Here's an interesting cut and paste story that reveals the Church of Christ has a "Conversion Quota" of one family per month. If that target is not achieved, the poverty level salary is cut by 67% !! Is this business or religion, or is religion business now? http://www.users.bigpond.com/pmurray/exchristian/ Grew up Lutheran, became "born again" when 16 and from there decided to dedicate myself to the Lord. Did the whole Jesus-freak thing in high school, attended Bible college, seminary, learned Greek. I came across the some people from the Church of Christ (conservative) and was pretty impressed - but actually I was just pretty naive and idealistic. I left Lutheranism which I viewed as irrelevant, dry, and out of touch. Within a year I was preaching for the Church of Christ. Did this for ten years. During this time, I was so miserable that I couldn't put on any weight and usually weighed 125 pounds. Also thought of committing suicide frequently ... pretty much on a weekly basis. The people treated me in such a mean, contemptible fashion it was unbelievable. Others, also, were treated poorly and made to feel not welcome. Some were doted over and treated like royalty. I moved to new churches three times, and each seemed more hypocritical than the last. Christians were the most stingy, egotistical, racist people I knew. Some were nice ... just ... not the ones in control of the church. The stories I could tell of Christians doing mean things to each other in the name of "doctrinal purity" or "for the good of the cause". You would think I'm stretching the truth when really I'd only be touching the hem of the garment. Finally, ten years into this BS, the church I was with cut my poverty level salary by 67 percent because I wasn't converting one family a month (as per my quota), and because I was a Yankee and few other things. Suddenly, I couldn't make my mortage payments, I went bankrupt, lost everything I had, was evicted from my home and as a thirty-something, had to move back in with my parents when I had a wife and two kids to think about. I wanted to die. In the end, technology saved me. I was able to transition into the IT field. My wife (who is still a hard-core fundamentalist) went back to school and finished her computer related degree. We have been living in others' basments for five years and are just about able now to afford a home of our own. The church screwed me royally but I'm almost back on my feet. The moral of the story is: Christianity isn't what it claims to be. There is nothing wrong with thier highest cliams (peace, love thy neighbor, ...), the problem is they consistently do the opposite "in the name of the Lord" and there is something about religion that brings out the most mean-spirited things in people. Christians always doubt their faith, but people who leave christianity never doubt that they made a good choice. I can attest to that as leaving the church was the best thing I've ever done. Won't you do the same?
One truth Two Truths Ever heard the phrase 'never judge an artwork by its defects'. The writer of the article had a problem with context, and obviously a bitter bias against the church. But he had a fairly substantial point. I was there in those sorts of situations, so was my mother, friends, and my sister who is still a christian but highly disillusioned with the state of the church. I can relate.
Same (ish) here ~ I had an uncle who was in the church and it screwed him and his family. He left the church after 30 years to get a life and enjoy it a little, then found out he has cancer of the colon last month. His kids suffered the most from the enforced xtianity, but that seems more a substance of the "artwork" that a defect of it. just Google "ex-christian". The number of bigotted liars who claim to be christian while distorting truth is mind-boggling.
I had an Uncle that was a preacher for years and the churches screwed him over... And he gave it up... and I dont blame him. Church=Business
Ok. You said this is true: There is a major mistake in this statement, made by the author because of their anger against one particular church. Saying "Christianity isn't what it claims to be" is totally incorrect. What should be said is "Some people who claim to be Christian are not what they claim to be." Christianity is what it is. People who claim to be Christian are not always Christians. There is a big difference in the outcome of accepting these differing statements to be true. If you accept that Christianity is deceptive, you have totally missed the point of Christianity, and you could miss out on the good of it. If you accept that some people who claim to be Christians are not Christians, you still can be accepting of Christianity's good. If someone rejects Christianity's true message, they are missing out on a good thing. It's just wrong to lump Christianity with all those who claim to be Christian. You also said this was true: It might be.
can i ask you a question, as i am truely interested. what do you believe? in my opinion you seem to take a universal look at religion and God, which i am now leaning towards. so do you see Jesus as the messiah or somebody who had the spirit of God very powerfully. peacex
Well at my church the pastor and his wife both drove luxery cars and had a new home built for them ever 3 years or so. They also employed people how did them favors. One man did construction work on his house so he made him the high chool science teacher of the private school the church ran. Of course to christians anyone can be a scientist, because all their science is about is "god did it somehow" so I guess they didn't need anyone with a degree...
I believe God created and governs everything. With some (unbelievers) God governs with ideas, hunger, and other forces that "natural" man accepts as valid reasons for acting as they do. With others (believers) God governs with religious edicts and direct communication. With others (the faithful) God governs with the love and wisdom that God has created within them. This is a great simplification- there are crossovers in God's governing techiniques between the three groups that I have mentioned here. A messiah definitely. THE ONE AND ONLY MESSIAH duh-duh duh-duhhhhh, no (unless you consider it his trademarked nickname, which it is). I think everybody has the spirit of God working within them. He is more aware of it though- more spiritually mature.
That sure doesn't sound like a squeaky-clean holy-joe goodness-for-goodness-sake vow-of-poverty image of xtianity. When I was a kid the local minister (married 2 kids) had it off with school girls aged 17. When the parishoners got wind of it ~ he was transferred by the church to another town. How many bad examples does it take to expose the truth that xtianity is a corruption riddled religion from beginning to end? And for how long will sincerely concerned people who leave the church/religion be fobbed off and demonised by self-righteous apologist bigot manipulators hell-bent on denying the patently obvious?
lol, i forgot to mention that this preacher eventually got busted with TWO (yep, two...) hookers? The associate got into some heat because he advised a woman that if she divorced her child molester husband her kids would be taken away from her, and the youth pastor was busted using the church phone lines to dial up sex hotlines. All this in a conservative baptist church that is highly critical of the actions of the "worldly, unsaved" members of society. I dont know how many sermons I had to sit through and listen about how bad everyone else is and how desperately the world needs christianity...only they forget to practice what they preach, literally....
An old saying ~ a fish rots from the head down. Never a truer word spoken. Something is very smelly indeed (in deed).
