Christianity is in crisis

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This is more about Christianity from the political side of things in the US, especially in regards to "Trump" and the Christian Nationalist movement.

He was a top church official who criticized Trump. He says Christianity is in crisis

The NPR piece is about Russell Moore, who is editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today magazine and has written a book called "Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call For Evangelical America." Moore believes one of the problems is that American life has become tribalized, factional, including the church.

The part of this piece that draws me out the most is:
It was the result of having multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching — "turn the other cheek" — [and] to have someone come up after to say, "Where did you get those liberal talking points?" And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, "I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ," the response would not be, "I apologize." The response would be, "Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak." And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis.
He thinks the way you fight this is at the "small and local" - whatever that really means. Though I have sympathy for his cause, I don't see his efforts leading to a real solution. When you have the faithful railing against the "woke" words and beliefs of Jesus Christ himself, I don't see a way back from it.
 

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If the constant begging for money at mass hadn't driven me away from going to church (Catholic) then the current push of "Jesus says hate everyone" by the church would have.

Al of my occasional vague ideas of going back to church at all were more on "nicer" or more modern religeons like Unitarian Universalists.
 
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Innula Zenovka

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This is more about Christianity from the political side of things in the US, especially in regards to "Trump" and the Christian Nationalist movement.

He was a top church official who criticized Trump. He says Christianity is in crisis

The NPR piece is about Russell Moore, who is editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today magazine and has written a book called "Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call For Evangelical America." Moore believes one of the problems is that American life has become tribalized, factional, including the church.

The part of this piece that draws me out the most is:


He thinks the way you fight this is at the "small and local" - whatever that really means. Though I have sympathy for his cause, I don't see his efforts leading to a real solution. When you have the faithful railing against the "woke" words and beliefs of Jesus Christ himself, I don't see a way back from it.
More on the same topic from Russell Moore here:




Evernote link
 

Bartholomew Gallacher

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He thinks the way you fight this is at the "small and local" - whatever that really means. Though I have sympathy for his cause, I don't see his efforts leading to a real solution. When you have the faithful railing against the "woke" words and beliefs of Jesus Christ himself, I don't see a way back from it.
Jesus was at his time a really woke guy; too bad many modern christians do not understand that.
 

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Jesus was at his time a really woke guy; too bad many modern christians do not understand that.

Not according to some Christians.
 

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Not according to some Christians.
I mean, according to some Christians, Jesus bequeathed guns unto humanity himself with the words "Smite thy foes with infailable and indescriminate justice with thine automatic weapon."
 
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Al of my occasional vague ideas of going back to church at all were more on "nicer" or more modern religeons like Unitarian Universalists.
I agree with you 100% about Unitarian Universalist churches being "nicer". I have been loosely associated with them since I was a child. They actually care about values of caring for your fellow human. Modern is a funny word to use, though I know what you mean. Their history goes back hundreds of years.
 

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. Modern is a funny word to use, though I know what you mean. Their history goes back hundreds of years.
Maybe it just "feels modern".

I actually almost also mentioned Budhism but I am thinking that is actually one of the oldest religeons.
 

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I'm at a point in my life where I feel the religion that I was so strictly raised in has become a toxic social club, a tribalist ethos that condemns everything outside of the tiny circle. Someone once told me that a group becomes toxic when they place dogma over compassion. That's why I've been an atheist for something like 20 years, and I haven't spent another minute worrying about whether I was right or wrong. I refuse to live without compassion.
 

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Not according to some Christians.
The bible says A LOT of stuff...very easy to cherry pick what you want to hear. Also very easy to cherry pick what contradicts their strawman view of what "woke" is. Sadly, it's not politically feasible for anyone running for major office in the USA to just be more honest and say "Honestly, I could give a fuck what that silly old book of fables says." I think it's a losing strategy for the left to try to out cherry pick the right on how the bible supports our positions because in reality, leftist positions come from what we think is right, not what some ancient book says to do.


It might be worth mentioning that the bible actually is pretty clearly against money hording and for charity.... even many otherwise "conservative" Christians acknowledge that. It's a lot harder to make the case that the Jesus would have X opinion on modern issues they never thought about.
 

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Not according to some Christians.
Jesus Christ this site. I went flipping through it and I need to keep it bookmarked for when I need to read something and get a good laugh.
 

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The bible says A LOT of stuff...very easy to cherry pick what you want to hear.
And?

If your book can be cherry-picked to make any argument, what is the point of it?
 
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Did you read the rest of my post before responding? I basically make that same point.
But you end on "the bible actually is pretty clearly against money hording and for charity," which is not true for the cherry picker. See: Prosperity theology.