Tophat665

Chavos,
Christianity is all of those things that you say that it is not. Now, not all Christians are, but one or all brands (sects, if you prefer) adheres to all of them.

Did not Christ say that he was the only way into heaven?

Some brands of Christianity are mature enough to figure out that the Bible is allegory. Some are not. The latter are Creationists. They are also Anti-Intellectuals. Further, any religion that makes a saint of the man who lead the mob that destroyed the largest collection of knowlege in the ancient world (that would be the library at Alexandria, burned by St. Cyrus and his rabble. They flayed the librarian alive too. Sweet fellow. Burining in Hell now, if there is such a place.) is anti-intellecutal across the board (in my book) until they repudiate that really awful descision to canonize him.

Tell it to the Pope.

Tell it to the Mormons

Four years of religion classes told me that one could intellectualize all one wanted, but until one had faith, one was going to Hell. That's Catholic. I would say you could hear the same thing from any protesant sect. Christinity is at the base of it a devotional cult (in the technical, non-perjorative sense). That means it runs entirely on faith in Christ. Without faith in Christ, you are not a Christian.

That's a good point, and the most accurate one in the list. Fundamentalist Christians are republicans. Sane Christians might be in any party.

Not all sects are homophobic, but even some of the ones that seem on the verge of joining the 20th century get their collective frocks in a knot over ordaining gays. The Anglicans, who seem to me to be just about as modern a sect as Christianity has, are talking schism over a gay bishop. 'Splain me what that is if it ain't homophobia?

If all one needs is faith, then one does not need to learn or explore. This does not mean that Christians don't do this. It does mean that they don't need to do this, so lazy Christians don't.

That's not Christianity. That's religion. Don't take it personally. From the outside looking in, organized religion has a remarkable resemblance to mass mania or ergot poisoning. What it looks like from inside is something else again, but folks who say that aren't just talking about Christians.

But there are Fundamentalist Christians, who are normally the ones that are complained about, and, frankly are dangerous. Don't like being tarred with the broad brush? Moderate Christian churches need to use their organizational powers to distance themselves from Fundamentalists. Better yet, to tell the World that Fundametalist Christianinty is neither Christian nor based on Fundamentals. When I see Moderate Christian leaders, or even fanatical fossils like JP Jr , denouncing Billy Graham and Pat Robertson as regularly as they denounce the rest of Christianity, I will consider cutting the rest of Christianinty slack on this. As it stands, though, the rest of the churches sin by omission.

Christianity is Faith in Christ, and all that that implies. Anything else and it's not Christian. It is the responsibility of Christians to denounce those that are not Christian (the protestant Old Testament fetishists) but call themselves Christian. So simple adjectives do describe parts of Christianity, and some describe it all. If faith driven = delusional, as it does to some, then there's one right there.

I'm sorry to, no I'm not. Lemme try that again: I really do like that you have tried to do this. I think it's a step toward separating the Sheep from the goats, if you will. The Christian Christiains from the Paulist Christians and the Talmudic Christians. Though I don't agree with their faith, I find Christian Christians to be fine people almost without exception. I would really like to see them take back their religion from the hijackers.

__________________
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