Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Why is Christianity your least favorite religion?

Kyo · 09-23-2003, 01:20 PM

Before I begin, I would like to make clear that I do not a member of any religious faith (to the best of my knowledge).

MuadDib,

The Bible is a historical text as well as a religious one. It will therefore reflect the societal norm at the time of its writing. Rather than treating the Bible as a direct transcription of God's word and will, knowledgeable interpretation of the Bible as a whole is required.

If you consider the Bible in small pieces - single lines, passages and phrases - it can be misleading, and in fact self-contradictory. There is support in the Bible for many kinds of behaviors, not all of them consistent with each other. I have read numerous essays on topics ranging from environmentalism to medical ethics where authors from opposing viewpoints were able to draw passages from the Bible in support of their arguments.

The self-inconsistency is troubling - but of course the Christians I have spoken to chalk it up to 'personal interpretation' or the 'interpretation of the Church.' Which, at least to me, seems to defeat the point of a holy text - if one is to glean from it one's own personal interpretation, how can the text hold any authority?

But to the main point - Christianity draws a lot of fire because it presents itself as a convenient target. As several others have stated, it is one of the most prominent religious systems in the west, and it makes no effort to isolate or even contain itself. It is a very public, (I hesitate to say, intrusive) organization that appears in many aspects of daily life. Christianity is also inherently a severely judgemental system. There are strict guidelines that determine whether a person is 'good' in the eyes of God - many of which are directly related to one's reverence and worship of a diety that many people simply don't believe exists. The zealots that go door to door telling people they're going to hell because they don't worship God certainly don't help the Christian cause.

Far eastern religions in their current forms are fairly passive and individualistic. Rather than commanding that all seek enlightenment, they simply lay the path open to you. Take it if you wish, turn from it if you do not - nobody but you suffers the consequences, thus nobody but you is concerned with what you believe. The faithful follow their own paths - they do not concern themselves with what paths other people follow.

Why would you go out of your way to molest them if they are simply doing their own thing?

It certainly isn't as entertaining or satisfying as planting a swift kick in the backside of an evangelist.

09-23-2003, 01:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
Kyo Crazy	Before I begin, I would like to make clear that I do not a member of any religious faith (to the best of my knowledge). MuadDib, The Bible is a historical text as well as a religious one. It will therefore reflect the societal norm at the time of its writing. Rather than treating the Bible as a direct transcription of God's word and will, knowledgeable interpretation of the Bible as a whole is required. If you consider the Bible in small pieces - single lines, passages and phrases - it can be misleading, and in fact self-contradictory. There is support in the Bible for many kinds of behaviors, not all of them consistent with each other. I have read numerous essays on topics ranging from environmentalism to medical ethics where authors from opposing viewpoints were able to draw passages from the Bible in support of their arguments. The self-inconsistency is troubling - but of course the Christians I have spoken to chalk it up to 'personal interpretation' or the 'interpretation of the Church.' Which, at least to me, seems to defeat the point of a holy text - if one is to glean from it one's own personal interpretation, how can the text hold any authority? But to the main point - Christianity draws a lot of fire because it presents itself as a convenient target. As several others have stated, it is one of the most prominent religious systems in the west, and it makes no effort to isolate or even contain itself. It is a very public, (I hesitate to say, intrusive) organization that appears in many aspects of daily life. Christianity is also inherently a severely judgemental system. There are strict guidelines that determine whether a person is 'good' in the eyes of God - many of which are directly related to one's reverence and worship of a diety that many people simply don't believe exists. The zealots that go door to door telling people they're going to hell because they don't worship God certainly don't help the Christian cause. Far eastern religions in their current forms are fairly passive and individualistic. Rather than commanding that all seek enlightenment, they simply lay the path open to you. Take it if you wish, turn from it if you do not - nobody but you suffers the consequences, thus nobody but you is concerned with what you believe. The faithful follow their own paths - they do not concern themselves with what paths other people follow. Why would you go out of your way to molest them if they are simply doing their own thing? It certainly isn't as entertaining or satisfying as planting a swift kick in the backside of an evangelist. __________________ Sure I have a heart; it's floating in a jar in my closet, along with my tonsils, my appendix, and all of the other useless organs I ripped out. Last edited by Kyo; 09-23-2003 at 01:23 PM..