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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 6:02:17 PM | What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
1. The hypocrisy of the vast majority of them.
2. The inability, or unwillingness, of various sects to give me a satisfactory explanation of why their particular dogma contradicts the Bible.
3. My coming into possession of, and rigorously studying, a Greek New Testament made #1 even more evident, and #2 even harder for them to do.
I have to agree with these.
I use to care and spent much time and energy with those that call themselves Christian but it ended with me realizing that the vast majority of them are like that preacher on TV who said if the president of Venezuela thinks we are trying to assassinate him we should assassinate him, and this guy is supposed to be one of the most holy Christians on the earth.
So I don't care anymore kill em all and let God sort them out.
And after the nukes fall there will be peace and imagine the evolutionary benefits to the survival of the fittest.
Oh yeah the power of the dark side comes with immediate rewards also and I can throw lightning bolts at people that piss me off.
Also I don't like the company of most that call themselves Christian.
In short what turned me off to Christianity? those that profess with their mouth to be Christian.
Look at WBC these folks say that they are Christian and even say they are doing God's work. Vomit. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 6:48:18 PM |
"The same reason I stopped believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy."
Will you still believe this on your death bed????
Probably. I suggest doing a search on the fallacy of Pascal's Wager.
this guy is supposed to be one of the most holy Christians on the earth.
Sounds like you're talking of Pat Robertson, and I think you've confused the term "most holy" with "most self-righteous." | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 6:51:54 PM | | Well there are a few things. See science and religion are basically enemies they definitely don't go together. Science is all about proof or proving things where as religion is all about a book in which any man could write. Honestly how similar do you believe todays bible is to the original knowing no one knows the language they used when they wrote it. Also think of how religion is pushed and I mean all religions not just Jehovah's. Kids born to 2 believers are almost forced to believe in god. They are dragged to church weather they want to go or not. They are forced to pray before they eat and go to bed. So kids are forced into it. And now is for the bible itself. I believe it is john 16:12 this wont be all of it but part. And it might not be exact as it has been 10 years since I even seen it. But it sais god gave his only begotten son so who ever should believeth in him shall not parish but have everlasting life. If you don't then what you go to hell. If you sin and don't follow gods commandments you go to hell. What's with that. Actually I don't believe it is said that if you don't believe you go to hell actually I am not sure what happens then if your spirit is stuck in the world we know or maybe you don't get a spirit. I really don't know. People should believe because they believe not because someone forced it on them or because they don't want to be punished. You should not have to be rewarded in order to believe. People can be gullible. I bet I could convince someone Ronald McDonald is god. Just say ya god believes his followers shouldn't go hungry so he gives all his followers big macs for life. Now this is stretching it but I am sure you see what I mean. True beliefs should not be pressured at all. Someone should really dig deep in themselves to see what they actually believe. I did. I think allot of people are religious to get rid or help with the fear of death. If you believe you will have everlasting life. Now I question if you died but you could still think how many people would be upset because they never got what was promised to them. No one knows and that is the only reason religion has lasted you can't prove it wrong, But then can you prove it exists???? | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 7:05:30 PM | | Oh and 1 more thing the money thing. Ya people are asked to give offerings not forced but asked. That isn't it though.think of the high end churches like where the pope stays. These are some nice buildings and well a building like that would not be cheap. so where does all the money come from the offerings alone, to build all the churches which there are thousands then you have to upkeep the property, clean the church, Pay the pastor, Where does all the money come from I doubt it is all just offerings and well isn't there anything better all that money could have went towards. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 7:27:06 PM | GhostKnight007 said:
I use to care and spent much time and energy with those that call themselves Christian but it ended with me realizing that the vast majority of them are like that preacher on TV who said if the president of Venezuela thinks we are trying to assassinate him we should assassinate him, and this guy is supposed to be one of the most holy Christians on the earth.
Pat Robertson?
I'm a pretty serious Christian, and I didn't know anything about him until his off-the-cuff remark about Venezuela. For me, King Juan Carlos I of Spain is more of a Christian figure, being a Christian monarch, than Mr. Robertson is (His Majesty was applauded for telling Venezuelan President Chavez recently to "shut up" when both were together in a Spanish-Latin American summit and Chavez kept running absurdities from his mouth like he usually does).
