I apologize in advance if this question has already been asked.
What, if anything, bothers you about Christianity? To clarify, by this question I don't mean to ask "what is it that bothers you about Christians, or certain Christians you have met". What is it about the religion itself that you don't like, and why?
For myself, it's this:
-The emphasis on salvation. This seems like an awfully selfish approach.
-The emphasis on Christ's death. This seems like an awfully guilt-ridden approach.
What bothers you about Christianity?
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McCulloch
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Post #2
My list:
- Logical Inconsistency
- Unfounded Certainty
- Vocabulary Redefinition
Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John
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Cephus
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Post #3
Can I add:
Irrational insistence that they are 100% right in the face of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary?
Creationism/ID anyone?
And the thing that I hate most about any religion is the desire to convert all those around them, especially when done by force or through legal wrangling.
Irrational insistence that they are 100% right in the face of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary?
Creationism/ID anyone?
And the thing that I hate most about any religion is the desire to convert all those around them, especially when done by force or through legal wrangling.
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McCulloch
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Post #5
Cathar cited an example in Once saved, always saved?sue wrote:What do you mean by Vocabulary Redefinition?
Life does not mean life. Death does not mean death. Oxymorons like willing slave.
Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John
Post #6
Besides those that you listed, in no special order...sue wrote:What, if anything, bothers you about Christianity?
1. The exclusivity of JC.
2. The NT polemic against "Jews". While I have no special sympathy for Judaism, this has caused, and continues to cause, a lot of suffering.
3. The simplistic use of OT scriptures as 'prophecy'.
4. The emphasis placed on the authority of, and the adherence to, NT 'scripture' that is so muddled and ambiguous as to support almost any interpretation.
5. The implied superiority of a "Biblical world view" over that of science.
And, at the risk of side-stepping your qualification...
6. The depths of dishonesty that some Christians will go to to defend their faith (eg. YECs), and the policies that derive from fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible (eg. Dominionism). I don't think that the behaviors of Christians are separable from Christianity itself. This is probably true of all religions.sue wrote:...I don't mean to ask "what is it that bothers you about Christians, or certain Christians you have met".
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto His people. Exodus 32:14
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Cephus
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Re: What bothers you about Christianity?
Post #8Or if you can't convert them, to punish them legally, politically and economically until they do convert.Bugmaster wrote:The built-in imperative to convert everyone to Christianity, by any means necessary.
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Tim the Skeptic
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Post #9
Theological:
The emphasis on hell - maybe this is just the flip side of your first choice: emphasis on salvation. But there seems to be a difference for me.
Institutional:
The emphasis on money and power.
Personal:
The emphasis on ignorance or "blind faith"
The emphasis on hell - maybe this is just the flip side of your first choice: emphasis on salvation. But there seems to be a difference for me.
Institutional:
The emphasis on money and power.
Personal:
The emphasis on ignorance or "blind faith"
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep. - Saul Bellow
Post #10
The worship of a deity which can actually command us to (or permit us to) murder or rape, the belief that this deity is nevertheless kind, and the insistance that we are blasphemous or deluded for finding the contradiction in this.
The severe, parental restrictions on behavior which leave no room for one's own judgement calls or individuality.
The mentality that we are such horribly evil, flawed creatures that we are fortunate not to be mindlessly tortured by a superior higher being. I find that outrageous and incredibly self-hating.
Oh yes -- and the requirement to convert others at all costs, because other beliefs, by definition, are wrong.
The severe, parental restrictions on behavior which leave no room for one's own judgement calls or individuality.
The mentality that we are such horribly evil, flawed creatures that we are fortunate not to be mindlessly tortured by a superior higher being. I find that outrageous and incredibly self-hating.
Oh yes -- and the requirement to convert others at all costs, because other beliefs, by definition, are wrong.
