Christianity Light

[JustWondering]

Is it just me or is main stream Christianity the coke zero of religions? Most Christians I talk to consider the bible as a book of stories to teach morals and not to be taken literally. Many people I've talked to who identify as Christians don't believe in hell and say that living a good life is all you need to get into heaven/please god/whatever. Most Christians I've talked to don't have a good grasp of what's actually in the bible and little to no interest in educating themselves on the subject. In short 90% or so of "Christians" I've personally interacted with seem to have their own religion loosely based off what little they know of Christianity that suits their personal needs. Most of the people I've had conversations with about religion who were in their early 20's or younger said they believed religion was BS and just a way to control people! From my POV Christianity seems to have evolved into a create your own religion workshop. Granted, I don't live in the bible belt, this is my perspective based on my experiences.

 

[George-ananda]

I agree with what you say but I don't see it as such a bad thing. It seems like the beliefs of a high percentage of Americans in their 20's, 30's, 40's is kind of this 'spiritual but not religious' position. Churches with traditional Christian dogma are not going to fair well in the modern world where everyone is going to follow their own reasoning. I find these mainstream people will say the believe in God, have vague afterlife beliefs, and like Jesus the person but not the Churches and dogma.

Welcome to the 21st century. Eastern religions have gotten a foothold but haven't gone mainstream.

 

[Thana]

Sorry but, I'm going to ignore your anecdotes. You've been on the forums long enough to know their value, or lackthereof when it comes to debate.

As to Christianity evolving, I agree, Except for the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. They seem almost the same as they were a thousand years ago. They're also the majority of Christianity with 1.2 billion last time I checked and their beliefs are usually the opposite of what you've described.

Protestants, I imagine, Are the ones you're referring to, The minority in Christianity. And you didn't even mention denominations, Are we talking mainstream Christians or are we talking Mormons, Jehovah's Witness's or the like? Christianity is too big and too diverse for you to form such a limited opinion on it.

 

[ChristineES]

The Christians I know aren't like this. I belong to 3 separate Bible studies filled with Christians who are trying to learn the Bible. What you are describing are those who call themselves Christians and go to Church on Christmas and Easter and don't think about God the rest of the time.

 

[nazz]

Is it just me or is main stream Christianity the coke zero of religions? Most Christians I talk to consider the bible as a book of stories to teach morals and not to be taken literally. Many people I've talked to who identify as Christians don't believe in hell and say that living a good life is all you need to get into heaven/please god/whatever. Most Christians I've talked to don't have a good grasp of what's actually in the bible and little to no interest in educating themselves on the subject. In short 90% or so of "Christians" I've personally interacted with seem to have their own religion loosely based off what little they know of Christianity that suits their personal needs. Most of the people I've had conversations with about religion who were in their early 20's or younger said they believed religion was BS and just a way to control people! From my POV Christianity seems to have evolved into a create your own religion workshop. Granted, I don't live in the bible belt, this is my perspective based on my experiences.

sounds about right

 

[nazz]

Sorry but, I'm going to ignore your anecdotes. You've been on the forums long enough to know their value, or lackthereof when it comes to debate.

As to Christianity evolving, I agree, Except for the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. They seem almost the same as they were a thousand years ago. They're also the majority of Christianity with 1.2 billion last time I checked and their beliefs are usually the opposite of what you've described.

Protestants, I imagine, Are the ones you're referring to, The minority in Christianity. And you didn't even mention denominations, Are we talking mainstream Christians or are we talking Mormons, Jehovah's Witness's or the like? Christianity is too big and too diverse for you to form such a limited opinion on it.

Well I live in a city with a majority Catholic population and I think the OP describes them as well.

 

[nazz]

I agree with what you say but I don't see it as such a bad thing. It seems like the beliefs of a high percentage of Americans in their 20's, 30's, 40's is kind of this 'spiritual but not religious' position. Churches with traditional Christian dogma are not going to fair well in the modern world where everyone is going to follow their own reasoning. I find these mainstream people will say the believe in God, have vague afterlife beliefs, and like Jesus the person but not the Churches and dogma.

Welcome to the 21st century. Eastern religions have gotten a foothold but haven't gone mainstream.

I see it as a mixed bag. I'm glad many young people are rejecting toxic forms of religion but many are throwing away the baby with the bathwater. I'm a fan of a more committed path but realize it is not for everyone.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Is it just me or is main stream Christianity the coke zero of religions? Most Christians I talk to consider the bible as a book of stories to teach morals and not to be taken literally. Many people I've talked to who identify as Christians don't believe in hell and say that living a good life is all you need to get into heaven/please god/whatever. Most Christians I've talked to don't have a good grasp of what's actually in the bible and little to no interest in educating themselves on the subject. In short 90% or so of "Christians" I've personally interacted with seem to have their own religion loosely based off what little they know of Christianity that suits their personal needs. Most of the people I've had conversations with about religion who were in their early 20's or younger said they believed religion was BS and just a way to control people! From my POV Christianity seems to have evolved into a create your own religion workshop. Granted, I don't live in the bible belt, this is my perspective based on my experiences.

