Some time back a member of one of my former congregations submitted a number of questions to me and asked that I respond. This person said that these are the kinds of questions that they are regularly asked about the Christian faith. My assumption is that all of us hear these kinds of questions from time to time, so I want to share both the questions and my brief answers with you. The answers are not entirely complete because the issues that were raised are complicated and require a certain amount of background in Biblical/Christian concepts that not everyone has. Let’s just say that it’s a start.
Question 3. Religion is just a guilt trip, and I don’t want to feel guilty. Life is too hard a struggle as it is to be feeling that way all the time. I am not perfect like Christians are supposed to be…like they make you feel they are, and are better than me.
The irony here is that Christianity is about freedom from guilt. Jesus came to lift this burden from our lives but I understand why people come to the conclusion that it is about guilt and I have two reasons for saying that.
First, Jesus came with a message of new life but he also affirmed some expectations about how we should live our lives. The most general of these expectations is that we should love our God with everything we have and then love our “neighbors” (the people around us) to the same degree. We are called to live out these two general principles in hundreds of specific ways.
Living up to Jesus’ standard isn’t easy (even with his help) but there are many people who claim to be followers of Jesus who aren’t even trying that hard. So, when you are aware of Jesus’ expectations and you intentionally ignore them you shouldn’t be surprised if you feel a bit of guilt. The more you are reminded of your failure the more guilt you will feel.
Christianity doesn’t hand out guilt; it just reminds people of the guilt that they already carry. Freedom from guilt comes when we are willing to trust in Jesus and allow Him to show us how to live. That means we have to be willing to admit and confess our sin, repent (turn away from) our sin and let Jesus be in charge of our lives. You can’t be a follower of Jesus without being willing to follow. But, for those who are willing to surrender their lives, Jesus offers forgiveness, freedom from guilt, peace in our hearts and strength for our journey.
In a related way, there are some who claim to be Christians who use their “faith” as a way of criticizing other peoples’ lives. I believe that most of them are acting superior in the hope that they will be superior. I’m afraid they’ve missed the point.
The second reason people might feel like the faith is all about guilt is that religious leaders (priests, pastors and even Sunday school teachers) have recognized that guilt can be a powerful manipulative tool if you are trying to get people to “tow the line.”
I personally don’t believe you can guilt people into heaven (or for that matter scare people into heaven either) and so I think using guilt in that way is counter productive.
Sincere Christians should be the first to admit that they are not perfect (never have been and never will be) and understand that we are all “sinners saved by grace” (the free gift of God).
