Langston Hughes Salvation Summary

How does one find salvation? One would answer with the simple reply that salvation can be found through religion. There are a wide variety of religions that people put their faith in hoping to find their salvation such as; Buddhism, Muslims, Mormons, etc… but the most familiar is the Christian religion. In Langston Hughes “Salvation” exposes the flaws within the Christian religion, the fact that individuals do not understand what they are being taught and just doing what is expected of them as well as the hypocritical ways that happen in the Christian organization. Growing up, it is normal for children to just go with the flow of their environment and to do what is asked of them by their elders. In “salvation” Langston Hughes reveals the feeling
of obligation to his auntie. “My aunt came and knelt down at my knees and cried, while prayers and songs swirled all around me in the little church.” Right here Langston display that uncomfortable feeling that many children get when they are noncompliant and under pressure. In addition to this, Langston also sheds light on peer pressure going on to say “Finally all the young people had gone to the altar and were saved, but one boy and me.” The author is creating an atmosphere where the reader can feel the tension in the church, the same tension kids feel within a group setting and they are basically left out. Examples of peer pressure from the church can also be seen in today’s setting. In a Christian community people seem to have a lot of questions but not always voice these questions, you see this especially with kids questioning can be shunned upon or seen as disrespectful making those feel uncomfortable to express their selves or true feelings regarding the religion. Langston shows this in his reading “That night, for the last time in my life but one –for I was a big boy twelve years old—I cried. I cried, in bed alone, and couldn’t stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me. She woke up and told my uncle I was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into my life, and because I had Jesus. But I was really crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everyone in the church, and I hadn’t seen Jesus, and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus any more, since he didn’t come to help me.” This is a great example of having suppressed emotions to avoid disappointing those most important and that clearly young Langston did not have the proper understanding of what he did and why, so can be the said the same today. Do people really understand what is going on at church or are they just there?
There are numerous accounts of stories where people have expressed that they have not had a full understanding of the bible or what they were being lead to believe period while at church. For example; a blog by Lillian Daniel who is telling a story about a man she met and his experience with the church “Like many Americans, this man had made several stops in the religious marketplace. He was raised a Catholic but felt injured by that tradition. His questions weren't answered or welcomed by the church, he said, and the worship, rituals and preaching seemed irrelevant.” Church is a place where people go to find answers, but how can answers be found if questions are not welcomed in the church? Following this statement there is also other individuals that express the same issue, take J. Warner Wallace who claims “As a Christian, I have many unanswered questions. The more I study the Christian worldview, the larger my list seems to grow. Why are people having such a hard time getting the answers they need and because they are not receiving these answers is it leading the community of Christian to doubt the church teaching or find the ways hypocritical? And what about the people who go to church and find their selves self-righteous do they not show hypocrisy in their
character? Preachers have been known as the direct messengers to god they are the ones that everyone goes to seek guidance in life spiritually, the ones the members of the church put their trust in, but on several accounts these preachers have fallen short of their duties and have taken advantage of their initial power as a church leader and having immoral conduct. In an article written by Banerjee, Neela and Goodstein, Laurie they discuss the miss conduct of one preacher “The article reports on the dismissal of pastor Reverend Ted Haggard. One of his former male escorts had accused that he had sexual relationship with Haggard for three years. An independent oversight board at Haggard's New Life Church found the accusations true and dismissed him. Due to the accusation, his reputation as the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals had also crumbled.” This was a pastor that surely had the trust of his members of his church, how disappointing it can be to find out the pastor of your church is conducting his self in a matter in which would bring reproach on the congregation and make him a hypocritical leader. Following this article there was an article by Childress, Sarah speaking about children being sexually abused by their pastor. “Focuses on the Louisiana church where police allege several young children were molested. Confession by preacher Louis Lamonica, former pastor of Hosanna Church, that he and other church members had molested children; Arrest of Lamonica and eight other members of the congregation, including Lamonica's wife Robbin; Question of why Lamonica voluntarily chose to tell his story to the police; Contention by police that children were abused in rituals that may have been tied to devil worship; Information on the investigation; History of the church, which was built by Lamonica's father.” These disturbing facts just reveal that there are serious issues going on inside the Christian communities, of all things kids being sexually abused ought to never happen period and especially not in a church setting. Both of these articles give support to the very reason of why the Christian organization is indeed flawed. There are also other examples of pastors abusing other responsibility such as money.
On March, 24th, 2014 The Huston Fox channel 26 did a broadcast about a pastor stealing from his own church. “An associate pastor has been arrested for stealing more than a quarter of a million dollars from his church in Houston, investigators say Thompson created a separate account and deposited checks intended for the church over a two year period. “Taking advantage of the Christian communities’ funds for personal use, where does the corruption stop? Once again a church leader disappointing his community with his selfish endeavors instead of putting the money to good use for the church and its church members, another hypocritical situation to add to the books. One other example to look at is a posting by WLKY32 about a preacher who also was indicted for stealing money from the church and using it for personal use, leaving his congregation with the feeling of devastation once the news broke. “A former pastor of the Bardstown Baptist Church is facing criminal charges after police said he racked up a hefty balance on the church's credit cards,” Police said Mays spent at least $80,000 on guns, electronics and other personal items -- all on the church's dime They said he began illegally using the credit cards in 2009 and didn't stop until he resigned last month.” Then also goes on to say at the end of the report “This was a man who was part of their family and he has a wife and children who the
church members care about deeply," said Floyd.” It is sad indeed to see that this congregation seen this man as family only to be slapped in the face with criminal charges of stealing the congregations money, preachers need to realize how much faith really goes into them and how important it is to uphold the standards the congregation sets forth.
The opposing argument could say that this is just in special cases that you see these stories of pastors having immoral conduct or the reoccurring issues of congregation money being stolen for selfish use and that all pastors are not like this, and all though this may be true it still stands to reason of why individuals consider the church organization to be a place of hypocrisy instead of a place of peace and salvation.
As I have addressed above there are obviously flaws within the Christian religion that need not be overlooked. With all this evidence of people in the Christian community not understanding what they are being taught and just going with the flow of what is expected of them, not having their questions answered causing them to gather even more questions, and on top of all that mess there is also several encounters of preachers abusing their high authority to steal money for personal use as well as immoral conduct. After reading this is it not safe to say one may never find their salvation? Giving the facts how is a person supposed to find salvation when clearly the people preaching it do not set the proper example or guidance to follow. The Christian organization is a spiritual mess leading people into a path where more doubt is found than salvation.