Bat Man - My Religious Duplicity

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I am a Christian, I was born into Christianity. Over the years, I have walked my own spiritual journey in the overall framework of Christianity. So, some micro beliefs that once mattered no longer do. Some, practices are now clearly seen as simple traditions that have nothing to do with right standing with God.
 
Years of both religious, philosophical, and historical study also lend a particular color to my view of what matters most in the Christian religion. Since I have been an individual who is keen about my internal belief system matching my external actions, it has been a hard battle with living true to the  requirements of the established church - my mind keeps sorting which is essential and which is simply an addendum.

Organized Christianity has a strong pull, you can't dissent easily. Plus the sentiments are deeply rooted such that they block off even obvious points from the Holy book. Dissent is negated no matter how Bible-based it is. The norm just have to be maintained, you can't give the devil a winning battle in the world. If people stopped attending church because of your model dissent, Satan would have won the battle, God's work truncated.

But will a Bible-based dissent enthrone evil? Will it cause a total crack on the vigor of Christianity? Will Satan win? Can we not make a distinction between what is Biblical and what is cultural? Is there no need to distinguish between what is essential and what is a flavoring?

So, I believe the Bible, but I don't go all the way with Christian tradition. I keep a good relationship with the church people, but I refuse to be drawn into all the church's demands. In fact, I sometimes aim to stop just where the Bible stops, just to remind others that the rest is culture.

That is how I am now stuck with my wedding plans. How much can be cut aside? Can my wedding hold in an off Church-house location? Could I not even entirely cut of the white wedding? But the custodians see it as fighting God, as missing out from God's blessing. Then, I ask, "Is God confined to the church-house?"


Chinedu,
July, 2021; Warri.

Picture Credit - OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Location: Warri, Nigeria

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