I’m not hurting anyone, am I?
The biggest misconception of Christians, is the belief that Christianity is basically all good moral teaching and provides the only solution to heal a broken, hurting world.
Here are some reasons why Christian faith is damaging to yourself and others:
(I typed this article about a year ago when I was wrestling with my faith and the negative effect it could have on my world-view. These points still hold true, however, and are worth contemplation.)
Have you ever worried about assurance of your salvation and turned to the bible to find it? You’re more likely to find an elevated sense of anxiety. The assurance is said to come from the Holy spirit working in your heart, but there is no detectable "feeling" or "knowledge" that produces any certainty. This lack of assurance can cause enormous anguish for those who struggle! This could be for themselves or their loved ones, "in danger". Is this a reasonable fear? Does God not care if you struggle?
If you do happen to have the "feeling" and the security for yourself, you are still condoning the actions of a god who wishes to torture all unbelievers for eternity. Do you ever consider how unfair this is? It is unfair both from a predestination or a free-will standpoint. Would you not even investigate its validity before accepting such a doctrine?
You are put under pressure to evangelize your faith. Have you ever felt uncomfortable with this and unsure of even what to say? Shouldn’t we be eager to share "truth"? Your beliefs sound ridiculous when you explain them to someone outside the church. This is because you have been subjected to years of indoctrination and suspended disbelief. If you summarized God’s "plan of salvation" into one statement, you would realize how twisted and sinister it sounds. The church has skilfully woven the gospel message into creeds, liturgies, and confessions like an art-form of embellished language to conceal it’s actual absurdity.
Your world-view of humankind does not inspire greater morality, but becomes focussed on personal salvation as the intent of charity and "good works". The dilemma is that "works do not justify" but, you must do "enough" good-works to appear sincerely thankful and have "assurance" of being saved. However, you never know how much enough is. The end result is frustrated Christians who give up trying altogether or live out their lives in fear.
You view certain ethnic groups (such as Jews who died in the holocaust) as perhaps being punished by God and therefore lose your sense of compassion, because they "deserved" to suffer. The same attitude can occur after a natural disaster that affects a "pagan" religious culture. In this way, we fail to sympathize with fellow mankind that desperately need our help.
You separate yourself physically and mentally from your neighbours and community if they are unwilling to share in your beliefs. You may associate with them, but only under the pretense of "outreach". Segregation is actually taught as the responsibility of a practising Christian.
We ignore the work of science and favour obscure Bible verses, taken wildly out of context. (Example: "Jesus said, only the sick need a doctor", therefore, I oppose vaccination.) This only serves to irritate health officials who are trying to protect society.
We are not able to use our own judgement on matters of social justice, fairness, etc. We are taught that our own reasoning is corrupt and "sinful" and we ought to consult "God’s word" and the interpretation of a religious institution. Our thoughts are held captive and free-thought is discouraged. This is dangerous because the Bible compares "hate with murder" and "lust with adultery" and views them as equally sinful. Our common sense would dictate that these are things are on drastically different levels of harmful behaviour! It would therefore be correct to state that one can lead to the other, but dangerous and foolish to equate them. This could lead some to conclude, "if I’ve lusted, I may as well commit adultery" or "if I hate someone, why not kill him"?
We attribute many circumstances and actions to the "work of the devil". Such claims are unfounded. There is usually a much more rational explanation. (Example: generational differences in worship that cause conflict. The reasons for this conflict is obvious because they are seen wherever two generations express their ideas.)
We corrupt the imaginations and fill the minds of children with fearful stories of a fiery afterlife or a blissful heaven. How sad that we must destroy their innocence with our own "fear of the unknown".
You are accused of a crime that you did not partake in, have no awareness of, or any guilty conscience that convicts you. You have not been read any charges (in any formal proceeding), have not had a chance to defend yourself, and have been presented no evidence. Yet, for this crime (original sin), you have been sentenced (and all humankind) to an eternal place of torment; Hell. The only escape, is faith in Jesus, who mediates on your behalf (if you were elected before creation). Will you accept this sentence without question? Does the "plan of salvation" make any sense, when God said repeatedly in the old testament that "each soul must die for his own sin" and "children will not die for the sins of their fathers"? Would God say one thing and do the opposite? Would he unjustly accuse us and then punish an innocent in our place? Do two wrongs make a right?
