More than half of Americans are still Christian? Jesus Christ!
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I guess my only current regret is that I won’t be around anymore to be relieved that it’s finally over. /s
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We’ve all seen people “conclusion shopping” on the internet to support their preconceived notions. But people also “hate-shop” when looking for an ethos, whether that’s being a Southern Baptist, free-market fundamentalist, or Nazi. People search for belief-system that does not challenge their pre-conceived beliefs.
At it’s best, Christianity challenges people to do BETTER. To examine themselves. To set aside a little bit of time every week to ponder moral questions. But most people would rather spend time surrounded by people that think the same way that they do, and get a least a little time when they can feel superior to others. So that is what they choose to do.
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I am an American Christian, and I’m raising 3 new young ones. Though, I admit, it’s a lot easier to do it here in the Swiss Protestant church, where the message is about loving your neighbor, and forgiving others and yourself.
I often ask myself “what would Jesus do” and it seems one good guess would be “not hang out with the whack-job American Christians”.
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If one extends this line of thought, doesn’t it mean that, as far as you are concerned, you are going to live forever, as you won’t be aware of your death?
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“Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, ‘I am not the kind of person I want to be.’ It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.”
(From the appendix on religion in The Dune.)
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Overzealous anything is annoying. But also, atheists are not showing up on my doorstep trying to convert me, or telling me I’m going to burn in hell, or going to miss the direct elevator ride to heaven if I don’t join them. Atheists also don’t have tax-free buildings in every neighborhood used to remind me that they have the one true path. Nor are atheists trying to enact legislation to control my reproduction, or restrict my access to healthcare, or organizing to elect total hypocrites to Congress.
This would be a lot simpler conversation if religious zealots could just leave the rest of us in peace.
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Right? I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately. You don’t even have to be kind, just leave us the fuck alone ffs.
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Pre-21st Century, it used to be that Christians strived to emulate Christ. Nowadays, no Christian could recognize him nor be able to understand his words. The new religion of Christians is the pursuit of absolutist power, and no longer the pursuit of absolutist truth.
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You sure about that, new comrade?
That weighty tomb of a first comment says otherwise.
The thing is, I HAVE READ IT; as a teen, and again as an adult; and I never said nor even implied that it was all some kind of Pollyanna fairytale.
That’s just your own misinterpretation of my comment.
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Despite what some say, atheism and science are not synonyms.
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Fair points; atheists are mainly just annoying when they bogart conversations and condescend to others, whereas fanatical Xtian asshole zealots often try to get their beliefs made into laws and policy which affect us all.
That is quite the distinction.
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And it’s often dudes, talking down to women. 
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That’s overly generous to past Christianity, and unfair to present Christianity, but the absolute decay of American White Evangelicalism over the last couple of decades really has been astonishingly fast and complete.
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I believe in God or some sort of higher power and that this life is not all there is. I also live my life like a Christian, do unto others and treat everyone like I would want to be treated, help others because I would want others to help me and my loved ones.
This is what I don’t get about the hard core Christians, I have a couple as friends, we’re good friends but we strongly disagree on what it means to be Christian.
One example that sums up our differences. A few years ago a friend got terminally ill and was near the end of life, my wife and I were fortunate that we could drop what we were doing and drive a long distance to say goodbye and help his family any way we could. One afternoon a friend of ours asked my why I did the things I do. I said I don’t understand the question. They asked why we dropped what we were doing to see our friend and help the family. I said I still don’t understand but we did what we did because it was the right thing to do. Him and his wife had been good freinds for many years to us and our daughter so why wouldn’t I. He’s a great man and I wanted to help. It’s what anyone would do.
Here’s where they lost me. It was explained to me my motivation was wrong, I shouldn’t be doing it because it’s the right thing to do and it’s how I expect to be treated, I should be doing it to serve God.
But if I do the right thing won’t God be happy? Not if I’m doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Sorry, this conversation is over and I walked away.
Do the right thing because it’s the right thing, why does their God expect to be served? That’s what I don’t get. God should be happy that we or anyone lives their life in a good way, why must we do it to serve God?
I have questions once I meet their God but I suspect that God doesn’t exist and won’t they be surprised when they meet God and he’s doing a face palm saying boy did you misunderstand being a Christian.
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This coupled with the fact that much of christianity currently believes that faith (aka, knowing the password) alone is enough to get into Heaven is a big problem with me. We can’t do the right thing because it’s right, we have to be doing it for God. We have to say the Sinner’s prayer the right way or we don’t get into heaven, and it doesn’t matter how many people we hurt as long as we say those words. None of your actions matter, at all. All that matters is that you said the secret words and meant them.
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Yeah, I think the parable of goats and sheep in Matthew 25 is about exactly that thing.
The way I see it, doing the right thing because it’s the right thing is serving God; doing it because we love and care for our fellow humans is the same thing.
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