So, I just had the chance to take a survey based on my experiences at GodTube for someone who is doing a research paper on the GodTube community as a whole. While the survey was pretty normal (how long have you been a member, do you share your content, etc) the end took a very different turn and it consisted of three pages of “since becoming a member, do you feel that you share your personal experiences with others in order to gain self esteem or worth” style questions. It looked more like an outsider’s view into religion so that someone who doesn’t have the understanding of what it means to be a Christian can find out what it’s like on the “inside” without having to actually partake of it. Also, it felt very much as someone who thought that Christianity as a whole (and the communities that develop when one becomes a Christian) are merely for those who are, as Richard Dawkins puts it, “dims” that believe in God as a crutch alone and who are incapable of rational thought.
Anyway, there was, as there always is, a “comments” section at the end of the survey. For your edification I submit my response.
In pages 10-12, I think there is a bit of a misconception or more that the survey was leading toward a specific answer. While I enjoy the sense of belonging to a community of believers, I also know that there are tares sown in among the wheat and that I still need to be careful with those around me. Also, I do not, nor would I, seek the approval of others nor to increase my own self-worth/esteem based on the views of other people. Worth is subjective and it’s only in a fully expanded definition that you can see it in detail. For instance, if you steal candy from a baby you won’t necessarily get punished as the child can’t do anything. If you steal from your wife or husband you’ll get reprimanded but it’s won’t necessarily be all that bad. If you steal from your work (embezzling, for example) then you’re going to jail. The crime is the same but the punishment is different based on whom you have committed the crimes against. In the same way, our worth, from a Christian perspective, is inconsequential compared to the worth that is placed within us through the sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid for us when He laid down His perfect life in a violent and painful execution so that we can spend eternity with Him in worship of the Godhead in Heaven.
The presumption that our self-worth is determined by the views of others shows a lack of trust in the Lord and a wrong focus in this life. I worry that those who may have answered your survey positively in regards to the self-esteem questions in order to support the site as a whole and not honestly. In the same way that you can’t assume that all Christians are homosexual hating blasphemers like those from “pastor Fred Phelps” ‘church’ the assumption that people who use this site are doing so to gain strength from those around them or that the site is a crutch for those who are still babes in Christ.
That said, I hope that this is not the case and have continued in the survey in the hopes that this is not your aim but, for my own conscience, I could not conclude this survey without speaking my peace. I truly hope that you get an excellent grade on this project and that you do well in the future.
That said, I hope you all have a great day (or night) and to you atheists – seriously consider the yourselves in light of the 10 commandments and realize that everyone (including you and me) fall short of God’s holy standard which is why Christ died for us, to pay the price that we can’t pay on our own.