And I can assure you that the vast majority of Christians in the world have never heard of Pat Robertson before. Only the evangelical Protestant American Christian sector. About 75% of the Christians in the world are either Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. To them, Pat Robertson is a nobody.
Kotkoj said:
Well there are a few things. See science and religion are basically enemies they definitely don't go together. Science is all about proof or proving things where as religion is all about a book in which any man could write.
No.
"Science" is the study of the natural world through the scientific method and observation. It is not just about "proving things". That's the profession of a lawyer, not a scientist.
"Religion" is a set of beliefs or codes that bind a person or a group of people together. It may or may not involve a book. In Christianity's case (particular traditional Christianity, in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), there is certainly more than just the Bible; the Bible is one of many facets, aspects, and sources of that faith. Other religions may not use a book at all, or use it minimally.
Honestly how similar do you believe todays bible is to the original knowing no one knows the language they used when they wrote it.
I wasn't aware that the authorship of the Biblical texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek is in question. Whether the original texts look EXACTLY like our modern-day counterparts may be in question, but not the language itself.
Also think of how religion is pushed and I mean all religions not just Jehovah's. Kids born to 2 believers are almost forced to believe in god. They are dragged to church weather they want to go or not. They are forced to pray before they eat and go to bed. So kids are forced into it.
This doesn't seem to have any bearing on whether a religion is true or false. If the Christian God exists, He exists. If He doesn't, He doesn't. What parents make their children do is irrelevant. I'm a convert, so I know this much already.
Likewise, children growing up in a strictly atheistic family, such as in Communist Russia or China, forced to deny all religions and forbidden to read or possess religious materials or even check out the underground church/temple on the other side of town.... does this make atheism any more or less true?
And it might not be exact as it has been 10 years since I even seen it. But it sais god gave his only begotten son so who ever should believeth in him shall not parish but have everlasting life. If you don't then what you go to hell. If you sin and don't follow gods commandments you go to hell. What's with that. Actually I don't believe it is said that if you don't believe you go to hell actually I am not sure what happens then if your spirit is stuck in the world we know or maybe you don't get a spirit. I really don't know. People should believe because they believe not because someone forced it on them or because they don't want to be punished. You should not have to be rewarded in order to believe.
You were thinking of John 3:16.
I agree, heaven and hell is not necessary in order to believe. I chose to join and believe my religion simply because I believe it to be true. It certainly wasn't for reasons of comfort or social pressure. In fact, when my mother found out I had become a Catholic, she beat me on the back with a stick and broke the stick, and it's caused an uneasiness which lasts to this day. So, most of what you said has little to do with the tenets of the Christianity itself, but simply how it's perceived or practiced in the culture that surrounds you. I'm not saying that's unimportant, of course... just that it needs to be put aside to be able to look at the heart of the matter.
Oh and 1 more thing the money thing. Ya people are asked to give offerings not forced but asked. That isn't it though.think of the high end churches like where the pope stays. These are some nice buildings and well a building like that would not be cheap. so where does all the money come from the offerings alone, to build all the churches which there are thousands then you have to upkeep the property, clean the church, Pay the pastor, Where does all the money come from I doubt it is all just offerings and well isn't there anything better all that money could have went towards.
LOL, the Pope doesn't live in a church. He lives in a set of apartments. I know what you meant, though; you were referring to the Vatican City. The Vatican City's expenses are paid through two things: 1.) museum fees, and 2.) a fund called "Peter's Pence".
The Vatican Museums have an admission to tour through the various collections and exhibits of artwork. Beautiful stuff, BTW, I got to go there myself and took lots of pictures. The ticket fee isn't much, but there are thousands and thousands of people who go through it every day. That's what pays for a great deal of it.
Peter's Pence is a collection made from every Catholic church in the world on the Sunday closest to June 29, which is the feast day of St. Peter (the first pope) and St. Paul. I can also send a donation to Vatican City anytime I want.
Regarding other churches (particularly historical churches), they were originally built through a combination of several things. First, they were built in an age when devout wealthy noblemen could donate large sums of money to build them. Second, they earned money by the sheer number of pilgrims who traveled to those sites. And finally, oftentimes they were built by pious workers for free. Many of the ornate churches here in the U.S. by Polish Americans, for example, were built merely out of devotion by the community.
