Is religion used for control?

[Dale (evolutionary providentialist)]

@Dale

the reality behind the rules is love.

The rules are laws of love. They are encapsulated most concisely in the two greatest commandments,

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

…and less succinctly in the big Ten. Yes, they are all laws of love.

The laws of love are family rules established by our Father for the well-being of his children and for his honor. (If we do not desire to obey them then maybe our hearts have not been changed and we are really not part of his family.) Our old nature still clings to us, and we fail more or less often (hopefully less and less), but we should not be clinging to it!! The laws of love include ALL of the Ten Commandments, and then some, as elaborated in the New Testament.

What are the laws for? Do I still need to measure my life? Yes, but not out of fear, but because I want to please him. I want his smile and I want to honor him and not disgrace him. What do I measure it against? The law(s) of love. And where is that encapsulated? In the two greatest commandments, and less succinctly in the big Ten. And of course, again, there is significant elaboration in many places in the New Testament.

What does the boyfriend or suitor do, after holding flowers behind his back while waiting for the front door to be answered, when his beloved opens it? Does he shove them in her face and say, “Here, take these! I have to do this because it’s the law of love!”? No. He offers them to her, hoping for her smile.* In which instance is he obeying the law of love? Does he need to obey the law of love? Yes, if he wants to see her smile.

Do the laws of love still apply? You bet. Including the arbitrary one.

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*With apologies to John Piper for my loose approximation of that analogy from his book, Future Grace.