What is Christianity?
I find Christianity gets a lot of different representation by different people. For some, Christianity seems to be about abuse, or judgement: abuse of priests, or a bad experience of judgment from certain evangelists. Others seem to carry a view that because church leadership can carry power, that, definitionally, that means the leadership abused that power, and therefore corrupted any passed on truth, for the purpose of control.
Some seem to view Christians as superstitious, lacking in rational thought, and dependent: incapable of independent thought.
Others seem to see Jesus as a humanist: caring for human need, and passing on human philosophy. Period.
It seems to be profoundly easy to interpret Christianity, Christians, and Christ himself, according to who we are: if we have been abused, if we have experienced corrupt leadership, if our own view is atheism, and we are independent, if what’s important to us is the caring for humanity part of what is written about Jesus, and not the rest…
In this age, we are free to pick and choose what we like, what we find helpful, what works for us…but this is not Christianity. This is us.
So, then: what is Christianity?
Priests may abuse – but this is not Christianity.
An evangelist may inappropriately judge his neighbour – but this is not Christianity.
Any leader in power might abuse that power – but this is not Christianity.
Some Christians may be viewed as dependent – but this is not the full scope of Christianity.
Christ offered a lot of humanitarian care, as does the Church today, and so do non-Christian organisations – this also is not the full definition of Christianity.
So, then: what is Christianity? What defines Christianity?
Christianity is defined by Christ.
Christ is not defined by Christians: rather, Christians are defined by Christ.
So then, who is this person, Jesus Christ? That is the nitty gritty question, for anyone who wants to take a serious look at Christianity.
Who is Jesus Christ, does he carry real authority, and should we trust him?
Join me, as I start to explore Jesus…
The message of Jesus was that only through him was the path of salvation, that all are unworthy in the eyes of God unless they are forgiven through Jesus.
In other words it matters not whether you lived a life of service to your community and family. Helping to unfortunate is given no more importance than profiting from the exploitation of vulnerable children. All that matters is your belief in Jesus as saviour at the end of your life, and your worship of him as a God. And if you do worship him and accept him as lord you get everlasting happiness in heaven while those who foolishly helped others just because they believed in the value of people and had genuine compassion for its own sake will be condemned to eternal punishment.
Meanwhile the rapist or murderer, or the CEO who profits from manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, they can go to church and get forgiven. How is this in any way taking moral responsibility for our actions?
In what world is this moral? We don’t need divine authority to know that treating others well and with compassion is the right thing to do. And the thought of needing to receive a bribe in order to act well only demeans us.
When children come home crying from school because a RI teacher has told them their parents will be tortured in hell for all eternity, when they are punished by teachers for being opted out of classes that teach intolerance of those who do not believe, we cannot stand by and accept these teachings as harmless.
If you really believe you are morally unworthy of God, what makes you think you have the RIGHT to ask for forgiveness? If you are so sinful surely the only honourable act would be to accept the punishment of the sinner? Or has the doctrine of the church made everyone sinners and set itself up as the only authority to seek forgiveness?
Well, I don’t need forgiveness from an establishment that covers up and condones child rape.
If there is a God I will not demean myself begging forgiveness, I am happy to be judged on my own actions. And if he is a good and just God I have nothing to fear. On the other hand if he is the irrational God described in Christian scripture I would rather burn than capitulate my honour.
Again, surprising to see this depiction of Christianity. The understanding is partial, and drawn to a remarkable extent from extreme stereotypes: incredibly common, it seems, in this day and age.
“What is Christianity?”
Christianity is what just got Hannah Tamaki her second Mercedes in six months.
Christianity is like the mafia. “Do what we say, or something bad will happen to you.”
Did something bad happen to you?
Christianity, like all religions, is a means of having power and influence over others by lying to them about the need for capricious fictitious supernatural beings (God Jesus, Thor or Osiris – it doesn’t matter) to be obeyed.
Since they aren’t real, and cannot actually give out rewards and punishments in real life, we are then lied to about what happens when we die. That is it Christianity, Islam, Buddism.
This is why the church has had people burned at the stake and forces its misogynistic homophobic views on society – power and control.
Why do you believe Christianity is about having power and influence over others, and lying, out of interest?
As always, I am astonished at the depictions of Christianity some people hold, and it leads me to ask, once again, why? What are your personal experiences of Christianity? Or, if not out of personal experience, how have you formed your views of what Christianity is?
Back to the point of the post above: Christianity is defined by Christ, not by Christians.