Who's booty you kissing?

Quote from Frank Apisa:



My first question is why do you believe that that someone saying God loves you or me is kissing God's booty? Do you mean they are trying to get in good with God so they won't have to go to hell? If that is the case well... you probably aren't too far from the truth on that one. This isn't meant to be a personal judgement against any "christians" out there. However in the last few years my once good opinion of most people who bear the label "christian" has slowly been eroding away.

There's way more talking than walking in my opinion, so I don't blame people who are of this opinion. The "church" seems to turn out not much more than a bunch of carbon copies now a days. But I've got to say as someone who believes in God that I don't believe I kiss His booty. However I'm sure there are varying opinions out there. That is fine. That isn't meant to be a statement of arrogance, I know I am capable of just about any kind of behavior. LOL I just try to do the best I know to do, and that is all I can offer to anyone. Let me explain my position here.

To me to kiss His booty, or anyone elses for that matter, implies something done out of fear and misunderstanding. Superstitious fear of a boogyman, as Frank so candidly put it. If God exists and is truly "love" as the bible say's He is, why would He then demand for me to instill fear in the hearts of others by saying "Turn or burn"? If God's grace is real and is the very thing that saves me from hell, why should I feel so inclined to withhold that from others by condemning them for not believing as I do? In my opinion that is hypocrisy in it's rawest form and these kinds of actions are done out of a superstitious fear.

I asked this question:



To which Frank replied:



I agree. Most religion now a days functions in superstitious fear. I hate religion. It is pompous, arrogant, and concerned for little else than how it appears to others. It is everything God is not to me. However I do believe there is a different kind of fear that is not superstitious that can be best understood by this quote:

"To fear, in regard to God, is to hold Him in such loving esteem as to be afraid of offending the one so admired."

I don't think that's the exact wording. I finally gave up trying to find the exact quote. It's a line I read in a book once called, "Lessons from a sheep dog". I don't believe this kind of fear is sitting in a corner trembling, fearing God will strike me down with lightening and send me to hell if I offend Him. It is more along the lines of loving Him so much that I actually care about what HE thinks about my actions. I realize that to someone who doesn't believe God exists this must sound absolutely ridiculous. *shrugs* What can I say, except it is what I believe and what I do my best to live by.

If you truly love someone then you care about how they feel. What effects them. What is important to them. What will make them happy. That doesn't mean there's no hope if you screw it up, it just means you think of something other than yourself once in awhile.

So there it is. I've laid it out there. Have at it.