I really like the author's take at the end of the article: "For me now it is all about kindness" As someone who grew up Catholic but has fallen off the general religious wagon to a great extent,...
I really like the author's take at the end of the article: "For me now it is all about kindness"
As someone who grew up Catholic but has fallen off the general religious wagon to a great extent, that's the major component of the understanding I've come to as I've considered what I've learned over the years. It seems to me that Jesus was basically saying "take care of everyone, especially those who can't help themselves or are oppressed, and do it simply because it's the right thing to do", which seems like a pretty darn good message to me, even if you don't subscribe to any particular religion.
What really pisses me off about a lot of Catholics/Christians that I meet, especially the older ones, is that they seem to miss the "simply because it's the right thing to do" part. Their understanding, often, is more or less "be good in life and do what I consider good to others specifically so that I can go to heaven". It always seems weird and childish to me to do the right thing because you're afraid of some punishment, in this case, hell, rather than because it's the right thing to do.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/our-first-goal-28352685
I really like the author's take at the end of the article: "For me now it is all about kindness"
As someone who grew up Catholic but has fallen off the general religious wagon to a great extent, that's the major component of the understanding I've come to as I've considered what I've learned over the years. It seems to me that Jesus was basically saying "take care of everyone, especially those who can't help themselves or are oppressed, and do it simply because it's the right thing to do", which seems like a pretty darn good message to me, even if you don't subscribe to any particular religion.
What really pisses me off about a lot of Catholics/Christians that I meet, especially the older ones, is that they seem to miss the "simply because it's the right thing to do" part. Their understanding, often, is more or less "be good in life and do what I consider good to others specifically so that I can go to heaven". It always seems weird and childish to me to do the right thing because you're afraid of some punishment, in this case, hell, rather than because it's the right thing to do.