Epigram: The modern day Christian looks out at the world from gilded bars of his own design and perceives everything else as in bondage.

The goal and tone of this brief article is to be focused on the internal world of the religious man. People wonder why on earth I find politics interesting. How can I tolerate so many conflicting opinions, the nastiness, and one-ups-man-ship. “I was raised in church”, I respond with the cool air of a grizzled Vietnam veteran.

Obviously, not all churches are nasty and not all religion is toxic. Faith, can have a great positive influence on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Everything they say about it is true. It's redeeming, it's life changing, it's fulfilling, but is it freeing? One better, do we believe that liberty is even a valid criteria for religion?

I know from secular study that the rarest and most gratifying state of a man (or woman) is one of volition, autonomy, and personal power. One would be extremely hard pressed to make the case that, historically speaking, religion has been a champion of this desired state.

Even though we have the spotty track record of oppression and, not to use too harsh a word, genocide that has been a by product of religious institutions of the past. I wonder if the original intent of Christianity was to set the oppressed free from the oppressors. Was the original intent of Jesus to upset the oppressive and religious institutions of his day or was it to simply replace it with one that he liked better and that just happened to be far more subjective?

I think the subjectivity of our modern Christian “laws” is it's most damnable characteristic. In the 80's it was makeup and jewelry for women, in the 90's it was rock music with too many beats-per-minute, in the new century it was Harry Potter books, and yet all of these things have been by and large accepted, and assimilated into our “safe list” even though the hew and cry and authority of scripture was touted from every pulpit. Are we willing to admit that we simply don't know what rules to enforce on ourselves and others and that scares us?

The end result is the modern Christian, dutifully crafting cages for himself with whatever he can find to make both his faith and prison tangible. The internal guilt burden that many religious people heap on themselves is a pitiful practice. The Son of God was manifest as a man, sacrificed for iniquity, and has empowered us with his spirit. Priority one seems to be repeating the shadow of bondage, only to a lesser extent in our personal lives and relationships just as thousands of years of corrupt institutions have taught us to do. I can't help but think that when we debate the importance of the Torah, or New Covenant vs. Old or any clever mix in between, we are acting in antipathy to the very spirit of God who designed us to thrive under conditions of volition, autonomy, personal power, and mental well being.