If you ask ten people who don't go to church if they consider themselves
religious and/or believe in god, I'll bet most would say yes. But if that
is actually true, why are they so anti-religious in their daily
actions? I'm guessing most people either feel they MUST say they are
religious, or use religion as a salve to cover their own guilty consciences.
There's a lot of truth in what you say. There are many different degrees
of religious belief, and for some people it is only a thin veneer.
In the end, each one of us will have to stand in front of the Judgment
seat and our actual adherence to Jesus' teachings will be revealed.
Here's a quote from Jesus, talking about eternal life:
"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and
those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:14, RSV)
and elsewhere: "Unless you change and become like little children
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
I think what he is saying is that the way of salvation was
purposefully made difficult to accept, requiring child-like faith,
and a non-reliance upon acquired wealth, intellect, or degree
of scientific knowledge.
Gary VanderMolen
