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Christianity in decline

King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
I think one reason why Christianity is in decline in the U.S.A. is because it condemns homosexuality. I think the church really needs to address that during sermon.

As far as JC saying homosexuality is bad, well I think he made a mistake ha ha. I mean his life was cut short. Who knows what he would've said down the road. I guess if anybody would've seen they were wrong it would've been him. It is a possibility. Who knows maybe Jesus was in the closet and was struggling like many are today. Surely we can cut JC a little slack on that notion alone. I'm not saying JC laid with a man but maybe he had desires and repressed them. Who's to say? Anyway, I doubt a priest giving a sermon would say that. He'd probably get fired. So I'm not exactly sure how the church would wiggle out of that one and I'm not even sure if they would want to unfortunately. No skin off my back I don't even go to church.

Another reason I think is because some people may have a hard time excepting Jesus Christ as our savior. What helped me get closer to him was to ponder who he is and why he came here. I got creative with my thinking about him and broadened my understanding of him outside of religious texts. It took me a very long time. I didn't have to think about him all the time, maybe here and there but I always kept him in my pocket at least. Most importantly for me now is to stay humble when I speak of how he works in my life. I had to have fun with religion to make it work and realize that my understanding was the most important, not even ol' JC's.

I think there's some great things to be learned from the Bible and it would've been foolish for me to dismiss it for these two reasons.
 
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Samael_Khan

Goosebender
I think one reason why Christianity is in decline in the U.S.A. is because it condemns homosexuality. I think the church really needs to address that during sermon.

As far as JC saying homosexuality is bad, well I think he made a mistake ha ha. I mean his life was cut short. Who knows what he would've said down the road. I guess if anybody would've seen they were wrong it would've been him. It is a possibility. Anyway, I doubt a priest giving a sermon would say that. He'd probably get fired. So I'm not exactly sure how the church would wiggle out of that one and I'm not even sure if they would want to unfortunately. No skin off my back I don't even go to church.

Another reason I think is because some people may have a hard time excepting Jesus Christ as our savior. What helped me get closer to him was to ponder who he is and why he came here. I got creative with my thinking about him and broadened my understanding of him outside of religious texts. It took me a very long time. I didn't have to think about him all the time, maybe here and there but I always kept him in my pocket at least. Most importantly for me now is to stay humble when I speak of how he works in my life. I had to have fun with religion to make it work. I had to always remember that religion and metaphors go hand in hand and that my understanding was the most important, not even ol' JC's.

I think there's some great things to be learned from the Bible and it would've been foolish for me to dismiss it for these two reasons.

If you think Jesus made mistakes then there is no reason to be a Christian. Especially if you believe that Jesus is God himself. As soon as a person opens the door for Jesus to be wrong about things then one must accept that he could have been wrong about everything, even his purpose.

But certainly there is no reason to dismiss the Bible as a whole just because it has errors, much like with any other book.
 

King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
If you think Jesus made mistakes then there is no reason to be a Christian. Especially if you believe that Jesus is God himself. As soon as a person opens the door for Jesus to be wrong about things then one must accept that he could have been wrong about everything, even his purpose.

But certainly there is no reason to dismiss the Bible as a whole just because it has errors, much like with any other book.
Maybe Jesus made some errors
 

King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
Maybe he did. I think he did. But I am not a Christian.

If Jesus made errors, imagine the implications that has for Christianity as a whole and especially what implications that has in relation to God.
Maybe he was in the closet and struggling with it like many people are at today. Surely we can cut JC a little slack on that notion alone. He was human after all.i'm not saying JC laid with a man but maybe he had desires and repressed them. Who's to say?
 
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King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
If you think Jesus made mistakes then there is no reason to be a Christian. Especially if you believe that Jesus is God himself. As soon as a person opens the door for Jesus to be wrong about things then one must accept that he could have been wrong about everything, even his purpose.

But certainly there is no reason to dismiss the Bible as a whole just because it has errors, much like with any other book.
I can believe Jesus made errors and still be a Christian. To me Jesus was a manifestation of God not God himself.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Jesus never claimed that homosexuality was wrong, or that he was God, or that he never made mistakes. Jesus was a Jew, and Jews, then as now, do not believe that non-Jews need to convert to Judaism, or follow Jewish religious laws or principals to be right with God. They believe that Jews do, but not others.

Jesus was a Jew preaching to other Jews, and so he admonished them to follow their religious traditions. But he would not have intended that admonishment for anyone else, (including modern day Christians).
 

