Religion, or more specifically, the religious doctrine of salvation, is, in its simplest form, a contract. A contract is simply an agreement between two parties. In the Christian doctrine of salvation, the two parties to the agreement are: the Christian God, the “savior”, and a person, the “saved”. The basic premise of any contract is that one party will agree to perform some service or benefit if certain conditions are met by the other party. For example, a homeowner hires a company to install new kitchen cabinets in her house. In exchange for the company supplying and installing cabinets, the homeowner will pay an agreed sum of money. In the Christian savior/saved contract, one party, the person who wishes to be saved, i.e. enter heaven, must agree to believe in the Christian God, and more specifically, must accept Jesus Christ as their “personal lord and savior”. The other party, God, agrees to perform the service of salvation, upon the death of the person in question, assuming said person had met the conditions spelled out (belief and acceptance).
Typically, the parties who enter into a contract know at least a little something about each other. Going back to the kitchen cabinet example, the homeowner probably did a little research, and chose a reputable company to do the work. The company also did a little research on the homeowner, qualifying her ability to come up with the money (and most likely required the homeowner to put up a significant deposit before even beginning any work).
The problem with the Christian savior/saved contract is that one party, the person who wishes to be saved, knows absolutely nothing about the other party, the Christian God. In fact, they don’t even know if the God exists. At the very best, they have some faith that the Christian God exists, but only because other people (who have no such knowledge themselves) have told them that God exists, and that He is willing to offer these contracts. This means that a person (“Christian”) is entering into a contract, and living their life attempting to fulfill their contractual obligations, based purely upon hearsay.
Typically, the parties who enter into a contract know at least a little something about each other. Going back to the kitchen cabinet example, the homeowner probably did a little research, and chose a reputable company to do the work. The company also did a little research on the homeowner, qualifying her ability to come up with the money (and most likely required the homeowner to put up a significant deposit before even beginning any work).
The problem with the Christian savior/saved contract is that one party, the person who wishes to be saved, knows absolutely nothing about the other party, the Christian God. In fact, they don’t even know if the God exists. At the very best, they have some faith that the Christian God exists, but only because other people (who have no such knowledge themselves) have told them that God exists, and that He is willing to offer these contracts. This means that a person (“Christian”) is entering into a contract, and living their life attempting to fulfill their contractual obligations, based purely upon hearsay.
"If there are gaps they are in our knowledge, not in things themselves." Chapman Cohen
"Shit-apples don't fall far from the shit-tree, Randy." Mr. Lahey
"Shit-apples don't fall far from the shit-tree, Randy." Mr. Lahey
