My father grew up in Detroit and willingly attended a church that sounded more Lutheran as described than anything else. He has repeatedly told both me and my sister over the years that what he was taught was what he called..?? (unfortunately I cannot recall the term he used right now, its at the tip of my tongue danmit, if you can recall the term for me Id be most appreciative, or when I recall the term ill edit the post) Ill define it though - He called it a doctrine taught by MANY churches that teaches in short- divine punishment upon those who commit sin, break biblical law (law in the bible as described in the doctrine), or act against Gods will.
Are you referring to purgatory? That is a Catholic teaching of a temporary transition space where someone works off their sin before going into heaven. Protestant churches don't typically believe in that.
God does not punish us for sin because that's where Jesus comes in, thats the whole dam point of Jesus. Our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future, so why in the hell do we dwell over those to which we commit and why do we fear over them in the eyes of God? So, my father came to the conclusion that EVERYTHING (including sins) is permissible but not profitable, and that is entirely true.
To an extent this is true. He was drawing off the verse of the Apostle Paul where he says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." This also ties to the verse in Romans where he says, "I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean." The context of both however is to be mindful of those around you and not be a cause of distress for them in your liberties.
That is the reason why I rarely ever attend church, because im Tired of doctrines being taught that are so non-benign, and its almost every church to an extent.
Legalistic churches teach the opposite of what Paul teaches in these verses I just quoted. To them, the thing in and of itself is sinful. They tie a millstone around the necks of those who do not conform to their manufactured list of sins they think God judges them for. This is the opposite of what Jesus teaches about his yoke being easy and his burden light. Their burden his heavy indeed and inhibits ones liberty in spirit. Jesus, ironically, saves someone from religion in this way.
Now, my Fear of God still lingers from time to time when I do foolish things like hookup. My fear comes from the thought of being punished by catching an STD, but how I've countered that is by telling myself that If I choose to hookup then I BETTER be accepting of the fact that If I catch an STD that its not Gods fault, that it was mine.
Yes, clearly the verses above are not meant to say anything goes, baby! There are always either benefits or consequences for our actions (as well are those things we dwell upon in our minds, I'll add). But I will add too, that we need to also be mindful its not just physical consequences, but mental and spiritual consequences as well.
Being obsessed over whether this or that is "permissible" to God, is really the wrong way of thinking about things. That whole approach makes God this 'lawgiver' entity "out there" we have to conform to. But that's not really the reality of it. There is a spiritual, divine nature within ourselves that how we live our lives either opens us to, or closes ourselves off from. As we open to it, we are healthier, happier, freer, more loving, compassionate, confident, calm, etc. As we close ourselves off from it, we are more anxiety ridden, fearful, unhealthy, isolated, doubtful, etc. I would think of it in terms of how you feel when you've eaten a healthy meal versus gorging on sweets and fats and overeating. In the former you feel light and energized, in the latter you feel sick and lethargic. What we put into our minds, and what we feed our souls does the same thing.
But what are those things? What is healthy and what is unhealthy?
Im hoping my fathers conclusion is one you've come to as well, if your a christian that is. It needs to be a doctrine taught in most churches but we find it isn't.
I think the challenge is that people want to be told what to do, to have someone or something outside themselves spell it out for them. And this is the appeal of legalistic churches to those full of self-doubt. To gain inner insight is hard work. It is a maturity that occurs over time. To know what is 'permissible' and what is not, really takes a deep inner knowledge. It takes being in touch with that divine spirit within us. And that takes work. Most people don't want to do that work and so they take the legalistic approach.
In fact, it just occurred to me that legalism is actually like being a couch potato, or an arm-chair philosopher, because it's easier to have it all figured out in their heads and criticize everyone else for 'not getting it', not being 'true believers' because they are hiding the fact they are not doing any actual exercise of spirit whatsoever. They may attend church, but they're not doing any actual work. The gathering together rather becomes a self-congratulatory exercise in ego-building, rather than ego-transcending. Spiritual development is ego-transcending. It leads to a life of non-judgement of others. It leads to compassion. It leads to understanding, and calm. It leads to Freedom from Fear. We cling to Fear, when we cling to the ego. It doesn't matter how religious and conformist one is to the rules, when they are stuck in their ego. That is living in fear. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty".
There's a considerable amount more I can add to this, focusing on how there is a balance. "Everything is permissible" is not a license for self-indulgence. That is within the spiritual context. Your own inner awareness tells you what is good and not good for you. To just go an run amok, "Woo hoo! I can do anything I want!", isn't good either. Both the legalism and total abandonment is still functioning at the ego level.
One last thought. You asked if fear was a necessary stage. I said no, but in a sense like anything in life, it is going through the pain of living with what doesn't work, that we come to realize the beauty of what does. I do not believe anyone should be taught to be afraid of God, but the consequence of our own living which makes us afraid, in fact can eventual teach us we need release from living like that. So in that sense, fear serves God. It serves to break down our resistance or our path that leads us to separation from God within us.