And regarding whether they could have gone to "better things".... no, I don't believe in iconoclastic or Spartan churches, like the early Puritan churches here in colonial America. I make donations which I expect to go to charities for the poor, but I also make donations which I expect to go into the church itself, the artwork, the furnishings and vessels which are proper to worship.
This reminds me of a story about a priest in Mexico who, seeing the poverty that surrounded him every day, sold off all of the treasures of his parish church: the relics, the golden chalice and altar candlesticks, and so on, and so forth. He gave the money to the poor. The poor people of the parish, though, took this money and worked hard to buy back all of the things the priest had sold off. When the priest asked why they did this rather than take the money for themselves, they replied that "this church is the only beautiful thing we see through our entire lives. We couldn't let you strip that away from us."
I agree with them. I'd prefer my church to look better than my workplace, at least. In fact, I'd hope that my church is the best building in the entire city, since it's dedicated to the greatest being. Furthermore, it's a bit like how, when the woman with the labaster jar (which was worth an entire year of her income) broke it and anointed it on Christ's feet with her hair, the Apostles criticized her, saying "To what purpose is this waste? For this might have been sold for much and given to the poor." Christ replied, "Why do you trouble this woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always."
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 7:38:56 PM | | Well there is more. The ark. There are so many things about it that would be impossible. Not even a miracle could pull that off. Then every religious person believes there own stories of the religion. I haven't met anyone who believes everything in the bible is true. Ya I know my religion is Christianity because that is what I was exposed to so I know a little bit. If you are going to believe it I would think you would have to believe all of it or basically you are creating your own religion. I don't think you should say I believe in heaven but not hell as I have heard. To me it all just sounds like a bunch of B.S especially the ark. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/24/2008 7:41:17 PM | 1) The hypocrisy.
2) The extreme self-righteousness of more than just a few people.
3) What constitutes "moral" behavior can be reasoned out rather than a person being "told". Some things just make sense, because they produce better results. Also, I do believe that we harm ourselves when we do bad things.
4) I believe Jesus existed. I don't believe people though really followed what HE said. They like to also follow anything any high ranking member of the church wrote no matter how much it is directly against what Jesus said.
5) I was raised Catholic and can tell some serious horror stories about the church and Catholic school I was in. The abuse was rampant. I'm not talking just little things either. How could there be a god and such extreme rampant abuse going on? The number of messed up lives is pretty astounding. There is no "higher power" who cares. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/25/2008 7:27:43 AM |
See science and religion are basically enemies they definitely don't go together. Not so. Well, except to the clueless on either end of the spectrum. Religion and Science were always best pals. Look at the history of modern science and you have a whole lot of "religious" scientists. And they wouldn't make claims without supporting them with facts -- what, you want us to accept what you say as a matter of blind faith? Get out of here!
Honestly how similar do you believe todays bible is to the original knowing no one knows the language they used when they wrote it The language they used was Hebrew. And Aramaic. And Koine Greek. And I think the OT has some Sumerian, but I'm not sure. Anyway, that's at least three. All known languages, with the two major ones used not being "dead" languages. Or didn't you know that? How similar is a Bible today to the original? Close as is practically possible, with variations based on documented transmissions, but none of them being sufficient to cast out any key doctrines. And your quote? It's John 3:16.
I bet I could convince someone Ronald McDonald is god. Good luck with that one. I don't think you have the charisma, common sense, or education to convince anyone of anything. I mean, look what a crappy job of convincing someone that you're a "scientist". You got an "F" :-) | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/25/2008 8:27:07 AM | If you take a good, hard,objective look at Christianity and it's alleged founder,it's quite obvious that the religion is just a recycled Pagan myth.Christ,like all savior myths is a personification of the sun and the gospel is merely a retelling of that.
I gave up fables when I was about 10.I like my reality to be objective. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/25/2008 3:59:24 PM | I haven't read the thread, just the OP.
I can't really say I have rejected christianity, or even ignore it (which is just not POSSIBLE here in North America) Rather I have expanded my spirituality to encompass many religious teachings... christianity is a part of that. But for the most part my sojourn into other realms came from about 10 years of studying the bible and seeing things from quite a few protestant sects and learning about Catholicism (historically and modern). There are just too many questions that are not answered to my satifaction in christianity alone.
It doesn't help that at least 50% of "christians" are anything but. I've met the real ones and I love them, fabulous people... but the rest are there simply because it's the thing to do... like brushing one's teeth.
