Savorless Salt

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

"Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."

Christianity has a history of torture and death. Not only as inflicted upon themselves, but committed by them as well. Christianity is responsible for the deaths and tortures of numerous people for the sole crimes of having differing opinions about the universe (and usually correct ones at that). Christianity was a force of evil much like the ISIS and Al Qaeda crowd of today--beheading American journalists and killing everyone who isn't Muslim. Even modern-day Christianity is not free from the evils of the past and is much known for its hatred toward unbelievers. Sure, most Christians don't commit such atrocities, but what do we do with a worldview that produces both good and bad people and good and bad fruit?

Jesus called his disciples the salt of the earth. But he warned that if they lose their savor they would be good for nothing at all but to be trampled on and rejected. He further said that you would know a tree by its fruit in that a good tree doesn't produce bad fruit and a bad tree does not produce good fruit. I believe these sayings apply more readily to worldviews that define a person moreso than to the people themselves. We all know that people are capable both of good and bad at any given point. I have yet to rid myself of all evils yet I don't believe Jesus indicated this meant I was worthless.

A worldview is much like logic and yields expected results. If a person's worldview is to never kill then it's easy enough to conclude that anyone killing is not of that particular worldview and that anyone of that worldview would indeed not kill. Or, if they did kill, the worldview itself was not to blame but the person failing to live it out. Let's take the "worldview" of modern-day Christianity, however. The core doctrinal beliefs are that the Bible is the authoritative word of God, that Jesus died for the penalty of one's sins, and that God is three persons as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Such beliefs are riddled with issues as a worldview since they don't mean much in and of themselves. There's nothing in them as clear as a worldview denouncing murder and in fact these beliefs were held with extensive amounts of murder simultaneously. The beliefs themselves did not prevent evil and atrocity and, in fact, intensified it. The belief that the Bible is the word of God has led to torture, it's led to peace, it's led to hatred, it's led to hindrance of science, it's led to destruction of knowledge, it's led to lending a helping hand, it's led to genocides of anyone not like-minded. Such ideas as a worldview, in essence, is worthless. It has no savor. It has no predictability. It's good for nothing. It's not a good tree, it's not a bad tree, it's no better than having a worldview that penguins are awesome.

The "worldview" of Christianity as well as that of Islam is entirely useless. They both commit the same crimes and they both perform the same benefits. It's not the books they follow that mean anything. It's not their perception of Jesus or Mohammad as a deity that leads to anything. Such things are worthless. They're unpredictable and lead both to good and bad alike. It's not these ideas that drive a person to act. It is a worldview within the beliefs that guides actions. It's the worldview that God hates and wishes dead all unbelievers that guides a person's actions. Such a view will indeed lead to murder. It's a worldview that God is a god of love and peace that wishes we harm no one for selfish gain or immaterial thoughts that leads to helping people. These two worldviews can and do exist in both Christianity and Islam simultaneously since they are not caused by either one. Its these ideals that truly identify who your God is. One can't rightly serve a God of love and peace while destroying all those around them. And one can't serve a God of love and peace while being the enemy of another who also serves a God of love and peace. Such people serve the same God despite their books or professed religion. The names and titles mean nothing. The books mean nothing. This is why Jesus said a house divided cannot stand in reference to casting out demons by the power of the devil. The devil cannot be known for doing good. Being good is the work of good and doing evil is the work of evil. Evil cannot do good to promote evil. Good cannot do evil to promote good.

Jesus warned that his teaching would become corrupted. He said to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and predicted that the leaven would work its way all throughout his followers over time. It has. A long long time ago. The principles need to be reworked. Jesus taught a worldview. Something that is guaranteed to produce good fruit. The ideas and beliefs of Christianity today are no better than that of Islam. It's not a worldview. It's a vain and empty set of beliefs that do not lead one way or another. Pick a real worldview. Pick something that actually drives your actions. Preferably, pick that of love and humanitarianism as did Jesus, Gandhi, and countless other wise people before them. The salt has lost its savor. It is good for nothing.