Does Truth Warm You?
“But we want religion that is warm, that makes us feel good. I think that what you say is too cold.”
Personally, I thank God for all the good preachers I
heard as a boy who spoke of sin, hell, and damnation. I don’t remember laughing much at what they said, or feeling good
about it. The only thing that impressed
me was that they were telling the truth. That is all that mattered to me, and
still does. I don’t care whether a man
is emotional or dry. I just want him to
tell the truth. Of course, after World
War II the hot-shot “youth” evangelists hit our town, and they really made us
laugh. They could really tell funny
stories. They didn’t talk about hell
much, though.
What should be the measure of religion? Is religion something you go down to the
market and buy, like a new pair of socks?
I remember that a new pair of socks made me feel good when I was a
boy. They felt good on my feet. We were poor and a new pair of socks was a
kind of luxury.
Those youth ministers that came to town in the early
fifties were like a pair of new socks.
They felt good. They were
talented and dynamic speakers. A lot of
young people “went forward” and made “decisions” for Christ. I don’t remember many of them “lasting,”
though. A few did, but most
didn’t. I knew them in school and there
wasn’t much change that I could see.
The real work of the church was done by people in
the church who didn’t care much about whether what they said made us feel
good. They told us that wrong was
wrong, and we were supposed to do right, no matter what we felt like. They said that Jesus died on the cross for
sinners, and those who believed and repented of their lying, and cussing, and
evildoing would go to heaven. The rest
would go to hell. They didn’t talk
much about politics or making money.
They just talked about staying out of hell and going to heaven when we
died. Not a bad message. They didn’t seem to care if there were
three of us listening or three hundred.
I was in a lot more classes of three than I was of three hundred. I do remember kids weeping over their
sins. How long has it been since you
saw that?
I was not much different from the rest of the kids I
knew. I now know that the Christian
faith is not based upon some kind of experience, but on the promises of
God. Sometimes the most solid things
are ignored by young people, but they have a way of catching up to you
later. I know now who the real
evangelists were in my town.
I thank God for those people. Feel good? Nice warm religion?
Not much from that crowd. All
they cared about was keeping us out of hell.
That was a good enough feeling for them. They were happy they knew the truth. I still am.