My relationship with the All That Is... that is the most important thing to me, and I know it doesn't have to happen within any sect, it's in the heart.
Peace | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/25/2008 4:48:51 PM | Oh, and did I mention......when I figured out that ALL RELIGIONS WERE FOUNDED ON RACIST BELIEFS......
Is there ONE single Christian that has researched the origin of his/her own religion????
The bible promotes slavery....period.
Genesis 17:12-God recgnizes that people BUY people.
Exodus 12:43-God singles out slaves for special treatment
Exodus 21:1-God endorses the branding of slaves by mutilation
Exodus 20:21-beating your slave is ok, as long as he doesn't die
Exodus 21:32-God places a value on slaves (30 sheckels). And there is no knowledge of the concept of inflation by this "all knowing being". So a slave should go for about the same price.
And in the New Testiment
Luke 7:12-Jesus heals a slave of a roman centurian. Heals him without admonishing the slave's owner
Colossians 3:22-God encourages slaves to work hard
Titus 2:9-"Bid Slaves to be submissive to their masters, and to give satisfaction in every respect, they are not to be refractory, not to pilfer, but to show entire and ture fidelity."
And you want to be a part of all that? | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 12:37:56 AM | well romaticoptimist I don't understand how you think religion and science go together. I have never heard a scientist or science in general claiming the bible is correct. and just cause some scientists are religious that doesn't mean anything to me. I would bet that you could find religious mass murderers. You could definitely find religious people that molest children. So really I don't see how it matters if some scientists are religious. What they say doesn't resemble the bible at all. In fact I see more of them trying to prove that it couldn't have been the way the bible sais.
How similar is a Bible today to the original? Close as is practically possible, with variations based on documented transmissions
I have heard many people say that the language was similar to the ones you mentioned but still different. I have heard parts of the original bible were altered or removed completely. Who knows maybe they are pretty much exactly the same that still doesn't prove who ever wrote it just wasn't a good author. As most authors tell good stories.
I mean, look what a crappy job of convincing someone that you're a "scientist
I never once said I was a scientist. And I never tried to make anyone think that so maybe stick to reading what I write rather than reading between the lines. I was good at science however well physics and biology anyways but that doesn't make me a scientist. But every theory they came up with makes more sense to me than the bible ever will. If we cam from apes/monkeys so be it. I have definitely seen some men that would make one believe this. With hair covering there entire bodies. Who knows where we really came from but the bible doesn't make any sense. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 12:56:35 AM | There are a lot of issues here, which would take a while to cover in depth. I might address the question of science and religion, in particular, the relationship between Christianity and science.
As with other topics in intellectual debate, it helps to understand what the meanings of the terms and words are in the argument before we examine them, to narrow things down. 'Science' has a wide variety of meanings, as it is used to describe many things. The word science itself comes from Latin scientia, or knowledge.
I will understand science to mean in this case modern empirical science, which has its birth roughly from the time of Galileo onwards, but has precursors in Greece and the medieval period. It is in the early modern period that the 'split' between science and religion seemed to have occured, as well as the break between philosophy and religion. The reasons for this are very complex and it would take too long to describe them (indeed Cambridge has released three massive volumes, each 1500 pages long, all addressing the history of science just from the time of Galileo to the 18th century in its History of Science series).
The relationship between science and religion is more complex than people simply dismissing science for religious reasons, or scientists dismissing science because God is not an entity capable of direct observation or subject to experiments. In Galileo's time, people like him, Copernicus, Descartes, and Kepler were devout in a religious sense yet their faith didn't stop them from doing their scientific work. Descartes was concerned after Galileo's condemnation his own scientific and philosophical work might be attacked also, so he was careful to avoid saying certain things in the wrong way, but even so his works, philosophical and scientific, were widely disseminated amoung leading intellectuals of the day.
In the case of Galileo, his condemnation involves some fairly complex historical circumstances. Galileo, like Descartes, strongly attacked the received worldview which was a synthesis of Aristotle's science and philosophy and the medieval synthesis of theology and philosophy in the form of Scholasticism. Both these thinkers decided to reject scholastic philosophy and science in favour of a more individualistic, empirical approach to knowledge and reality. With Descartes it was trying to find certain truths using one's own mind, and with Galileo using mathematically based theories combined with careful experimentation to uncover nature's deep inner structures. The Catholic Church at the time had certain reservations about people going off and making their own interpretations of things using unaided reason, as Luther's schism in the church with all its disruptive violence had been based on his own reading of the Bible, which differed strongly from received tradition. Galileo was working at the time of the Counter-Reformation and the church was trying to regain control over who interpreted the bible and how it was interpreted, as well as measures to keep Catholics loyal to the Church and Rome.
