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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
well you may be right, and i don't know the kind of evangelical christianity that you practice, but on this side of the atlantic we have a number of clowns who have hijacked the brains of the populace for their own political and financial ends. you will usually find them hollering "jesus" and hallellujas in every other sentence, and asking you for money on the tv, and screaming about being born again. assholes such as (to name a few)
jerry falwell (fortunately now dead)
jim bakker (ex-convict)
oral roberts
jack van impe
pat robertson (the 700 club)
jimmy swaggart
etc
and many, many many others-- many because it's a profitable con and a political force-- oh yes. i just don't remember all the name.
then there are scary types that are not necessarily on TV but who preach some of the most backwards and superstitions fundamentalism such as the southern baptists (the largest protestant denomination in america).
and then there are all manner of well-intentioned people who willingly flush their brains down the toilet and interpret the "bible" literally. i put that word in quotation marks because you have your jewish bible and then you have the gospel and what is what depends on who you talk to.
as long as people keep their beliefs to themselves i really have no problem, but when they try to keep others from living their lives as they see fit it becomes a war, and in that sense i do see myself at war with these people.
i did not intent to include you or many other innocent people in these categorizations; i have many friends and acquaintances that are, broadly speaking, christian, but none of them (obviously) are the lunatic fanatics that i've described above.
anyway, i forgot where i was going with this, but i invite you to watch a little of one of the groups i love to hate. or.. wait wait... you might appreciate this. start with 1 and follow the rest...
these are 2 separate documentaries:
1) "bible bashers"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U_B5SPkeNk
2) "the most hated family in america"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O228AQRvcqQ
then you'll realize what we're up against... |
Thanks for the links - I'll try to remember to watch them tonight.
I'm very aware of what has happened to evangelical Christianity in America, and I can assure you that outside of your country, and a few African countries, the church is a much more tolerant and authentic creature.
In fact, it was only a few days ago that a theology teacher I was talking to used the verse from Jude (
...certain men whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality...) to refer specifically to what is happening in the American Episcopal church. It's seen as pretty powerful condemnation of people like that. There are certain types of Christian, seemingly prevelant in the USA, who are a source of shame and embarrassment to the church of Christ.
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Originally Posted by Green_mind
What exactly do you learn?
Do you believe that everyone could become a better person if they were to believe in your religion?
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What can we learn from each other? Tolerance, knowledge of our differences and similarities (too many people forget the common roots to Judaism, Islam and Christianity and therefore lose the potential fellowship). People seeking to be good can often make others see things in a different light, or with a new relevence. Cultural differences can be shared too.
As for your second question, I would have to say that most religions teach people to think more, on a daily basis, about trying to be good, whether that means acts of kindness or one's own moral behaviour. So yes, I think a part of religion is about becoming a better person. But that improvement should
always be measured against oneself, not against others. It should absolutely not be a tool for one-upmanship.
And before anyone steps in, let me add that of course I realise that people can be good without religion. I know plenty of good, caring, moral people (including members of this board, of course) who are not religious.