First, I must apologize to you because of the greedy hypocritical priests who have not shown the example of Christ! we all know that most clergy live a life contrary to Christ. I would not advise you to imitate such false priests. We have God's Word and History which we can analyze to understand how we ought to live for our maker. do not hate , blame or judge God by standards of men or their failures!
I like your statement that you like "freedom from religion" I should agree with you to some extent. Freedom from traditions of men which are imposed on man to try and please God through rituals and human effort. I am free from such false religions. God is most interested in human motives and intentions and human character and heart. The outward issues are secondary. However, freedom from religion should not be used as an excuse to serve evil objectives otherwise it would mean freedom from good and bondage to evil so there is no real freedom. If you mean it when you talk of freedom, then I will agree that freedom should be limited by your ability to use it for the good. freedom used wickedly is actual bondage to satan.
On the other hand, you said that you need "freedom from guilt" Now this is a genuine human need which you expressed and I congratulate you! I can see that there is a battle in the inside of you to be free from guilt! I can assure you that TRUE FREEDOM FROM GUILT COMES FROM FORGIVENESS. since you realize that guilt exists, then its a confirmation that the need for forgiveness is real. The only question we have is WHO SHOULD FORGIVE US TO FREE US FROM GUILT? the person wronged. Both people and God can be wronged and therefore they have the power to forgive as long as you / me is willing to stop wronging/sinning.
I do not indoctrinate and that's why am open to reason. Even Jesus was open to reason that's why when asked whether we should pay taxes or not He said give ceaser what belongs to him and God what belongs to God. It was a reasoning process. Your ability to perceive things is what causes faith in God. some people indoctrinate but TRUE Christianity is open to reason. tell me, is it fair to kill?? am sure your answer will agree with the Word! is it okay to sodomize or abort? certainly you will realize that doing the right thing amidst contention is the best side of reason!
what you can imaginary reward is real because we are real. The one who gave us life has promised abundant life! what makes you think that some one who gave you a house free of charge and promised to furnish it, why would you doubt that a man who can give you a totally free house can fail to furnish it?
Fear of hell is not reason enough for you to repent. If I can help scare you from falling into a ditch why not? if I tell you that such a ditch has snakes and scorpions and yet its true. The truth is that hell is not a place you would like to live.
A human soul is real yet can not be empirically proven! if you tell me that you have no soul then may I will know the cause of the problem. you do not need to fear hell if you do not have the ticket to such a destination. The fact that you fear hell shows that the guilt above testifies of such consequences.
Knowing the truth is a complex issue especially carnally. Truth testifies of Truth. Truth should first exist inside you before you can explore further truth. if inside you is falsehoods, then it will be hard to detect truth! First consider what you are made of! if lies exist inside of you then there is no way truth can be found in or around you.
you should learn the difference between evidence and truth. The two are not the same. many people are in jail because of evidence while the truth is that they are innocent. Evidence can be false but TRUTH can never be False!
About tithes and church offerings, I will assure you that it is a personal choice, no one should coerce you to pay. paying these does not mean holiness or forgiveness of sins. God is not desperate for the offerings! you may, you may not give if your conscience is not clear please do not give. there are many false teachers out there who rob people in the pretext of offerings etc but they do so because people do not read the Word! They con you because you lack discernment and the Word.
The love to do as you please is good but we MUST be accountable to our maker. Any machine should be used according to the manual. if you use your car without following the manual, you risk not only crashing but also spoiling the car. The author of life gave us a life manual! God's Word is our manual for safe living. No one wishes to impose on you but even if its costly, everyone who owns a car knows that they have to service their car after a pre-specified mileage! why do you think you wish to live outside God's Law? did you create yourself? since you had no input in your own creation, its wise enough to live by the maker's LAW. its not hard and its for our own benefit! just like the car example! You do not have to service the car but it will be at your own cost, not to take a manufacturer's advise.
Being human does not mean living recklessly. the laziness to overcome sin can not be excused as being "human" sinning is actually being satanic. a human in God's image should overcome sin.
You wish that you live in isolation! no o ne watching you! how funny! all humans were made to love and be loved. Isolation is a grave punishment to a human soul. so since you love to interact then there must be rules of engagement. If we interact yet live and behave in isolation then we shall hurt one another in the process. We must live to please our neighbor by our actions. Killing innocent children, sodomizing, lying, insulting, unbelief etc have effects on our neighbors. if you wish to live without anybody watching you then isolate yourself from others. am sure its hard humanly to exist in isolation. if we interact then we must accept to live responsibly and respect the Law of God and man. We must please God and man, we must love our neighbor and love God as well. This is the real meaning of Truth
