Quote:
Originally Posted by Thor
I don't fight Christianity as a whole, I fight against the religious thinking pervasive in this world in all religions. Its a outdated idea created by humans and still exists today because of the centuries of church doctrine and in many instances state control by church and state.
My problem always lies in the actions of Christians and any other religious group, when you tell me a gay/lesbian is a sinner and deserves no rights by the state, when you tell me that a soul enters a zygote and therefore stem cell research had to be held back..
Theres countless examples, but if you kept those beliefs out of the voting booth I'd have nothing to bitch about, but you and I both know thats an impossibility, especially in America.
The reason you hear so much more these days from non believers is because finally we have a safe place to talk without fear of all kinds of punishment and social shunning, the internet. Christians play the "why so mean to us" while your religious leaders say atrocious things about us, and politicians in the US proudly say hateful things about non believers because they like to play to your divine place on earth.
So can we seriously end this 'why so mean' to Christians nonsense, if you can't handle the logical debate of how your bronze age beliefs affect our modern day lives then there is always the bliss of being told weekly by some guy that everything is gonna be alright and god loves you unless you're gay, or non Christian, or a cheating spouse, or the 100000's of other things your god likes to punish and kill people for.  |
That is a fantastic post. It really sums up what I think a lot of atheists/agnostics or basically "unbelievers in Christ" feel when it comes to Christianity and religions as a whole.
Frankly, it really is too bad that Christianity in general has such a bad rap like this. It is an example of some ruining it for everyone.
Christ did not intend this for his church. As Christians we are to love the Lord with all our hearts, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. That basically means denying ourselves and wants and acting out in love, in whichever form that may be. It's being selfless.
Where most go wrong is here: We follow Jesus' commands BECAUSE he loved us and saved us, not IN ORDER to earn salvation and "be a Christian."
That's where you hear the abominable preaching of: "Thou shalt not be gay, or thou shalt not do stem cell research, or thou shalt not commit adultery." Unfortunately, the belief here is that as long as you follow everything the Bible says and follow a bunch of rules, you will go to heaven and be saved from hell.
It doesn't work that way. Commands in the Bible are there to help Christians live the life that God intended them to. You follow them because you were saved and your eternity secured, not in order to earn it.
When you become saved, God gives you a brand new heart and attitude, and the Holy Spirit guides you and helps you to make the right decisions as you go through life. It's like a horse that is broken, you WANT to follow Christ's commandments and you desire to do the right thing.
That's where true Christianity differs from other religions in the world, or the "Christianity" that you hear preached especially in America. Other religions are a set of rules that you must follow in order to win favour with the god. Christianity was not meant to be like that, and it is truly unfortunate and disappointing that so many have given the world this negative perception.
Preachers, especially television preachers, should be preaching that unbelievers give their hearts to the Lord first and then follow His commands later as the Spirit convicts us in order to clean up the parts of our lives that God sees as non-beneficial. Instead, they are doing it backwards and telling people that they can earn their salvation by doing good works and "not being gay" and such, and then maybe God won't be so angry with them and make them rot in hell.