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'comfort' is not the right word.
'I'm sure you get a lot of comfort from it' is not a phrase I would agree with, regards to Christianity.
I do get a lot, I know; I get a lot of blessings. I get a coherant framework for my life, there are moments of fierce and powerful joy, there is community and friendships, there's a whole number of things-to-do that become more attractive options, there's even a ton of free food.
But 'comfort' is not the word I would use, because it implies that Christianity is something that I can use to justify the things I would do anyway. Believe me, it isn't. There are much darker paths along which I would have strayed was it not for my faith.
I have been saved not only in the overall metaphysical sense of where I am going when I die, but in many small ways from many small deaths I would otherwise have found. The journey has been glorious and in places unbelievable, but rarely comfortable. My faith sustains me, it keeps my head above the water and the sharks at bay, but comfort? That's generally a warning sign.
'I'm sure you get a lot of comfort from it' is not a phrase I would agree with, regards to Christianity.
I do get a lot, I know; I get a lot of blessings. I get a coherant framework for my life, there are moments of fierce and powerful joy, there is community and friendships, there's a whole number of things-to-do that become more attractive options, there's even a ton of free food.
But 'comfort' is not the word I would use, because it implies that Christianity is something that I can use to justify the things I would do anyway. Believe me, it isn't. There are much darker paths along which I would have strayed was it not for my faith.
I have been saved not only in the overall metaphysical sense of where I am going when I die, but in many small ways from many small deaths I would otherwise have found. The journey has been glorious and in places unbelievable, but rarely comfortable. My faith sustains me, it keeps my head above the water and the sharks at bay, but comfort? That's generally a warning sign.
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Date: 2003-12-01 01:11 am (UTC)From:If someone said soemthing like that to me then I'd probably reply something along the lines of:
"Those who think they have found comfort in Christ have failed to understand the message he brought. Christ came to discomfort us, and hence save us."
That's a very roughly formed theology though...
no subject
Date: 2003-12-01 03:06 am (UTC)From:Hmm...
Christ may bring comfort for some personal worries, but Christ's message should inspire a deeper discomfort in the face of the inadequacy of the world, and our own imperfections.
Hmm...
I'm flailing a bit here - anyone help? :)
no subject
Date: 2003-12-01 06:57 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2003-12-01 07:18 am (UTC)From:Err...
More that Christ can bring comfort for the things you can't change, and discomfort for the things you should, or something.
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Date: 2003-12-01 07:27 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2003-12-01 07:37 am (UTC)From: