It’s the tithes bit that always worries me, particularly among the charismatic lot, that seek to achieve growth quickly. Even among general churchgoers, the practice of tithing is not unusual. I’ve got a mate that is something of a bad boy; his relationship with his wife never quite fit for me, big church-goer that she was not really reconciling itself with the obvious scoundrel I saw. I really didn’t know him well at this point in time either.
It turned out to be irreconcilable - they ended up splitting. He told me that the church made more and more demands of her time to the point where it became unbearable. His story, f’sure, but I have run into some other interesting characters in my time, including some people that had decided a particular thing was no longer for them. I’d hate to be in their shoes, because the whole wooing process is based on fellowship, and these people are persona non grata, often after being encouraged to cut most of their personal ties.
And yet, I know Christians of a slightly different ilk that genuinely live their life according to Christ’s ideals, or enough of them so that they make a positive difference. Not a bad bone in 'em, you might say.
Thing is, I think too many people think being in the club is enough. It isn’t. I have met people that think they’re good because they’re Christians who, in their own way, have been utter cunts. That’s manifested itself in a number of ways, from not being able to see one’s own faults, to thinking that a bit of worship at the start of the week absolves them of the horrors they created the week before.
And this isn’t a bang at Christianity, because I think all monothestic faiths suffer from the same thing, and the consequences can be equally deadly. Both Bush and Blair reckon they were on instruction from on high. Islamic extremists will tell you that blowing themselves up is their ticket into heaven. Fucking really? Fatso has the right of it. It’s personal application of religion that really fucks everything up.
If a voice in your head has told you to go kill someone, or start a war that has left refugees streaming over Asia, Africa and Europe - you need a shrink, not a place of worship.