It has been said that the church is not a place of perfect people but one where people are aware of their "imperfections". This is not the whole truth. The church actually teaches that people can do "no good" and that God sees "nothing desirable" in them. This is the antithesis of "perfect" and of simply "falling short". We are taught that we are objects of wrath that deserve nothing but to be thrown into the fire and disposed of. What effect does this have on your self esteem and sense of self worth? Could God not have foreseen the human condition before creation and could therefore have avoided the whole ordeal? Why did he create human-kind if he was unable to tolerate "predictable" human behaviour?
The church uses a form of shame-based conditioning to implement its doctrines. In order to bring a law-abiding citizen to "repentance", they must first artificially produce feelings of guilt by pointing out your past thoughts, actions and mistakes that are considered "sinful". Then they make you resurface those feelings of shame and inadequacy and expose you for the wicked, morally depraved wretch that you are. The next step you are naturally expected to take, is to fall down on your knees, with a broken, sorrowful spirit, cry out to God for mercy, and confess that you are a sinner! The church then tells you, what you are in need of is "God’s grace". The irony in this is profound. The formula here is eerily similar to brainwashing tactics used on POW’s in the Korean war. Curiously, the end result of brainwashing is also described as "rebirth" once the target has accepted the new belief. Do you really think God needs this kind of process to draw people to him?
The Bible is filled with extreme views that can be used to provoke hatred, violence and abuse of children, women, minority groups, or other cultures and religions. How can a Christian possibly defend these statements as the commands of a loving, merciful god? If we ignore them, we deny that all God’s words (in the Bible) are trustworthy and true and that he is in all things just, righteous and fair. If we obey them, we would need to enter into back into a primitive civilization of intolerance, slavery, abuse, sexism, racism and violent slaughter of disobedient children, homosexuals, "non-virgin" brides, etc... Is this progress of humanity? Why do we obey some old testament laws and not others? Who is the judge of which laws to accept and which to discard as "obsolete"?
Christians partake in obscure rituals such as communion: "...therefore, my flesh is food for you to eat and my blood is for you to drink". What a disgusting thought! Why would Jesus say such things without proper explanation? The origins of this ritual are uncertain, but was also practised among pagans in Paul’s time. In the pagan culture of the 1st century, such practises would have been ubiquitous and common. In today’s culture, it is nothing short of crude and sickening.
You have unreasonable expectations about prayer. If you view prayer as anything more than a ritualistic expression, you are deceived. There is no indication today of the power of prayer’s influence or that it produces any effect. Christians simply deal with this problem by rationalizing, "it’s (not) God’s will". This is the "easy-out" in any situation because it always explains the interpreted result. Too much reliance on prayer can cause a person to make poor decisions and not listen to their own feelings on the matter. It can also lead to reading unrelated events as "signs" and making a decision that counters ones own will. It can also be dangerous if you believe that prayer will guide a bus of teenagers through a snowstorm or heavy fog. Prayer does not overrule stupidity!
We always pray for the sick and injured and ask for healing, but has God ever healed an amputee? Is anything impossible with God? Did he not restore lepers to health in the Bible? Do lepers not lose arms, legs and digits from their disease? There is no reason why God could not cause an amputated limb to reattach or grow back. Why should we think that he will heal any other sickness or disease? Why don’t we give more of the credit to doctors and scientists for their accomplishments?
The Bible has errors that cannot be rationally explained within the Christian theology. There are however, very convincing alternative explanations to these problems if we are willing to accept that the Bible is not infallible. Many of the difficult passages in the Bible are not mysterious if one understands the motives behind the verse. For example: the quote from Jesus about "not throwing the children’s food to the dogs", and the Gentile woman who is willing to "lick up the crumbs", is a polemic by reactionary Jews who felt the kingdom of heaven was "first for the Jews", but the leftovers were for the Gentiles. These racial roots ran deep in society and also became embedded in the gospel writings. This portrays Jesus as having societal racist tendencies. Was it not Jesus who said, "For God so loved the world..." and "Love your enemies". Jesus in the gospel of Mark starts out with Jesus preaching in a Gentile territory and showing no partiality to Gentiles. Could both stories then be true? A Jesus that incites racism is not a beneficial model for society.
You are living under a delusion... and that’s not healthy in the long run, only destructive! Don’t you care about the genuine pursuit of truth? The truth will set you free!
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