Do religions hold their followers to high-enough standards?

Do religions hold their followers to high-enough standards?

The Rev. Pat Rush, pastor, Visitation Catholic Church: Many people view religion as a tool of behavioral modification. Parents want their children to learn the commandments so they will obey them, and clergy sometimes threaten congregants with punishment if they go astray.

Christianity, however, does not center on a set of laws to be obeyed. Rather, Christianity centers on a person, Jesus Christ, with whom we are to fall in love and grow to resemble. Christianity calls us to a lifelong committed relationship with Christ through which we grow to reflect and witness his values. It is hard to imagine a higher standard.

In his Letter to the Colossians, St. Paul compares this Christlike resemblance to wearing proper clothing. Paul writes that we are to dress ourselves with “mercy, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.” He insists that we pull on additional layers of clothing when he further writes, “Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another.”

Then Paul requires a top or final garment when he urges, “Over all these put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect.” Those are Christianity’s standards.

Those and one more: Christ came to forgive our sinfulness. Christianity calls us to humbly admit that we are sinners and do repeatedly offend this relationship and, therefore, need Christ the forgiver. We are time and again to turn back to Christ and trust in his mercy

The Rev. Duke Tufty, pastor, Unity Temple on the Plaza: Historically religions have failed miserably at attempting to hold people to standards that were unrealistic, unreasonable and which the leaders themselves couldn’t live up to.

Jesus was crucified because he called the religious leaders of the day on their hypocrisy. In Matthew 23:27-28, Jesus states to the Pharisees and teachers of the law: “You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which look fine on the outside but are full of decaying bones on the inside. In the same way on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.”

The same point could easily be made today. There are priests, rabbis and ministers in all religions who put forth dogmatic assertions and impositions that they themselves don’t follow, then shellac others with guilt, shame and threats of doom in the afterlife for not living up to their religious laws.

Many of these “manmade” religious laws are of no significance when it comes to one’s goodness and moral character, but rather are veiled attempts to maintain a sense of power over people and keep them in subservient positions.

Religion’s purpose is to present a loving, peaceful, harmonious way to live, not harshly judge others and spew out potential penalties if they don’t agree with another’s actions. There are literally thousands of religious laws, rules and regulations on the books, but if one treats others the way he or she wants to be treated, then a good life is being lived.

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