ARE YOU INTO SEX, DRUGS, & ROCK-N-ROLL?

There is a perception out there that Religion wants to limit people.  That is Religion puts people into a box, takes away their freedoms, and keeps them from having fun.  In plain terms, Religion is anti sex, anti drugs, and anti rock-n-roll.  Which leads me to todays preponderance of the evidence.  Because I personally believe that nothing could be further from the truth.

So much of Religion is perceived as wanting to take all your fun away.  However these perceptions come from either incorrectly conceived notions of what Religions actually teach, or from the correctly conceived notions that there are people all over the world that want to control your life.  We have been historically led to believe that Religion was a creation of humankind  (partially true) in order to control the behavior of society (perhaps true). However the historians that have recorded this history have recorded it from a human perspective, that is without a theological basis.  It is certainly true that some religions want to control the behavior of societies.  But if you consider the basis of religion, your world view becomes a personal thing, not something that can be, or should be, used to control other people’s behavior.  My world view certainly governs my behavior in life.  That is my religion influences my thoughts and my actions, and my interactions with others. But I shouldn’t be using it to try to control those around me.

Consider the fact that Governments try to control (limit) people all the time.  But Governments should be totally divorced from religions.  That is Governments should not try to tell me what my world view is.  Governments do enact laws that attempt to influence and control my behavior however.  Some of those laws fall within my world view, and some do not.  In the cases where they do, one cannot rightfully claim that it is religion that is limiting people, but rather it is Government that is controlling society.  In these circumstances I may be compelled to accept a certain reality in society, but I am not forced to alter my world view (my religion) because of it.

Such a case occurred in Scripture.  The tale is recounted in Daniel Chapter 3 and involved three men we know as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The story recounts that the King (the Government of the land) made a degree that all in the land should bow down to a golden idol created by the Government.  These three men would not bow down.  Because their world view, their religion, held (and still holds today) that they should not worship idols made by man but should rather worship the one true God and him alone.  As a result of their refusal to obey the Government of the land, they were sentenced to death by being thrown into a fiery furnace.  In the case of these three men, God chose to protect them and did not allow them to die.  But I love their response found in Daniel Chapter 3:16-18.  They told the king that even if God were to choose not to protect them, they still would not violate their world view (their religion) and bow down to the golden idol.

There have been other instances in history where people have refused to follow the edicts of Governments of the land.  Such a case in United States history resulted in the American Civil War.  Because certain people of the day held within their world view that all people were created equal and deserved to be treated as equals.  In this case the actions of Government aligned with my religion (my world view).

There are many actions of Governments today that do not align with my world view.  Abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and even slavery and oppression in some countries.  All do not align with my world view.  However my world is not the limiting factor.  Obviously it is not as is evident by the laws of the land.  In the same way those that claim my religion limits them, I may claim that their world view (their religion) limits myself (and others).  But if we continue to have a battle over who’s world view is going to win, then the more dominant world view will win.  And that neither serves me well, nor the rest of the world well.

It is much more effective to have the argument (in the words of Rush Limbaugh) “in the arena of ideas”.  If my goal is to persuade you in the consideration of your world view, then hopefully, over time, the actions of people around me will align with my world view.  This, of course, gives no guarantee on the actions of Governments.  There will always be those that wish to impress their control on others and establish their kingdoms here on earth.  But that is regardless of what religions may or may not teach.  This might seem like a trivial distinction to you. But I assure you, in my mind it is not.  The difference is in those that try to enact laws in order to force others to comply with a certain behavior versus those that try to teach truth in order that people may be free.

There are those that believe I just want to scare people with the threat of Hell.  And that simply is not the case.  I hope you take Hell seriously, because it is real.  Is Hell eternal?  Of course it is.  An eternal captivity balances an eternal freedom.  But I do not desire to threaten you with it.  Rather I hope you will come to understand the danger of it.  Just like with drugs.  Few of us would dismiss the danger of uncontrolled drug use.  We see evidence of it all the time.  But I don’t want to threaten you with it, I want you to understand the impacts of it and to make wise choices in your life.

So are you into Sex, Drugs, and Rock-N-Roll?  Fine by me.  I’m not here to take your fun away.  Truth be known, I think The Beatles are the greatest band of all time.  But they don’t govern my world view and just because I enjoy their music doesn’t mean I expect you too.  Christianity doesn’t want to govern your life, Christianity wants to grant you life.  Once you’ve obtained that Life (eternal life), you will want Jesus Christ to govern your life.  And in the end, that is up to each and every one of us individually.