Seriously, readers, if you have anything to say, anything at all, go ahead and say it. My thoughts have only been refined in the bias of of my own mind, so I'm somewhat dubious about their integrity. There is also a hint of "Socratic" arrogance creeping in--these thoughts seems too easy and logical; surely there must be a flaw or alternate perspective or something, otherwise why are these not prevailing views?
Somehow, now that I'm out of Luther in the 'real world', I notice more often christian symbols and phrases and such. Swears in the form of "Jesus Christ", cross necklaces (some of them pretty gaudy), shirts for bible programs, etc... (I forgot so many people were religious) And yet, oftentimes I think to myself "I never would have placed that person as a christian if I hadn't seen that shirt/necklace/tattoo/whatever". Maybe part of it is the context. It would probably be hard to guess anyone's religion or philosophy if you've only seen them for a minute in line at the store. Some are impatient, some are kind, some ground their kids, others don't, some are vulgar, others aren't, some are temperamental, some hold grudges.
Other times, though, its people I've known for somewhat longer--like most anybody else they have good days and bad days, can be generous or jealous, impatient or relaxed. Then church comes up, and I think "Oh, huh. Religion hadn't even occurred to me".
And while I do not mean to say that these individuals are falling short of some basic standard of social action, maybe, in a way, that's exactly what I'm saying.
I don't expect every christian to be a paragon of righteousness/goodness/charity/whatever. But, as individuals who follow, to varying degrees, a very specific (if oftentimes "symbolic") book, I would think to see behavior that could at least indicate what it is you might be aiming for. I'm not even totally sure what this might be, since my memory of all the rules and proscriptions and whatever in the book are fuzzy with years.
In general, I suppose there's the oft-brought-up contradiction of the last(?) commandment with the very premise of capitalism and consumerism--competitive desire for what other people have.
Or working on the sabbath.
Or a married christian woman's proclamation that, though she is married, she is still allowed to look (at other guys).
Or prayer in public, or, at least, the Lord's prayer, which I guess is kinda said in private; just among other Christians.
I'm sure there's other things. Maybe all the things are those which don't really come up in a public line or across the cubicle wall. And I know terms like jealousy and impatient and such are incredibly broad. And lots of Xianity's commands might be outdated.
I guess it goes back to what I was asking in the initial Questions for Breakfast. Oftentimes Xianity seems to be less adherence to hard laws laid out in a book, and more of "exploring and developing one's own philosophy" only through a Xian context/mythology. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing; but then it seems like less a religion and more a giant book club or something.