The ideas of Descartes and Galileo and others were extremely radical for the time as they emphasized the power of individual reason and sense to uncover Truth. This project was not carried to its logical conclusions by Descartes or Galileo, but later on by David Hume and Kant in philosophy and by many others in science. The result was major progress in Philosophy and Science, but the price was the fragmentation and rejection of tradition, including in matters of organised religion, in favour of judgement by individual conscience and reason.
Our demands these days for things to be proven by either rational argument or empirical evidence, including religious questions, is very much in the spirit of the break between organised religion and science which occured in the early modern period. Despite the violence and rapidity of the break, and the vast gulf between theology and science today, I don't think either of these areas can entirely ignore each other. Whether we believe in a God or not, many people believe God exists, and also science now forms an indispensible part of our society and civilisation. Neither religion nor science are going to go away anytime soon, so those working in either field do need to have some kind of understanding of each other. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 12:57:37 AM |
I have never heard a scientist or science in general claiming the bible is correct.
Years ago, I read a book titled "Genesis and the Big Bang", written by Gerald Schroeder. He's a physicist, if I recall correctly. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 3:17:56 AM |
No, it is not a set-up to debate you,
THAT idea from the OP sure seems to have been tossed out, yes ?
I just want to know why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision?
Well....since you asked so nicely ....
I do not believe in SOME versions of “God" and “Jesus”.
Why ? Because of the damned “Christians”. They are the ones who i do not “believe in”
Yes, what i don’t believe in are “Christians”..
And you wonder why ? Well.....Any of this sound familiar?
“God spoke to me and here is how He wants you to vote “
“Give me money if you love Jesus”
“I spoke to God, and He said i am forgiven. Trust me on this .....”
“______ is a Theory, now let me misuse the term “Theory”, to pull the wool over your eyes”
“Gay people chose their Life Style! Gay people are evil ! ( Unless they are prominent Church Leaders, then they are just "confused" and will go into hiding until the Spin Doctors say it is OK to come out and fleece more sheep)
“God spoke to me ! Thus you can not argue with me! Stop thinking !”
“MY Christ is Holy! YOUR Christ is not. I will ignore the parts of the history of Christianity
I choose and MY Church has no responsibility for those things! In fact, i will use history to
speak ill of other Christian Churches so that I might get people to change where they send their
money!”
“ I live in a great home, owned by my church, which is owned by a convoluted series of partnerships registered in my dead mothers name. Is that a problem? By the way, send me more money! These lawns don't water themselves!”
“ I will lie when it suits me. You can never lie. I will cheat when it suits me. You will never cheat.
God will help me kill my enemies. You can not kill. I can and will ,DO what I want, whenever i want
because i have a direct line to a Burning Bush. Now, shut up and let me tell you how it is .....”
"Your son is a diabetic ? I can cure him ! God will cure him if you give me _____. ( six week later) He died ? Well it was because he did not have Faith! Now about your donation ......"
"Sex is BAD ! Sex is evil! Now, let me test your Faith with my little fold-out cot ...."
"Don't play with Johnny. Johnny is "one of them". Play with the "Christian Children"
" You can't date him ! He is a _______. Date a Christian!"
“Sure SOME of us have done wrong. BUT you can’t blame ALL of us for a few bad apples.
Yes, some of us hate other people who do not believe like us, but Jesus loves them. Isn't that enough? Yes, SOME people have killed in Gods Name, but what’s a few million folks , give or take. It is all Satan ! He made us look bad! If you see holes in our arguments it is The Dark One!. Now go sit down and write me a BIG check.”
The best “salesmen” for Atheism, in my world, are Christians. Wouldn’t Jesus be proud ? | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 9:44:41 AM |
Reading some of the threads, I see many here have made up their minds that there is no God or have decided that Christianity is not for them. Fair enough. I would just like to hear how some of you came to these conclusions. No, it is not a set-up to debate you, I just want to know why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision?
I didn’t and don’t.
