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So many cultural critics on the Right make loud calls for our society to return to God and Christianity in order for our society to climb out of a "moral morass." But considering the varieties of belief, what exactly are these critics calling for? Is their vagueness a deliberate attempt to hide what they want, or do they really not understand what they are calling for?
Shall we kneel before a stern, inscrutable God in fear, or should we rise up in joy with a loving, lawful God? Is God bound by logic, or beyond any logical considerations? Can we approach this God with reason, accepting that religious Truth may be beyond Reason, but never contrary to it? Or must we accept God solely on faith and distrust claims of reason as mere sinful pride?
Does the Kingdom of God exist within each of us, or should we expect a literal heaven and hell? And if there is an afterlife, will eternal salvation be granted to all humans, or is salvation an exclusive gift to those with "right beliefs" derived from the "right church?"
Are human souls passed along from one body to another until it is reunited with God, or is each soul unique to each body? Do unbaptized babies go to heaven or hell? Does purgatory exist, and if so, what is it? Is God really a Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three individuals in One? Or is that just nonsense?
Those questions might not seem very pressing to some people, but they have inspired hatred and war through history and can still cause strife today. They have all been held by one or another group which has called themselves "Christians" and, quite often, claimed for themselves an exclusive hold on genuine Christian belief.
Further questions are even more vital to the way a person conducts everyday life:
Is our world, the creation of God, a blessing to be enjoyed and made the most of? Or is it instead a "vale of tears" we need to escape? Or perhaps a snare of Satan to battle against? Is the body a prison of the soul, flesh being the vile antithesis of spirit? Or do body and soul form a harmonious whole?
Should we love all men, regardless of beliefs, and not resist evil? Or should we instead hate God's sworn enemies and wage war on evil? Should we not judge, lest we be judged? Or should we pass judgment on those who transgress? Should we concentrate on saving society, or should we focus on saving our souls?
Should we strive to be celibate, or is marriage a part of God's plan for us? Is sex intrinsically evil, or only evil in some contexts? Should we participate in politics in an attempt to create a more perfect Christian society, or should we keep ourselves separate from secular political strife? Is the prevailing political order divinely sanctioned, whatever it is? Or is it something which we ourselves are free to create or destroy? Do we have free will, so that our salvation is in our hands, or is free will a heretical concept and our salvation predestined, solely in the hands of God's Grace?
Should nonbelievers and heretics be compelled to enter the Church upon pain of death, or should they be permitted to go their own way and only encouraged through discussion to convert? Can art be permitted to serve secular purposes, or should it be directly solely for the interests of the Church?
Is poverty a blessing and wealth a sin, or is wealth simply a worldly sign that a person currently stands in God's Grace? May priests own property and wealth, or must they take a vow of poverty? Can Mary intercede on someone's behalf, or is praying to Mary little more than idolatry? May women serve as priests, or is the fact that Jesus chose no female disciples sufficient to show that God isn't interested in women representing Him?
Are the Old Testament laws still in effect, or not? Or only some of them? Is slavery permitted, as Paul indicates, or is it evil? Should Christians be pacifists, not resisting evil and always turning the other cheek, or is it permissible for them to be "Christian Soldiers, marching off to war"? Should women be permitted stations of authority in society, or does God want them at home? Should women be permitted authority over husbands in the family, or should men stand has head of the familial unit?
Historically, Christianity has offered very contradictory answers to all of these questions: rationalism & fideism; monism & dualism; optimism & pessimism; this-worldliness & other-worldliness; pacifism & militancy. These are just a few of the philosophies embraced by Christianity as it preached an inflexible devotion to immutable truth.
This diversity provides Christianity with a vitality essential to surviving over long periods - but it is also a source of confusion as people try to understand just what it is they are expected to believe. It also prevents Christianity from stamping society as indelibly as other religions have, like Islam.
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