'own religious workshop ' or eclectic religious syncretism. Some Not affiliated or religious but being spiritual. A spiritual new style of what is inside of each person.

As the people of ancient Babylon migrated throughout the earth they took with them their old non-biblical religious practices and ideas and spread them world wide into a greater religious Babylon or Babylon the Great.
Ancient Babylon's dominant feature was myth-religious practices or ideas and today we see an evolved version throughout the earth with similar overlapping but differing traits of the previous still existing. If mankind traces its religious family tree back to its original roots one would go back to the starting point at ancient Babylon.

Then especially when the Jews mixed with the Greek's religious theories and philosophies they began to create a fusion of differing beliefs resulting in a new teaching or belief system that can Not be reconciled to Scripture as written. They started blending the secular with the sacred. The foreign beliefs introduced were out of place, but those foreign concepts took on a life or shape of their own never fully replacing the old, but trying to flourish as if it were the old. So, all the mixing or blending of beliefs keeps changing or evolving by the popularity of the whims of men and Not by Scripture. Ideas that are now so deeply ingrained in the minds that even when exposed as Not what the Bible really teaches people will still insist on keeping their religious mirage alive even though these new or blended religious ideas can Not be reconciled to 1st-century Christianity.

Also, religious immigration today has emerged or proven to now be a BIG game changer by quickly changing and shifting the religious landscape turning the religious marketplace from a melting pot into a religious toss salad of choice which includes the cafeteria christians.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

That's how it is where I come from too.

It makes perfect sense though. Think of religion as a vagina, it gets loose over time.

 

[psychoslice]

Thank god Christianity is starting to grow and thinking for themselves.

 

[JustWondering]

Sorry but, I'm going to ignore your anecdotes. You've been on the forums long enough to know their value, or lackthereof when it comes to debate.

I recently talked about religion with a new co-worker who is in his early twenties who said he was a Christian. When I tried to discuss certain topics with him regarding religion (to pass the time and learn more about my new co-worker, our job is kind of repetitive and boring) he basically admitted he never really gave his religion much thought in his daily life. A few years back I had another co-worker who was planning to be a pastor for his church. One night while discussing religion with him I had to explain to him that Jews were not Christian and did not except Christ as their messiah and believe in him. That honestly threw him for a loop. He thought Jews were Christians like him. My personal experiences with Christians have shown me that the vast majority of them have a very weak grasp of what is in their own scriptures and what it means. Most of them I have met and spoken with come across as sheeple that just go with the flow and don't think for themselves. I'm just calling it like I see it.

As to Christianity evolving, I agree, Except for the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. They seem almost the same as they were a thousand years ago. They're also the majority of Christianity with 1.2 billion last time I checked and their beliefs are usually the opposite of what you've described.

With the pope supporting evolution now I'll have to disagree with you.

Protestants, I imagine, Are the ones you're referring to, The minority in Christianity. And you didn't even mention denominations, Are we talking mainstream Christians or are we talking Mormons, Jehovah's Witness's or the like? Christianity is too big and too diverse for you to form such a limited opinion on it.

I can obviously form any opinion I like based on my personal experiences which I mentioned in the OP multiple times is what my opinion is based on. Religion obviously evolves over time. Not long ago Christians eagerly partook of crusades, the inquisition, and witch burnings. Look at Christianity now as opposed to just 100 years ago. Nowadays with a PC culture where it is taboo to say anything that might offend anyone and a better educated populace (thanks to science and the internet) religion will change to suit peoples needs. In this case by becoming Christianity Light.

 

[George-ananda]

I see it as a mixed bag. I'm glad many young people are rejecting toxic forms of religion but many are throwing away the baby with the bathwater. I'm a fan of a more committed path but realize it is not for everyone.

Right, I think the majority are 'thinking light'. However I think these 'spiritual but not religious' types are closer to the truth than fundamentalist Christians or atheists. So, I'm not that upset by the situation.

 

[Thana]

I recently talked about religion with a new co-worker who is in his early twenties who said he was a Christian. When I tried to discuss certain topics with him regarding religion (to pass the time and learn more about my new co-worker, our job is kind of repetitive and boring) he basically admitted he never really gave his religion much thought in his daily life. A few years back I had another co-worker who was planning to be a pastor for his church. One night while discussing religion with him I had to explain to him that Jews were not Christian and did not except Christ as their messiah and believe in him. That honestly threw him for a loop. He thought Jews were Christians like him. My personal experiences with Christians have shown me that the vast majority of them have a very weak grasp of what is in their own scriptures and what it means. Most of them I have met and spoken with come across as sheeple that just go with the flow and don't think for themselves. I'm just calling it like I see it.

