Christian In Name Only

It’s one of the great mysteries: why are so many Christians so mean, hypocritical, and hateful? If God is love, why, why, why?

Happiness-success image by Image by Pixexid.com

Things aren’t always what they seem. For example, almond milk is a lot like cow’s milk. But have you ever tried to milk an almond? It’s tricky. It’s a trick like no udder.

Similarly while we often think that power, money, popularity, and success are keys to happiness, it’s the other way around.

It’s the same for Christians. Some call themselves Christians, but they don’t bear real fruit. They mistake the name Christian as entitlement for everything they want. It’s the other way around.

Shall we judge?

I’m not the judge of others. I can’t see in their souls. An Internet search on why so many Christians have conduct that appears anything but Christlike shows that opinions are as numerous as leaves on a tree. I’m not sure if even the recent epidemic got this much coverage. This is a favorite topic which really should give Christians huge impetus to look in the mirror.

Megalithic hate generators

Entire institutions now exist to undo the damage caused by entire institutions dedicated to generating hate – it’s gotten that bad. They’ve got generating hate down to a science. To the purveyors of hate, everything they’re against is cringeworthy, satanic, and so outrageous that it has to be screamed out of existence everywhere they have a voice. Even Russia and Iran lend their support to condemning, vilifying, and enraging people because it’s so much fun to cause chaos. A nation in chaos is a weak nation.

Agreement isn’t something that Christians do

The “altar of me” is the megalith at which many Christians worship. Whatever they are told to believe by their leaders and whatever they want is the religion to which they’ve erected an unmovable stone edifice to bow in front of. The number of Christian denominations in the US is in the thousands.

Soon there should be enough personal Christian religions that each could have its own zip code. Personal and corporate Christianity is now a unique blend of political thought, culture, independence and freedom related, bits of US Constitution, and enough unique religious speak to glue it all together.

Religious splintering is nothing new

It’s not something new that people go off on a tangent with their beliefs. By the time of Jesus, Judaism had splintered into a dozen or so parts. Saul, who was to become the Apostle Paul, was going around killing Jesus followers for polluting Judaism. There was probably many more divisions if we knew the entire historical record.

Many gravitated toward the Essene community who gathered at the Jerusalem Gate, Masada, and inhabited the settlement at Qumran, a plateau in the Judean Desert along the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls indicate a variety of religious thought in Judaism. Jesus and John the Baptist showed Essene thought.

Gnostics

In early Christianity the gnostic branch shows very diverse thought found in The Gospel of Mary, the Apocryphon of John, and the Sophia of Jesus Christ. It was summarily squashed out of existence by Church fathers who could allow no difference of thought. “No Gnosticism! No women apostles! Out!” Eventually the Apostle Paul called one woman an apostle.

Cathars

Similar to the Gnostics, the Cathars had variant beliefs of the spiritual kingdom from which they believed they came. There seemed to be no actual organization, just individual believers. The Catholic Church sent a crusade to extinguish them, killing over 20,000 people. Some of those killed were Cathars and some were Catholics who wanted to protect them.

Explorers, settlers, and plunderers

Those who settled the Americas called themselves Christians. They plundered. Some regarded the inhabitants as less than human and killed them without conscience or thought.

Inquisitors

All through this era there were inquisitions devoted to stomping out heresy (variant beliefs). They employed cruel and even deadly tactics for forcing “confessions” or proving guilt.

These were not Jesus examples

These were not the actions of Christ. These were the actions of institutions who would maintain their power by force, with no regard for individual religious beliefs or life. God was not personal, God was corporate. The desire for individual religious thought and belief was always strong, and usually suppressed.

Followers of Jesus

Christianity is a broad umbrella term that identifies religions that identify with Christianity. It has become circular reasoning (Ad hominem). Religion is “a particular system of faith and worship.” It is also described as “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.”

Religion and faith

Religion might be what people do within the walls of a church. It should inform people of things that should influence them toward better lives for all. Faith is what people do outside the walls of the church in their everyday life as they try to live their beliefs.

Religion is corporate, institutional, and monolithic, so that it is organized and powerful. Organized power can accomplish things that individuals can’t. Organization in itself isn’t a bad thing. Forced conversions and killing people are bad things. Religion can become evil and can be used to justify evil.

Jesus didn’t take his faith to the religious leaders or the powerful. He took it to the people. He said to them that no priest was needed for forgiveness of sins, and to take their petitions directly to God in prayer. Jesus had the power to enforce obedience to the laws of Judaism, but he didn’t beat people over the head with laws. He condemned no one, although he questioned how the leaders would escape judgement for misleading the people.

What God asks of us

“What God asks of us” is front and center in many of the articles that I write. I show from the Bible that God hates it when we go into church and act like Christians, going through religious practice and ritual, but fail to live our faith and beliefs outside the church and harm others.

Personal religion or a crutch?

Personal religion can easily become selfish and all about what we want. God can become the Santa Clause in the sky that gives us every desire and takes care of us, a crutch rather than source of strength. Belief can become all about the sins that others do while we ignore or justify our own shortcomings. Culture and politics can become an institution that proclaims certain beliefs as central to identity and belonging while rejecting all others.

People tend to like Jesus, they just don’t like Christians. This has gone on for well over a century. They find Christians to be judgmental, hypocritical, and find churches out of touch with today’s world. If Jesus had a grave he would roll over. They flip the Gospel teachings so that their ethics appear corrupt to others.

Only 30% of people have a positive view of some Christian denominations. This should be pause for reflection but instead it seems to be a reason to condemn others. They couldn’t possibly be wrong – everyone else is wrong and going to hell.

Takeaway

Christianity is an umbrella term that covers thousands of religious denominations and beliefs. Many call themselves Christian simply because they live in a country that is majority Christian. It has nothing to do with personal belief, conduct, or character.

Christianity goes bad when it backs up or stays silent about the evil that people do. God cares much less about what people believe than what they do, as I’ve shown in many articles.

Christianity can become an institution divorced from real faith when it becomes associated with politics, culture, and identity.

Individuals can flip the message of Jesus to be what they want it to be, providing a grand show of unethical behavior.

Why is it that Christian’s defining characteristic is meanness? Because of judgment, hypocrisy, association with culture or politics, and unethical behavior. Christ was not about any of these.