RE: Christianity with no afterlife
February 25, 2015 at 12:33 pm
(This post was last modified: February 25, 2015 at 12:37 pm by Nope.)
(February 25, 2015 at 11:55 am)Crossless1 Wrote:(February 25, 2015 at 11:45 am)Nope Wrote: I think that a large portion of
Christians follow their religion for the final payoff. For all their talk about loving god, they wouldn't be a part of a religion that doesn't eventually reward them.
Yes, the payoff is the thing. For me, the proof is their eager embrace of Paul's teachings, which demand little more than belief in a set of propositions. I doubt Christianity would have nearly the appeal it has if believers were held to a standard of piety and practice such as was generally attributed to James during the first century.
Jesus actually said that anyone who didn't feed and clothe the poor would not get to heaven. He also said, if you have two cloaks, give one to the poor. If I believed that an all powerful being who could send me to a place of eternal torture wanted me to share my excess with others, damn right I would be giving things away. I would only own what I needed to survive because that is what Jesus taught. It isn't that there aren't Christians who help the poor but very few give up as many material goods as Jesus required.
Paul's teachings provide Christians a way out from a more strict lifestyle. They can look down on the poor because Paul said that the poor should work or not expect a handout.
