Churchgoing atheists

Garth Rattray, Contributor

This time of year always brings to mind things spiritual and religious. The human mind is indeed miraculous, wondrous, amazing and yet perplexing. Many people claim to believe in God, yet their lives portray the antithesis of godliness (devoutness).

Right across the spectrum of society, we see people who primp and preen to attend church 'religiously' and even participate in church-related activities, but their day-to-day lives are devoid of honesty, integrity, kindness, genuine sacrifice, sympathy and empathy - the integral tenets of all the major religions, including Christianity.

Perhaps their churchgoing activities are façades meant to deceive society into integrating/admitting them into the social networking system and elevating them to trusted positions in the furtherance of their personal (selfish) goals. Or, perhaps they feel that, by attending and serving the institution and congregation of the church, they will be assured a place in Heaven.

Although there is always some spiritual benefit to be gained from church activities, the reason that we do things is far more important than the things that we do. In other words - real blessings are gained when we do things unselfishly. It, therefore, leads me to wonder if many so-called Christians have any concept of, or truly believe in, God.

This question of intent goes both ways - it applies equally to 'blessings' as it does to 'sins'. Because of the possible ramifications and consequences of 'sin', it has always been a somewhat nebulous and scary subject. There are several interpretations of the concept and definition of 'sin'. It has been defined in several ways that run the gamut from disobedience of the law of God (written or unwritten, Old or New Testament, inadvertent or wilful) to a minor moral misstep.

Categories of sin

The variety of sins falls into several categories: original sin (the sin that we are born with); mortal/capital sin (extremely serious and deprives the soul of sanctifying grace); venial sin (a relatively minor infraction); the seven 'deadly sins'/capital vices/cardinal sins which represent serious errors in judgement (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony).

Some religious groups believe that a 'sin' is only committed when we engage in a wilful or premeditated act that we knowingly carry out, even though we understand it to be wrong in the eyes of God. That conceptualisation infers that a sin only occurs if we know that we are sinning. If that is true, 'sin' is predicated upon conscience (the learnt moral compass dependent upon your particular society and/or, the still small voice within ... Kings 19:12).

In my opinion, 'sin' is any thought, action or inaction that distances us from God. The more serious the 'sin', the greater the distance. But this distancing is not necessarily permanent. Blatant sins are usually obvious.

The deeds of some people in positions of power and privilege impact significantly (and, oftentimes, negatively) on the entire society. Therefore, even though lying about a crucial matter may be seen as politically expedient and/or in keeping with collective responsibility, it is nonetheless a sin of no mean order.

So, back to that oft-talked-about 'personal relationship' with God. Bearing in mind the preponderance of lies and deceit, advantage-taking and rapaciousness, backbiting and undercutting, greed and envy, control and turpitude, villainy and theft being perpetrated by professed godly people - I am left to conclude that, in their hearts, they either believe that God is an absolute fool, their personal 'obeahman' or that He doesn't exist, so they can do anything and get away with it. Either way, there'll be some sort of 'hell' to pay.

Garth A. Rattray is a physician with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.