Let's be honest. There are quite a few Christian groups who go beyond searching for acceptance and spreading the lord's work with incredibly dividing tactics such as bombing clinics (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-17-rudolph-monday-sentencing_x.htm), threatening death on public officials (http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/father-and-son-arrested-for-threatening-to-kill-stupak-over-health-care.php?ref=fpblg) and stepping out in the public eye to denounce other minority groups or religions as disgusting and wrong (http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1108002726).
And to me, any attempt to circumvent or fight Separation of Church and State is hypocritical and a waste of time considering all the real problems there are in the US. Seriously, while people are being thrown out of their homes and cancer rates are rising, these Christian groups are more interested in pouring money into fighting their "lost right" to pray in church. YOU CAN PRAY ALL YOU FUCKING WANT. It only becomes insulting to demand through laws that everyone else pray with you.
Under God was added to the pledge in the 1950's by the way.
The list of issues with Christians is a long one.
Hell Houses. Haunted Houses run by Christian groups who replace your dad in his robe and white paint as the grim reapers with hell-worthy scenes of abortion, raves and homosexuality.
Pat Robertson. If only those Haitians hadn't made a pact with the devil.
Napoleon the Third... or whatever.
The Phelps Family: Need I say more?
Well maybe just, no, that's not what anal sex feels like.
Pentacostal summer camps familiar to doc lovers as Jesus Camp (http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/). Camps that alternate between seminars about the evils of abortion with fun fetus action figures and breaking small children to tears for being "liars" in their faith.
But before you think this entire entry is my chance to shit all over Christianity allow me to point out the striking similarity in my small list above.
That's not Christianity... those are PEOPLE.
Nowhere in the Bible (as far as I've read granted I've only gotten to the part where Soylent Green is people) does it give directions for creating Hell Houses, running an abusive summer camp for children or disrupting funerals to protest whatevers up their ass that week nor does it have Haiti on the short list of countries that made a pact with the devil.
Although Detroit is.
Christianity cannot be strictly defined having many different interpretations being classified as an Abrahamic religion along with Islam and Judaism with the origins found in Judaism around the first and second millennium BCE during which the Hebrew bible was formed. 1,500 years later Christianity was formed following the original peace loving hippie Jesus Christ and his nailing to the cross/resurrection act (don't be offended, if you can't laugh you're dead). Come the 7th century, Islam was founded by Mohammed on the teachings of the Quran (handed down orally from Allah through the angel Jibr'il (which can be translated as Gabriel) which refers to Moses and David (who are old school) and also Jesus. For 1,300 years Judaism, Islam and Christianity were thought to be intertwined by similar histories and thought.
Here's a handy dandy timeline for the confused: http://chaos1.hypermart.net/fullsize/wrwestfs.gif
The difference came to INTERPRETATION.
Now I'm not interested (at least, not right now) in pointing out the slight amount of irony in the continuous fire fight between those three religions who all have the same idea and have shared quite a bit of bloodshed over those same ideas in our lifetime alone. But isn't it interesting nonetheless?
Christianity began with a general concept. God on high, Jesus is his son and man's messiah (prophesied in the Hebrew bible), Jesus died for our sins and taught love for our fellow man.
You know what Jesus didn't teach (at least according to the bible)? DAMNATION.
The bible is broken in two parts. Old Testament when God was sick of his kids wrecking the house every time he left for work so he tried tough love of hell fire, natural disasters and on one drunken bet (with his former dude now fallen angel douche Satan) tormenting one of his strongest followers, Job, by killing his family, taking his home and covering his worshipping ass in disease.
God also forced Job to see into the future of Christianity.
But that was old testament, man. Then came the New Testament following Jesus Christ who teachings are basically (and I say basically because I'm interpreting gospels written two thousand years ago) compassion and forgiveness.
http://www.gospel-mysteries.net/teachings-jesus.html
Now, the gospels can be and have been interpreted many different ways though the basic idea stays the same. Sometimes it's interpreted as extreme morality, sometimes as Utopian ideals and sometimes as a general map to salvation (do your best but try not to fuck anyone up). NOWHERE have I found Jesus screaming in his underwear "FOLLOW OR BE DAMNED MEDAMMIT!" It wouldn't make sense if he did. Have compassion and if you don't enjoy an eternity of torture? I'll feel sorry for you?