And I've met Christians who are so serious about their Christianity that they won't watch Game of Thrones and actively protest one of the strip clubs in town.
You don't need to look far for the Christians who take Christianity seriously, Just because you haven't met any doesn't mean anything. Have you even left your country, Let alone your state? Have you traveled and met Christians of all cultural backgrounds and denominations? Most likely not, Which would make your opinion uninformed at best.

I can obviously form any opinion I like based on my personal experiences which I mentioned in the OP multiple times is what my opinion is based on. Religion obviously evolves over time. Not long ago Christians eagerly partook of crusades, the inquisition, and witch burnings. Look at Christianity now as opposed to just 100 years ago. Nowadays with a PC culture where it is taboo to say anything that might offend anyone and a better educated populace (thanks to science and the internet) religion will change to suit peoples needs. In this case by becoming Christianity Light.

Of course you can darling, You can have any opinion you like, I just assumed you would want an educated opinion that's all
Even I, a Christian, Don't know all the Christian beliefs and all the Christian denominations. I only recently, in the past year or so, found the label for my own.
Christianity is so diverse, So please, For your own sake, admit you don't know enough about Christianity to generalize about it.

 

[JustWondering]

And I've met Christians who are so serious about their Christianity that they won't watch Game of Thrones and actively protest one of the strip clubs in town.
You don't need to look far for the Christians who take Christianity seriously, Just because you haven't met any doesn't mean anything. Have you even left your country, Let alone your state? Have you traveled and met Christians of all cultural backgrounds and denominations? Most likely not, Which would make your opinion uninformed at best.

I make my judgements and statements based on MY personal experience. If my personal experiences are different than yours that does not invalidate any observations I may make from them. Your personal experiences do not automatically trump mine and vice versa. I never claimed to have knowledge of every Christian denomination (please don't put words in my mouth). I have lived in Europe, Asia, and briefly in the middle east. I have lived in several different states (but never the bible belt which I have already mentioned). When I was in the military I met people from many different sects of Christianity, Jews and Mormons. A couple of friends I grew up with are Jehovah's witnesses.

 

[Thana]

I make my judgements and statements based on MY personal experience. If my personal experiences are different than yours that does not invalidate any observations I may make from them. Your personal experiences do not automatically trump mine and vice versa. I never claimed to have knowledge of every Christian denomination (please don't put words in my mouth). I have lived in Europe, Asia, and briefly in the middle east. I have lived in several different states (but never the bible belt which I have already mentioned). When I was in the military I met people from many different sects of Christianity, Jews and Mormons. A couple of friends I grew up with are Jehovah's witnesses.

My experience doesn't invalidate yours, It just means that your experience is not enough to make a generalisation on. More than 2 billion people are Christian, You can't just say they're all light. That all of them or even the majority of them don't really know or care about their faith.

I just don't appreciate you generalizing something that you cannot reasonably generalize just because of your own limited experiences. It's not fair to you or to anyone else that you preach it too.

 

[nazz]

Right, I think the majority are 'thinking light'. However I think these 'spiritual but not religious' types are closer to the truth than fundamentalist Christians or atheists. So, I'm not that upset by the situation.

Right, I agree. I just don't think the majority of Christians fall into that category. They will be nominally associated with some denomination but religion won't play a significant role in their lives.

 

[nazz]

My experience doesn't invalidate yours, It just means that your experience is not enough to make a generalisation on. More than 2 billion people are Christian, You can't just say they're all light. That all of them or even the majority of them don't really know or care about their faith.

I just don't appreciate you generalizing something that you cannot reasonably generalize just because of your own limited experiences. It's not fair to you or to anyone else that you preach it too.

Are you seriously contending that the majority of those who identify as Christian are intensely devout?

 

[George-ananda]

Right, I agree. I just don't think the majority of Christians fall into that category. They will be nominally associated with some denomination but religion won't play a significant role in their lives.

They may associate with some denomination (typically from family tradition) but in reality they can still also fall in the 'spiritual but not religious' category in my thinking. One can be a 'Light Methodist' and 'spiritual but not religious'.

 

[Willamena]

Is it just me or is main stream Christianity the coke zero of religions? Most Christians I talk to consider the bible as a book of stories to teach morals and not to be taken literally. Many people I've talked to who identify as Christians don't believe in hell and say that living a good life is all you need to get into heaven/please god/whatever. Most Christians I've talked to don't have a good grasp of what's actually in the bible and little to no interest in educating themselves on the subject. In short 90% or so of "Christians" I've personally interacted with seem to have their own religion loosely based off what little they know of Christianity that suits their personal needs. Most of the people I've had conversations with about religion who were in their early 20's or younger said they believed religion was BS and just a way to control people! From my POV Christianity seems to have evolved into a create your own religion workshop. Granted, I don't live in the bible belt, this is my perspective based on my experiences.

Perhaps it's just the case that all the Christians you've talked to are Methodists.

 

[Artemis]

This forum here is called Christianity light?! Where is the Light? What do you exactly mean by the Word Light? Can someone enlighten me please?