genuine question from atheist - view on Christanity and personal responsibility

[kentishgirl]

Hi - promise this isn't just Christian-baiting.

I've come to the conclusion that Christianity is a substitute for having a personal conscience or taking personal responsibility. Being a Christian is like having a 'get out of jail free card' in that you are taught God will forgive you anything. So you can do anything, as bad as you like, go and pray for forgiveness and move on, slate wiped clean, feeling great about yourself. So it doesn't matter if you do wrong. As an atheist, if I do something wrong, it's always with me, it's always on my conscience, so that makes me always try to do the right thing.
I didn't always think this way. It's the only way I can make any sense of something that happened to me at the hands of a couple of serious, committed Christians. One of them even works full time for a church. They did something terrible to me but have shown no remorse, no guilt, and made no attempt to make things right with me. I'm positive they prayed for guidance at the time and then forgiveness afterwards, and now all's good in their world, while I'm still dealing with the fall-out.
Am I really wrong in interpreting Christianity in this way? Isn't it true that it enables horrible behaviour by teaching you that if you do wrong, all you've got to do is pray for forgiveness afterwards, and you are ok, never mind the effect of what you did? Basically if God is your only judge, and forgiveness is guaranteed, it gives you permission to act like a right bastard as long as you say sorry to God afterwards? there's no personal responsibility for what you have done.

and I was aghast that you think ignorance is a desirable state.................

I don't think ignorance is a desirable state. Just that knowledge and intelligence is not all that is important.

I'm not sure you'd want to be aghast so easily.

www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=aghast&searchmode=none

BigDorrit I expect God to make it OK now, through Faith. We are more than overcomers in Christ.

BigDorrit You misread me. I am saying knowledge and intelligence is not all. Without insight, intelligence and knowledge can do more harm than good. You need both together.

I am suggesting BigDorrit that is where I receive my insight from.

Churches in collusion with despots sounds like corruption to me.

Insight is separate to knowledge though:

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insight

According to my Christian belief, God, in Christ, influences those who will receive Him, believe on Christ.

If those 'churches' are not receiving Christ, there will be corruption.

BigDorrit Whilst you have lesser knowledge how do you utilize greater knowledge, or discern it in another person is telling you, reliably? I would say insight...

I only worship one God, through Christ. I do not attempt to judge others, from my own human perspective. God knows the sort of relationship other churches have with Him.

discern it from what^ another person is telling you....Typo.

BigDorrit Some people may indeed be better staying ignorant, if they only use their knowledge to inflict harm on others. However I cannot personally judge, from my own human perspective, who these people may be. You would have to be able to tell their future, to see their potential.

Are you saying that people who are less intelligent or with less knowledge are inferior to people who have more intelligence or knowledge? So much for protecting the innocent....

Particularly as they gain more knowledge of who to trust and who not to trust.

So how do you do this BigDorrit?

BigDorrit So you attribute your insight to experience.

Does this include other people's experiences? Since I assume you have not experienced everything in life...

Bible accounts give a kind of added 'experiential' knowledge too, in a way. As the Game of Thrones reference goes, you can live a thousand lives through reading about books.... In this way looking to Christ, gives a kind of experiential knowledge, as you take meaning from His life, death and Resurrection, as told in the Bible.

So whose experiences do you take as valid? You are discounting the experiences people had of Christ, I take it...

Of course I protect the innocent. This is a Christlike thing to do as well, Christ can work through me. No leaving it to deity..Christians are expected to let Christ work through them and in them.

^ 'reading books' not 'about books'. Typo.

caps do you discount the eye witness accounts of Muhammad's miracles? Or the people who have seen the Mothman who reportedly inhabits a wood in America somewhere? Huge claims need huge evidence surely.

head I have not any knowledge of Muhammad's miracles or people's visions of Mothman. However I do not discount them. If I had knowledge of them, though, I cannot say they would lead me to believe the same things other people believe. I believe in Christ, so discern Truth according to my belief in Him.

As I have explained before, except for my belief in Christ, I would be pretty Post Modern and Relativist in my thinking. The interrelation between belief, perceptions, physiology and gene expression is pertinent. All sorts of experiences can be absolutely real to the people(s) who experience them.

Who is to say, on a human level, which people(s) have the correct perception?

The article cresecentmoon linked to, I found very interesting.

www.psmag.com/magazines/magazine-feature-story-magazines/joe-henrich-weird-ultimatum-game-shaking-up-psychology-economics-53135/