Fear the Crab

A friend recently confessed her worry that she will not see any of her family and friends in Heaven.  This concerned her to the point of tears, that her father, her sister, her daughter, or her best friends will never meet up with her in the afterlife.  The reason for this dire fear was that according to what she is being taught, the only way to get into Heaven is to accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.

So how does one respond?  It is a very delicate area to be mucking about.  How do you comfort a person so distraught, yet not compromise your own personal beliefs, much less avoid shattering hers?

It is hubris to think that I have all the answers.  I do not have the perfect solution to this dilemma, nor do I have the wisdom and authority to aver that what I think is the right thing.  I only have what is in my heart, based on my limited experience with human behavior and interpersonal relations.

I told her that out of everything I have read or been told about this Jesus chap and his father is that they are filled with boundless love.  Jesus cured the Canaanite woman’s daughter, even though there was a bit of a conflict between the teachings of God and the Canaanite religious practices.  Jesus cast out Legion from the suffering man, even though the farmer who tended the pigs undoubtedly lost his source of income and livelihood.

The writings of the Bible indicate that God’s love is not reserved solely for those who follow its teachings, that no one is so far from God as to be beyond God’s heart.  Therefore it seems reasonable to believe that God would accept any and all creatures among the faithful in Heaven, regardless of their race, political affiliation, or religious practices.  Granted, it seems horrifying to think that monsters who murder children or exploit the safety of others purely for their own personal enjoyment or benefit get the grace of God’s love… but perhaps that is reflective of just how powerful God is.

God is described as perfect, and I do not doubt that.  Yet his word is given to us through the hand of Man, and man is fallible.  Man is not perfect, and it’s pretty obvious that the different interpretations of God’s word has given rise to the many divisions of Christianity.

So for a person to tell another that they can’t get into Heaven because they do not accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior, to me is not representative of God’s love.  In fact it seems that it the opposite of love; I’d go so far as to claim it is a bit of hate.  It is a hate that places a burden on someone’s shoulders, someone who is already suffering under a heavy load.  How can God’s love create fear, anxiety, and overwhelming sadness?  How can one find comfort in a God that heaps pain instead of peace?

I find it hard to agree with anyone who attempts to hold themselves in a moral superiority.  Practicing an all-exclusive path of love is nothing more than a smug assertion that you’re not going to Hell.  Telling people that their loved ones aren’t going to be in Heaven is only proclaiming your own self-righteousness.

I am not a Christian.  However, I do feel there are a lot of nice things about Christianity.  I agree with the mantras of good behavior, how to treat others well, how to have compassion.  I think a great many people in many different religions and walks of life practice the same levels of decent human behavior with their fellows.  I think there are many different paths of good behavior that is reflective of God’s love, and I think God is probably rather receptive of that.

I know that for someone who is learning about Christianity, it is difficult to remove yourself from your pastor’s teachings.  It may take months or years, or even a significant life event, to gain the ability to step back and re-interpret God’s word as something different than what the church says.

Yet perhaps with the acknowledgment that there may be many paths towards the same goal, comfort can still be attained without the sacrifice of faith in God and in humanity.  Perhaps through the reading of the Bible, listening to sermons, and talking with her friends and family, my friend can find solace by forming her own personal belief of God’s word, even if it is different than what she is being taught.  Perhaps she will find a way of loving those around her irrespective of their religious leanings or behavior.

And to me, that kind of acceptance and love is far more closer to God than the tallest spire.