The death of Christianity in the U.S.

[appleannie1943]

Miguel De La TorreChristianity has died in the hands of Evangelicals. Evangelicalism ceased being a religious faith tradition following Jesus’ teachings concerning justice for the betterment of humanity when it made a Faustian bargain for the sake of political influence. The beauty of the gospel message — of love, of peace and of fraternity — has been murdered by the ambitions of Trumpish flimflammers who have sold their souls for expediency. No greater proof is needed of the death of Christianity than the rush to defend a child molester in order to maintain a majority in the U.S. Senate.

Evangelicals have constructed an exclusive interpretation which fuses and confuses white supremacy with salvation. Only those from the dominant culture, along with their supposed inferiors who with colonized minds embrace assimilation, can be saved. But their salvation damns Jesus. To save Jesus from those claiming to be his heirs, we must wrench him from the hands of those who use him as a façade from which to hide their phobias — their fear of blacks, their fear of the undocumented, their fear of Muslims, their fear of everything queer.

https://baptistnews.com/article/death-christianity-u-s/#.WgzHGFVKsdU

[guillaumeb]

1. Recommended.

Using belief as justification for various prejudices.

[msongs]

2. christianity is a fear based religion - if you aren't christian u are going to burn in hell nt

[raging moderate]

14. Read Jesus's words in Matthew chapter 25. And John chapter 1. And the book of James. And St. Paul.

Matthew 25: "Come, my beloved brothers, to the heavenly rest appointed for you....for as much as you did it for one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for Me." John 1: "And this is the way the judgement works: those who love the Light are drawn to the Light." James: "Faith without good works (when possible) is dead faith....I will show you my faith through good works." St. Paul: "Faith is the substance of what you are hoping for....the just shall live by faith." I think the Fundamentalist tradition (which is what you mean by "evangelical" because that is what they started calling themselves when they realized they had worn out the "Fundamental" label) has put the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLALble.
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[appleannie1943]

3. I have always believed that if people actually followed the New Testament

we would not have the hatred and fights and wars that we have always seen. Jesus was, if nothing else, a great philosopher that only taught love, kindness, sharing, giving and forgiveness. He never taught that one human was somehow better than the next. He said we were all brothers and sisters and we should all love one another. The greed and power lust of a few has always ruled and bent the rules of religions to suit their own needs and wants and that is where we run into trouble.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

4. K&R nt

[hibbing]

5. Started a lot earlier than now n/t

[kimmylavin]

6. As an atheist and a liberal...

I sometimes think I'm a much better follower of the teachings of Jesus than many of those who claim to arrange their lives around him.

[appleannie1943]

7. Members of organized churches tend to follow their leaders instead of Jesus. Especially in the Mega

Churches. As a child, my aunt dragged me to Kathryn Kuhlman and at the ages of 5 through 7 I watched as Kuhlman 'healed' people through the power of God (hysteria). I saw a woman throwing up gall stones in the sink in the ladies room, cripples throwing away their crutches. She lived in a huge mansion on an estate in Fox Chapel. She gave food baskets to the poor once a year and her followers, that donated the food, thought her a saint for feeding people and donated more money. It was just the first thing that soured me on organized religion.

Sort of looks like a female Charles Manson in white.

[gay texan]

10. "I beeeeeeeeeleeeeive in miracles!!!!!!!"

When she really got entertaining was when she said the word "god"

It was more like "Ghhaaaaaaawwwwwwdddddd"

Her show was so Damn campy

[Duppers]

11. They are cultists and hyper-conformists.

[cilla4progress]

8. As an agnostic pagan Ive

Been told the same by Xtians!

[Skittles]

12. same here

I am much more Christian than most of the people I know who call themselves Christians

literally I do something every day to help someone

[Pluvious]

9. It's not their fears that drive them, it's their hatred.

Sad

[Fresh_Start]

13. This paragraph explains the problem the best IMHO

Spiritual writer Richard Rohr likes to say that most of us do not see things as they are, but rather we see things as we are. A person who is petty and punitive will read, interpret and apply sacred texts in petty and punitive ways. A person who is enlightened and loving can read those same texts and interpret and apply them in enlightening and loving ways. Jesus captures it well with his teaching: “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil” (Luke 6:45a).