I mean, technically, hell has been interpreted as "grave". As in Jesus has also been sent to "hell" (Acts 2:31 KJV) before he was resurrected.
So where are these Christians coming from? It's really simple. It's called ignorance. These are Christians who have listened to each other and made their own conclusions rather than referring back to the text they laud.
Christianity has been abused so rampantly that's it's become more weapon than belief. A trigger button on a gun made of fear and stupidity wielded when all other logic has failed (despite the astounding amount of history and logic there actually IS to Christianity).
Besides, according to the Bible, if there even IS a hell then it is a fallacy that God could condemn his people to hell seeing as God is love John4:8. But beyond that only fucking GOD can condemn a sinner to Hell. Drop that paradox down the next time a Southern Baptist minister screams in your face.
My final point is such. There are over 2.2 BILLION Christians in the world. Now out of 2.2 billion a couple thousand are running around reinterpreting the religion to their needs. Really, in the scope of things, that's like saying your house party with 30 people was a bust because one drunk frat guy called your boyfriend a pussy and puked in your menses pot.
So true Christians, wear your crosses high on the neck and pray as hard as you can. You've got a lot of loud-mouthed assholes to cover up.
Go Christian GO!
I am the dark knight of Christ. *Bale-style roar* I love you.
ReplyDeleteOh, you should know by now that I agree with pretty much all of these points. I'm often aggravated by these groups of people who claim Christianity but then live their lives in a pattern of bigotry, sexism, and pride (the sinful kind)- refusing the urgings of God to be kind and wise.
I feel as if Pat Robertson was really as connected with God as he could be, that he would have known- despite whatever weird speculations he might have as to why Haiti happened- that wisdom would counsel him that that wasn't what the people of Haiti (or the people helping them) need to hear right now. There's plenty of Christians in Haiti and he told them that their whole world collapsed because they made a deal with the devil? That's a classic Pharisee tactic.
There are times when I grumble to myself that these people can't POSSIBLY ACTUALLY believe in Christ- otherwise how could they say and do such horrid things? But then, that too would be me being arrogant to judge any other person's faith (with the exception of the Phelps cult, because they are a cult and some of the adult members are full of demons, I'm sure). As we are ALL flawed (which is one of Paul's favorite things to point out), they might just be in a very rudimentary place in their faith- and very comfortable with that. This means that when the Holy Spirit urges them towards deepening their faith, or to the renewal of their beliefs, they dislike the discomfort, and would rather keep things their way. In a sad sort of way, they do know a little enough about being Christian- but even Christ says that he wants to walk continually with us. To my understanding this means a constant cycle of growth and learning and is very often uncomfortable.
So, for my part, as a Christian, I feel that my only and most potent option in the face of people who have managed to make me ashamed of my faith via association for many years, is to pray for them that they might someday have ears to hear what God is really trying to say to them, and that in the meantime that God would use their hurtful deeds in a redemptive way to heal the people they would harm.
I appreciate that while this post lays out all the issues with "christianity" and cites plenty of sources, that it doesn't just say- "Well UGH! CHRISTIANS ARE SO HORRIBLE". Because that's just ig'nit. And is usually the conclusion of most rants of this type. Of course, I didn't really expect that from you anyways.
I guess in closing I pride myself on trying to live a fully authentic life in Christ, and at the same time showing the public that Christians aren't all horrible douchebags. I might not have the gift (or even competency) of evangelism, but I would hope that people would look at my life and when they find out I'm a Christian- be able to take that whole set of examples and apply that to their stereotype.
Whooo- ESSAY COMMENT RAR. Just wait until I get the REAL BLOG STARTED!
It's become really interesting to me that a person can walk into a room and talk about the spiritual effects they find practicing yoga or studying Buddhism but if a Christian does the same they're usually treated like they're part of Phelps/Robertson Army.
ReplyDeleteChristianity is more about living a clean life inside and out using guidelines that have been followed for over 2000 years. Like Daoism. Like Hinduism. Like meditation. Like veganism.
Course that's just the opinion of a dancing agnostic. I could be way off base.
For realz, I'm always nervous that when I start to open up to people about my faith they're going to scream and flail as if I'm about to burn a cross-shape into their forehead with my WHITE HOT CRUCIFIX OF JUDGMENT!
ReplyDeleteI think that dancing agnostic is the most delightful religious description that I've heard in months.
And of course you're off base, you're the shortstop. BAZING! Please don't kill me.