| Kasz216 said:
Hell, even christianity itself doesn't FORCE people to be charitable. It just says people should. It's laws are more recommendations then anything else since you've got the forgiveness of christ "in your back pocket." The whole point of Christianity is an individuals struggle to struggle to do right and accept their own flaws. To force people to follow christian law, by law is meaningless. Hence why such a distinction is made between Man's law and God's law. It's also why I believe "real" christian groups should be against laws that try and mandate christian laws that don't hurt others. (IE no anti adultery or sodomy or whatever laws.) |
How exactly does issues regarding adultry not hurt anyone? Undermining the trust of someone you are married to does hurt them, and the relationship. Adultry is all about that. Now, whether or not it is the job of government to get into that, is an entirely different issue of course.
As far as "forcing" people do anything, there is more than enough scripture, Old and New Testament, that speak of paying taxes, and obeying authorities, as if they were representatives of God (how one acts in regards to them is how one acts towards God). This doesn't mean other principles can't come into play that may cause one to not obey the authorities, but paying taxes is one of them, as is following the laws. One can say a Christian would be blessed when they are allowed to do the will of God and authorities don't get in the way. But then, there is the case, which gets to this queston of whether nor not, the government officials decide to actually try to help the poor (do welfare) if doing such should be opposed.
I would also say "the point of Christianity" is FAR more than: an individual's struggle to struggle to do right and accept their own flaws.
One can say Christianity isn't about the individual at all, but about what God wants, not them. It isn't even about a person accepting one's own weakenesses. If one were to go to what the Bible says, that even remotely hints at it, you have the following:
* Ecclesiastes 12:13: The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.
* Matthew 22:37-39: 37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
*Galatians 5:14: The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
* James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
* 1 John 5-7: 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.
