Christianity is a Voluntary Relationship Based on Freedom of Association, Not a Structure of Morality

I'm slightly disturbed by the agnostics/atheists who have a love of the morality found in Christianity.

That means they like the morality of the Christian religion w/o a belief in the loving God of mercy who is behind the morality.

The moral structure of Christianity is born from a Creator who knows how His creation is meant to work. He loves us and wants the best life for us - that is the motivation for the morality.

What happens when you have a love of the morality, without an understanding of who proclaims it and why, is an astonishing lack of mercy for any who don't follow it.

I am deeply troubled by those who want the morality of Christianity in society without understanding the religion's concept of love and mercy.

Of course, there can also be found an astonishing lack of mercy from those who do follow it, those who have forgotten they are no better, by God's standard of good, than the person for whom they have no mercy. A lack of mercy from those who have forgotten that God loves - and died for - that other person too.

And, either way, calling for the oppression of those who don't match your standard of morality is collectivism at it's heart ("We must all follow this path for the collective health of our society") and authoritarianism ("We know best").

I have been thinking on this topic for a bit now - the pursuit of truth also has to be individual. I 100% believe in objective truths, but I have no right to demand others follow them - even when they are the truth. And, where do I get that view from?

"God gave them over to (all that they wanted to do)" ~Romans 1:28-32 He doesn't force any of us to follow His truths.

The heart of Christianity is that God offers a voluntary relationship with us and practices freedom of association. If you don't want to associate with Him - you're free to live without Him in your life and endure the natural consequences of the choices you make in this life, and He's free not to have to associate with you in the next.

If you do enter into a relationship with Him, He doesn't give up on you even when you're making choices that have natural consequences in this life. He will continue to associate with you because you voluntarily entered into a relationship with Him that mirrors that of the commitment of marriage. That mirror image is the reason why God hates divorce, because God doesn't ever "divorce" from us once we've entered into that relationship with Him - no matter how unfaithful we can be in choosing to continue to go our own way, He never gives up on us once we are His.

We will be His through eternity, but when we're off on what He knows will be a destructive path, He, then, relates to us as a father would to a child who is going their own way into destructive paths: He steps in with disciplinary measures to get our attention.

He's a good husband, even when we're shitty wives ;) And, who wouldn't love a good husband who doesn't leave us when we feel like we have to go our own way for a while? I'd love that kind of husband much more than one who held our relationship over my head to keep me in my place … because that's manipulation, abuse, and the opposite of love.

And, my husband? He's the most Christ-like lover I've ever known. He has my heart, as does the God we follow.

As I've been made to more deeply understand these truths this last year, the Fleetwood Mac song, "Go Your Own Way", has come to mind. Please enjoy this cover version of it by a favorite new artist of mine, Why Mona.