Brush your teeth or you're going to hell!

A couple of months ago, a co-worker and I were discussing religion, and man's tendency to twist religious concepts and invent rules and regulations of their own making. To paraphrase his example: "Muhammad told people to brush their teeth. That doesn't mean they're going to hell if they don't, or to heaven if they do. It's simply a matter of hygiene: your rotten teeth stink!"

That's the way I view a lot of the biblical teachings: the majority of them are guidelines for good, healthful (both spiritual and physical) living. Quarantining sick people and cleansing yourself thoroughly after handling blood are good health practices designed to keep yourself and the general population healthy. That doesn't mean you're a hell-bound sinner if you don't.

I was reminded of this discussion while reading Tabitha's blog entry about a small group study our church is conducting, a study based on the Beatitudes (Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount-- you know, "blessed are the peacemakers..." or cheesemakers, if you're a Monty Python fan) My comments centered around one chapter of the study I particularly took issue with: the accountability factor.

Basically, the idea is to find a trustworthy friend and bare your soul to him/her, enabling you to make a fresh start of sorts. I even read a whole book (unrelated to the study) that was dedicated to this very idea.

Now, I firmly believe that to make any sort of spiritual progress, it IS important to come clean with God about all the hurts and hangups in your past and ones you're struggling with. I believe it's important to take stock of what you've done with your life so far in order to make a determined effort to move on. It's a little bit like twelve-step programs: the first step is admitting you have a problem.

I *also* believe that if you indeed have a close friend who is trustworthy enough to share your deepest, darkest secrets with, it can be a healing experience. I absolutely agree that it can be beneficial to be able to talk to someone about it, rather than have a "one-sided" conversation with God.

So far, so good. I'm on board with the whole idea of sharing with someone...

... IF you actually know someone whom you trust enough. Ah... that can pose a challenge, right? But that shouldn't be a big deal, should it?

Not according to the study and to the book that I read. Their point of view is that it's IMPERATIVE that you go through this accountability exercise before you're free to move on and progress spiritually. Not just with God (which, as I said before, IS imperative, in my opinion), but with another person.

Now hold on. You're telling me that just because I don't happen to have a close and trustworthy enough friend to share this sort of thing with, I'm going to spiritually stagnate? I can't make progress in my own relationship with God until I find a fellow human to share with? I'm sorry, but I take real offense to that. It can take years to cultivate that sort of friendship, and to be told that that means I'll be treading water throughout those years is ridiculous.

One of the points the study uses to "prove" that this is the only way to go is, of course, Scripture. Specifically, James 5:16: "Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed".

Which goes back to my first point. Again, I absolutely believe that line of Scripture is meant for our benefit. I do not doubt that it can be incredibly healing and helpful to be able to share with another person. I do not doubt that it's a totally different experience than just admitting your faults to God and praying by yourself. Again I am reminded of twelve-step groups and their atmosphere of complete acceptance, non-judgmentalism and "no excuses allowed". I can't emphasize enough that I do believe in it and am in no way denigrating the notion expressed in James 5:16.

However, I don't believe that NOT doing so is going to hinder your spiritual progress. I believe that there are a number of ways to come to terms with your past, learn from it, and move on, and while involving other human beings (a la "group therapy") is an excellent way to really be honest with yourself, I don't necessarily believe that it's the ONLY way. Brushing your teeth is not going to get you into heaven, and baring your soul to a friend is not a prerequisite for having a close relationship with God.

All this blathering and nary a conclusion in sight. I guess I just wanted to rant a bit about how this study and line of thinking is just another example of human beings making their interpretation of the Bible the ironclad, singular way to go. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Ah well. Just a couple weeks more and we're done with this study. And despite my vehement disagreement with this particular portion of it, I have to admit that the study itself *does* have a lot of good, general guidelines. I just don't appreciate feeling like I'm being punished because I haven't yet formed such a close, trusting friendship with someone else. It's hard enough as is without being pushed toward it by a handful of well-meaning "Bible thumpers"!