 |
|
|
|
Some time after we are born we start wondering about death. Perhaps this has something, or even a lot to do with the reason why there are and always have been religious and other such notions and belief systems in the world throughout all of the historical eras of man. These “belief systems” (which even includes atheism and agnosticism), though, may at times be a source of angst and/or bewilderment for some, or perhaps many people, myself included. So, what I attempted to do one day was assess the very core aspects of my own religious beliefs (my “bare bones beliefs”); aspects that need not deal with all of the nitty-gritty particular dogmas of religions (organized or otherwise) or “belief systems.” I wondered if there was some common ground that most people could converge on. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be of some benefit if everyone could, at the very least, ascribe to some basic notions of what life is (and conversely isn’t).” In addition to perhaps this untenable wish, try as I may to walk a middle path that did not involve any specific dogma of any religious (or non-religious) persuasion, I was unable to put aside or mitigate many key and perhaps in some ways, pivotal aspects of my Christianity. Simply put, I believe in Christ and in the central Christian tenet that He is the Savior of all mankind and that His teachings eclipse those of any other person. Nevertheless, having said this just so you’ll know, I essentially believe:
That life is a miracle and can be wonderful, and that although we spend more time dead than alive, death is not the end of life;
~~~
That we continue to exist in some form as functioning individuals beyond life in this world;
~~~
That the only thing of lasting worth in this life and beyond it is the good that we are because of the good that we do for ourselves,
and for the sake of others;
~~~
That doing good means living predominately in accordance to the quintessential teachings of Jesus Christ;
~~~
That after our sojourn in this world there is an accounting as for the good that was done,
and where much is given, much is required;
~~~
That regardless of religion or creed, we will be justly rewarded as a result of this accounting;
~~~
That these rewards will be the basis for our states of joy or lack thereof in the hereafter;
~~~
That rewards withheld is the hell of “what we could have had because of what we should or should not have done”
~~~
That “what we could have had” need not be our predicament.
|
|
