was raised by a family professing to be Christian, naturally – it made sense that I would also proclaim to be one. It was the religion I was most familiar with and I knew the traditions and practices of the faith. Besides, I was confirmed so I was obligated to be a Christian – right?
  4. Being a Good Person. Aside from my family expecting me to be a Christian, I wanted to be considered a good person. Most good people are “Christians” and so if I was a Christian – that automatically made me a good person. Jesus was a good person, so following Him means I had to be a good person too. While being a good person, I often looked at those who weren’t and pointed out how much better I was because I did what was good.
  5. Rewards. Good people are often rewarded. If I prayed and asked for something, God would give it to me – right? Why wouldn’t He? I’ve heard a million times, “ask and you shall receive.” Who doesn’t enjoy gifts? Bring them on!
  6. In-Crowd, Identity. Who doesn’t want to belong? Since the U.S. has a history of being a Christian nation – it has been safe to be a Christian and easy to find others that identify themselves in the same manner. To be a Christian has been to have a recognizable/familiar identity and to have a network of “brothers” tied together that were always “available” to help you.
  7. A Fix for Bad Times. Who really wants to keep walking through bad times? Let’s face it – realistically, we are a people who like to complain…especially if you live in the tundra like I do. So, if God is a healer or provider – I will go to Him in hard times and ask for help. When things are going well though, I didn’t need Him as much though.
  8. Singing and Dancing. I started dancing to country music (I didn’t have a choice in the matter) when I was just a young lass and I started singing in choir when I was in third grade. Music has always held a special place in my heart. Attending a church that allows you to sing and dance during worship was like hitting the jackpot. If that’s what being a Christian meant – I was hooked.
  9. Supernatural Works. Who wouldn’t want to make people come alive after they’ve already been pronounced dead? Who doesn’t want to be able to tell the future? I do! Who doesn’t want to be able to make an arm grow back? This stuff all sounds like magic. Magicians are typically credited as being amazing! I wanted this kind of attention.
Hell sounds crazy scary – naturally we would want to escape it. We want to meet the expectations of others and please our family/friends. Being considered a good person is important to us, but there are plenty of bad people who call themselves Christians – or…plenty of Christians who do bad things. No one wants their efforts to go unnoticed, we all like to be recognized. Everyone wants to be accepted instead of ostracized or alienated. Where do we turn when we experience pain if no one is around? I need someone to help me when times are hard – I need some comfort and relief. I want to jump around and sing at the top of my lungs sometimes – just because I can. And I want to do crazy things that people have never seen before. But we all want to do that stuff…we all want this. But for me, these reasons weren’t enough to keep me around very long. These things are what most people know about Christianity and they don’t stick around either. As a people, we want more – and if this is what it means to be a Christian, it's too cheap of a religion. Count me out, I don't want to be a Christian.

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