I used to get really hornery when people talked about religion in front of me.

I used to get even hornerier when people tried to convert me.

But I've kind of rethought things.

If I were a Christian, then I would believe in God. I would believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and that by accepting Him as my personal Lord and Savior, my soul would be washed clean, and I would float up to Heaven like a bubble in a 7Up bottle.

I would also believe that not to believe in Jesus Christ, to go against his teachings and deny the fact that He is our God and Savior, is a sin punishable by an eternity in Hell.

That is not to say I would be angry at nonbelievers. They're not hurting anybody but themselves.

But they're hurting themselves. And if I knew that the only way I could save them from an eternity of misery and suffering was to get them to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah, then, by God, I would do everything I could to convert them.

But only two or three times in my life has anyone tried to get me to believe in Christ, and those people didn't even really know me. They were speaking generally, to crowds.

I know a lot of Christians. Don't any of them care about my immortal soul?

Of course they do. But for 99% of people, no religious faith, no matter how strong, could make them do something that is socially unacceptable.

Humans are almost completely ruled by society and culture. Hardly anyone is willing to go against society, no matter how strongly they believe they should.

So young Christians have a dilemma. They belong to two societies with conflicting rules. Firstly, they have their Christian society. The parish of their church. Their family. This society tells them that they have to believe in God and Jesus. So they do. Because almost no one can go against society.

But they also belong to their generation. To America. To the University of Illinois. Or whatever. All of which are pretty much secular. And in all of these societies, it is considered socially unacceptable to try and change the beliefs of other people. So they don't. Because almost no one can go against society.

If there are any Christians reading, please tell me:

How do you reconcile these things?

posted at 5:20 PM by Alison

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