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The Bible Doesn't Make Me Good

Living a good life and being a good person doesn't have to be, and isn't, contained in one holy book.

By Darien Walsh-LeviPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Goodness isn't contained within the two covers of the Christian bible. The act of being a good person doesn't belong to any religion. There are both good and bad Christians, just like there are good and bad Muslims, or good and bad Jews, or even good and bad Buddhists. There are simply good and bad people, and the notion that one has to live a life according to the bible if they want to have a meaningful, moral, and good life is lost with me.

As a child of the American midwest, I was surrounded by Christianity in many aspects of my life, with the exception of, interestingly enough, my family home. School pledges mentioned God, praying over food at extended family gatherings or a friend's dinner table, and even a teacher once asking everyone who was a Christian to raise their hands in class, leaving a young, confused me with my hand down. Why did it matter whether or not one spent Sunday morning sitting in pews or sitting in bed? Both people had the potential be good, worthy-of-praise people.

When I first met my husband, we were freshmen in college. I went to the community college in my hometown, and he commuted an hour there and back every day. We slowly became friends, and over time, learned a lot about the other. He was homeschooled; he came from a very religious background, one that was strange and foreign to me, and his homeschooled world was one I thought was only ever on TV. His family, my now in-laws, are nice people. They are good people, even if I think some of the things they do are weird or wrong. I never really had a problem with them accepting me into their son's life. My husband and I can clearly see their love for him despite his actions going against the bible, and what he "should be doing" to lead a good, moral life.

My husband is the most genuine, most emotional creature I have ever met. He absolutely loves me with every fiber of his being, and still, it baffles me how or why. He is caring and loving, but is he a bad person for loving someone who is, and I quote a part of a letter he received from a member of his church, "an enemy of God?" How could this feeling of love not be valid? My husband cares for me, he works for me, he adopted our kitty from the shelter, he donates to public television, he tries his hardest to finish his degree so he can be successful for us. The actions my husband does now prove to me, and himself, that he is a good person, despite the backlash from some staunch church-goers.

As for myself, I realise that I don't need to be labeled as this or that to simply be a good person. In the beginning, I received a lot of flack from this particular homeschooling world. I was asked personal questions about my religious habits, I was assumed to be an atheist (who apparently can't be a good person?), I was looked down upon and called simply "a phase" that my husband was going through. All because I didn't come from a Christian background. They didn't know me. It seemed like they didn't want to know me, and if they did, would it only be to prove to themselves that I am not a good person? They don't know that I care greatly for animals. They don't know that I stand up for my friends, for women, and for the rights of the oppressed. They don't know that I'm there for people when they need it. That I try to give good advice. That I love my husband and would never do anything to hurt him.

I recently went to a bible study with a friend. I was invited, and said yes. But all I learned was that I was leading a worthless life if it wasn't lived for Christ. I know that a lot of people care about whether or not I make it into heaven with them, but I can't get over this strange fascination with death. I'm living a life now, in the moment, and what I do now immediately affects those around me. Why should I stop being happy doing what I'm doing simply because a book tells me I'm not a good person and living a worthless life? My life is not worthless to my cat, or my husband, or my family or friends. Life is so short. Incredibly short. It's too short to think that I am a bad person just because I don't line up with someone else's mold of a good person, and it's too short for you to think so, either.

humanity
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About the Creator

Darien Walsh-Levi

Darien lives with her husband and her kitty in Des Moines, Iowa. She has a B.A. in communications and enjoys writing, editing, reading, playing musical instruments, and swing dancing. ✌🏼🤘🏼

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