The True cost of being a Christian?
This is a thought that recently occured to me when coming across Pascal's wager. Assuming the atheist is right, Pascal assumes that the Christian loses nothing. We all know the basics here and that is not what I want to talk about. Most people will point out that one cost of being a Christian is up-to (and possibly greater than) 10% of one's lifetime income. I know some churches don't encourage the full 10% and other churches demand not only the 10% but also extended giving and pledges.
Okay, so we know (roughly) that this is some financial cost. But what are the real costs of being a Christian? I think they might run much deeper than even this monetary value might imply.
What if [some] atheists are right and homosexuality isn't a choice? What if a person who is gay can't choose to not be gay? I am not arguing whether it is environment or heredity, just that by the time the person realizes their preference it is too late to change it. What does this person have to lose by becoming a Christian? For one, they will never have the possibility to truly love the person they desire to be with. Their love will be a facade built around a faith which isn't true. I'm sure there is even more cost here but we can elaborate more later in the thread.
Keeping the same sexual tone, what about masturbation? Many Christians teach that this is a sin. If the atheist is right then it is just a natural desire and it harms no one. What do we have to lose if we believe? We lose many joyful experiences and the stress relief that accompanies them. We create a stress and a need to seek out a partner for sexual release when that might not be the best current action in our life. We might believe that all birth control is also wrong, and thus incur the cost of raising a child we might not have been ready for, thanks to our belief. And, all the while, we create guilt and stress because we are fighting this natural desire. Is this cost so minor that it should be discarded?
What about time? Let's say we are good Christians (but not fanatic about it) and attend church once a week for an hour. That's 52 hours a year. Or 3,640 hours in a 70 year lifespan. That amounts to over 200 days (assuming we only sleep 6 hours a night) of lost time. Time when we could have been doing something productive to make the world a better place. Or even time we could have spent masturbating.
Does this lost time have a cost? Even if we were to spend that extra hour sleeping, it would provide health and emotional benefits.What about the cost of bibles and study guides? Or the time spent reading them? What about those people who convert and become pastors instead of scientists and finding a cure for some disease? Can we find that cost?
So really.... what are the true costs of Christianity? We know it is greater than zero!
Let's not even mention the numerous offerings and tithes I made.