The Un-Holy Trinity, Part II

We have all felt the burning sensation of guilt and shame deep inside of us. It is a sickening feeling that causes thoughts of worthlessness, hopelessness, and desperation. As we rehearse our latest failure at trying to get it right, the stream of all of our past mistakes begins to replay in our minds. How could I have made this mistake again? How could I be so weak? I have failed God. As this thought progression proceeds we go into "repair mode". We must "fix" this mistake and somehow cure this horrible feeling in the pit of our stomachs. We vow to pray more, read the Bible more, be better; a better person, Christian, and the list goes on. I can almost see God hearing these types of prayers and shaking his head in pity saying, you just don't get it. You see for most Christians simply relying on God's grace is nearly impossible. It doesn't make sense to us because that is not how it works in our culture. If you commit a crime then you pay for it; a group of people decide how heinous your crime was and then decide the degree of severity your punishment will be. We carry this thought process into many areas of life including religion. If we make a mistake then we must punish ourselves, we must prove to God we are willing to suffer and thus are truly sorry. So we allow ourselves to be trapped under a burden of shame and then we tally the score and realize we have failed more than succeeded and thus lose all sense of worth. Does that really sound like a life worth living? Christians everywhere live in silent oppression, overwhelmed with the feeling of not being good enough for God. Where did we get this notion of perfection? This bar that keeps getting raised, that is always just beyond our reach? It has been instilled in us from Sunday School, that we are to be like Christ...in other words perfect. We are to live a sinless, blameless life. But I think we are missing the point. In our attempt to be perfect we miss what Jesus' life was about. His purpose was to show humanity the love of God. To show the religious leaders of the day that God didn't care about their rituals and discipline, he cared about the prostitutes and the beggars on the street. Shouldn't showing God's love to not only others but ourselves be our focus? Instead of living a life in a constant cycle of shame and self-destruction what if we admitted we aren't perfect, we never will be; but we can strive to be the best version of ourselves. What kind of life brings more honor to God? A life lived under the oppression of shame, or a life lived in freedom and love, loving others and loving yourself?

The Un-Holy Trinity, Part I

If you have spent any time around Christians or in mainstream Christianity, you may have heard of the term, "The Holy Trinity." If you haven't, in basic terms it means this:

That God is three persons, (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in one person.

Right.

Well, whether the Holy Trinity exists or not, I don't know. But there is another Trinity in Christianity, one that is more pervasive, more real and more heartfelt.

It is what I have called the Un-Holy Trinity. Let me explain what I mean.

While the Holy Trinity is a belief of much debate and theory, the Un-Holy Trinity is one that is felt, experienced and more of a spur to action than its antecedent.

The Un-Holy Trinity is defined as:

Fear.

Shame.

Guilt.

Unfortunately, these are the true three Gods of this generation's experience of Christianity. Let's address them one by one.

The Fear part of Un-Holy trinity:

Fear is the father part of the trinity, because it overrides and directs all the other aspects of the "christian's" life and motive. Walk into almost any contemporary christian church in the U.S. and you will undoubtedly hear certain things that you ARE NOT to do. This list ranges from "pride of the heart" (whatever that means) to cursing to adultery with any number of vices in between. What is unchanging is the reality that almost all churches hold to their own particular set of vices to rail against. What is also shared is that there is the subtle but visceral feeling of fear if anyone were to dare to defy these. In my experience, it is rare that pastors or churchgoers will outright tell you that you are damned for eternal flames for this, but there is the more pernicious insinuation that you, by your actions, are going to be "out." Out of the club, which, by association, puts you out of God's club.

So for the compliant and heartfelt sincere person of faith, what are they to do? How will they feel anything but fear, lest they be cast into the outer darkness. And possibly the most damaging part of this is that it is felt in the pursuit of virtue.

The person, the human, who according to the church is created in the image of the almighty, is treated in a way to make them afraid to LIVE as they would want to because the proposed punishments are terrifying.

Could it be possible that people would LIVE more if they were unencumbered by the fear of damnation whether it be spiritual or psychological? Would there be more life, more joy, more adventure, more risk and more reward if the source of this fear were eradicated and individuals could be reminded of their ability to LIVE a life. Not simply exist.

"Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."

The church bears much of the culpability for this. Repeatedly threatening with subtlety the punishments to come, it is easy for people to become paralyzed until the day they die, unable to sing their song.