Samael_Khan

Goosebender
Maybe he was in the closet and struggling with it like many people are at today. Surely we can cut JC a little slack on that notion alone. He was human after all.i'm not saying JC laid with a man but maybe he had desires and repressed them. Who's to say?

Wait... Lets backtrack. So you think that the God in the Bible said that homosexuality is a sin?
 

King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
Maybe he did. I think he did. But I am not a Christian.

If Jesus made errors, imagine the implications that has for Christianity as a whole and especially what implications that has in relation to God.
Maybe if we recognize he made errors perhaps implications for christianity would be growth and implications for God would be pleasure.
 

Samael_Khan

Goosebender
Jesus never claimed that homosexuality was wrong, or that he was God, or that he never made mistakes. Jesus was a Jew, and Jews, then as now, do not believe that non-Jews need to convert to Judaism, or follow Jewish religious laws or principals to be right with God. They believe that Jews do, but not others.

Jesus was a Jew preaching to other Jews, and so he admonished them to follow their religious traditions. But he would not have intended that admonishment for anyone else, (including modern day Christians).

Do you believe that Jesus was sinless?
 

King Phenomenon

Well-Known Member
Jesus never claimed that homosexuality was wrong, or that he was God, or that he never made mistakes. Jesus was a Jew, and Jews, then as now, do not believe that non-Jews need to convert to Judaism, or follow Jewish religious laws or principals to be right with God. They believe that Jews do, but not others.

Jesus was a Jew preaching to other Jews, and so he admonished them to follow their religious traditions. But he would not have intended that admonishment for anyone else, (including modern day Christians).
I think Jesus was a little bit more than just Jewish. He knew who he was and he knew his message would go beyond the Jewish people. I think he was smarter than to just think Jewish people would be the only ones hearing his message and his proclamation of being gods son.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Do you believe that Jesus was sinless?
I have no concern about Jesus' sins one way or another. To me, it's an irrelevant question.

Jesus, now, is a character in a story intended to convey to mankind a revelation, and a promise. That revelation and promise is embodied by Jesus as the "Christ". "Christ" being the the divine spirit of God as it exists within us all, as love, forgiveness, kindness and generosity. Perfection is not a part of God that we humans can claim to possess. If Jesus became sinless as the Christ, so be it (but I doubt it). In any case, it's irrelevant to me, as I cannot aspire to that state.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I think one reason why Christianity is in decline in the U.S.A. is because it condemns homosexuality. I think the church really needs to address that during sermon.

As far as JC saying homosexuality is bad, well I think he made a mistake ha ha. I mean his life was cut short. Who knows what he would've said down the road. I guess if anybody would've seen they were wrong it would've been him. It is a possibility. Who knows maybe Jesus was in the closet and was struggling like many are today. Surely we can cut JC a little slack on that notion alone. I'm not saying JC laid with a man but maybe he had desires and repressed them. Who's to say? Anyway, I doubt a priest giving a sermon would say that. He'd probably get fired. So I'm not exactly sure how the church would wiggle out of that one and I'm not even sure if they would want to unfortunately. No skin off my back I don't even go to church.

Another reason I think is because some people may have a hard time excepting Jesus Christ as our savior. What helped me get closer to him was to ponder who he is and why he came here. I got creative with my thinking about him and broadened my understanding of him outside of religious texts. It took me a very long time. I didn't have to think about him all the time, maybe here and there but I always kept him in my pocket at least. Most importantly for me now is to stay humble when I speak of how he works in my life. I had to have fun with religion to make it work. I had to always remember that religion and metaphors go hand in hand and that my understanding was the most important, not even ol' JC's.

I think there's some great things to be learned from the Bible and it would've been foolish for me to dismiss it for these two reasons.

I think Christianity is in decline because its message has grown stale. It's also weak. They apparently think that, just because they stand against homosexuals, that makes them a bunch of tough guys. But when it comes to standing up against the racist/capitalist/imperialist ruling class, they demonstrate that they're not so tough after all. Christianity enables tyranny, greed, and exploitation, and more people seem to be recognizing this. If the church isn't going to stand up for the people, then why should the people them?
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
Christianity is simply too black and white to truly fit into the evolving world. I’m sure many denominations can and will survive into the foreseeable future. But I think this creates something of a double edged sword. The more open denominations will have a greater ability to adapt to social change, but may leave themselves open to accusations of watering down the “message” too much to please man.
The more rigid may be able to claim a sense of backbone, but will become increasingly at odds with societal values moving forward.

I don’t really have a dog in this race. Got nothing but love in my heart for Jesus, of course. But I mean we will see what the future holds I suppose.

Also since I can’t resist
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