Instincts are a given thing and serve a great purpose... I live by mine...
This is not to say I am an atheist, but certainly I'm agnostic. It's self-defeating to ignore anything isn't it? I keep an open mind, live by my feelings, consider what resonates and appreciate that others recognize this in me. :) | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 12:16:17 PM | | It always cracks me up when people say they refuse to go to Church or to believe the Bible because of hypocrites. Not sure why that should affect your viewpoint. The whole point of the New Testament is that we are a sorry selfish bunch incapable of doing good and we needed a Savior. The Church is a place for sinners not those who are perfect. How many people no matter what they believe can live up to their ideals? If you want to throw scorn at the self-righteous ones though, you may be on to something. Jesus didn't care for them either. | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 1:52:13 PM | This is a point I have pondered quite a bit.. and through my studies came to the conclusion (for myself) that "christ consciousness" is very real. I have seen it occur myself, in people of all religions or none at all. What the new testament purports to say is that when someone receives the holy spirit they are "transformed" from within. I have met those so transformed, some by christianity, some by other ways. They are DIFFERENT people than they were before... and it shows in their life, actions and thoughts. Are they perfect? No, I do not think that is possible in this realm... are they better? Yes. The biggest difference is a sensitivity to their own shortcomings and a turning away from judgement of ohers, and also the power to live differently than they were before.
I see this in some christians, and not in others. The "christ consciousness" is apparent, it makes itself known in those who have received it, or realized it, or however you wish to state it. These people glow, they attract people to them with their calmness and quiet conviction.. they are loving, accepting and serene on some level. They have no need to preach... their very being is a testament to what they have in their hearts.
There are many "self-described" christians (and fairly those of different beliefs) who do not show this, essence, or whatever it is. They are legalistic, judgemental, holier-than-thou, self-righteous and intolerant. They show a desire for the destruction of others, rather than the mercy and love and empathy that is apparent in those with it. They are the antithesis of "christ consciousness" and because of their self-righteousness they are loud and taken to public statements of their "philosophy". They make a bad name for those who claim "christianity" in truth... and drive others away with their arrogance. It doesn't take scholarship to be aware that this is not a testament of the power of spiritual renewal, and some of those who might have sought such turn away in disgust and, unfairly maybe, see all who claim christianity in this light.
For an extreme example I hold up Jim Jones, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell.. and many many more who are a blight on the name of christianity...and who have led many to a twisted version of the words of one (real or not) that was ALL about loving thy neighbor (and enemies).. being merciful, charitable, kind, humble, giving service and showing empathy - as much as one would do for him/her self or loved ones. There are, in modern christianity, many shepherds who lead people astray with fear, hatred, intolerance and self-righteousness. I've read some of the "Left Behind" books and was disgusted with the horrors described in them... if that is what some "christians" really believe nd WANT to see happen I would have to question their "salvation", "christ consciousness" does not abide there.
So when those who have found something valuable in christianity are baffled by those who have rejected it...look around to your "spokespeople"(whether they support your personal convictions or not - they are the public "face" of your faith)... it's pretty apparent, and very sad.
Basically, elitism is the enemy of Christ's message, and if I were a christian I would become quite vocal in denouncing it. I've read my bible... Jesus was NOT an elitist, if anything he showed a abhoration of elitism... he pointed to the self-righteous of his day and his religion and DENOUNCED them, publicly... and as the story goes he paid the ultimate price for his shining the light in the darkness of legalism and hypocrisy. THAT is the message I got from the gospels. True christianity, or "christ consciousness" is inclusive.. to the point where Jesus opened it up to the Gentiles... and in his day that was pretty serious blasphemy.
Pretty courageous dude.
So in my travels I have found many who have left the meat of the message to search for nitpicking details in scripture to condemn others with.. they have lost the entire point. And their way, IMHO.
Fortunately I believe "God" has many ways to speak to the heart of humans...
And that's my take on why so many look at christianity and turn away from it.. Don't worry though, "God" hasn't forgotten them... Or like many like to say, "God works in mysterious ways".
Peace | |
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| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 1:57:50 PM | | i find that, having avalanched so far from its original premise, what we recognize as 'christianity' is far too dangerous to ignore. christ's teachings initiated an awareness of the interconnectedness of all creation and our obligation to each other. however, what i see now from many who claim to follow those teachings scares me to death. | |
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