Why I am no longer a Christian.

[substitute]

In 1991 I underwent a religious conversion during a time of great personal stress. Since then I have been a Christian, but I’ve only gone to church for the first two years and very intermittently since. My particular faith is most easily described as “evangelical”.

The reason I haven’t had much to do with churches is that nothing about the culture of American evangelical Christianity is tolerable to me except the Gospel itself. This is a big problem, because you’re not just supposed to pray and learn, you’re supposed to interact with others. I’m instructed to be a member of a spiritual group and also to share the faith with others. At first it was just the problem of everyone being sort of corn-pone and not culturally aware, which is a lot more important when you’re in your 20s. Increasingly I ran into disagreements about science and politics that were a bit worse, and I stopped spending a lot of time with churchy people. After this election, though, I’m through. I’m walking out.

It’s time I stopped describing myself as Christian. I can’t do it. I look at the people who claim an evangelical faith and they make me physically ill. I can’t break bread with them.

The first thing that happens after a fellow believer discovers my spirituality is congratulation and a big smile.The second thing that happens is some political or theological litmus test. We are all supposed to support the war, support the current government, love capitalism, despise “liberals”, hate homosexuals, and deny the last 300 years of Western civilization. I am not to agree with the theory of evolution. I must support not only my own government’s wars but all those of the state of Israel. I am supposed to care very deeply about unborn children but let them starve or be bombed once they’re born. I’m supposed to reject the last 200 years of biology and embrace crackpot pseudo-science.

I look at the people around me that I love and you want me to hate all of them. I refuse. Hate me too, instead.

You people physically disgust me. All of you. I can’t be in fellowship with a nation of murderous ignorant hypocrites. Go back and read Amos and Isaiah, and think on this: are you the prophet, or the faithless nation?

You can call me a “liberal”, and I’ll thank you. You can call me a “humanist”, and I’ll smile. You can even tell me, as you have been lately, that I’m un-American and unwanted in your country, and I’ll respectfully disagree. But don’t call me Christian. My conscience won’t allow it.

Comments

[fimmtiu.livejournal.com]

I quite agree. I came to a similar conclusion and drifted into agnosticism years ago, but I see the problem from a slightly different perspective: it is nearly impossible to change the nature of a man. For the vast majority of people, if you grow up to be an ignorant, intolerant dick, you're not going to stop being an ignorant, intolerant dick when you get the Jeebus. You're just going to use it as a justification for your dickery so you can feel better about yourself. Religion hardly ever changes people -- it just changes the reasons which they claim guide their actions. And sadly, it's flexible enough to be used for just about any end that mankind is capable of.

So when I look around and see that many of the nicest, most caring people that I know are athiests or agnostics, it really makes me wonder... what use is being in the God Club, except as a security blanket?

I hope you find the answers you're looking for. Good luck.

[fimmtiu.livejournal.com]

Man, do I ever have serious spelling issues tonight... oy vey.

[stimps.livejournal.com]

If I'm not mistaken (and I might be), I don't think mr. iggy is saying I GIVE UP ON ALL THE THINGS I BELIEVE. I think he is shunning the label. When half the people you know equate your use of the word Christian with a lot of the things he has listed (and they do), it gets PAINFUL to have to say BUT I AM NOT THAT KIND OF CHRISTIAN. Every single time. And it goes both ways -- when you talk to Crazy Christians (tm), you have to explain that you are NOT the same. When you talk to the people you *do* generally agree with, you have to explain that although you do believe in Christ, you are NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. It is just too painful to have to continually draw this line, and redraw it in almost every social situation. Sure, the people who know you and care about you know what you mean and who you are, but they are, unfortunately, not the only people you meet every day.

Anyway, I don't think he mean "giving up the faith" but "giving up (throwing up) the title as it's being seen generally at this juncture in time". Feel free to correct me.

I don't see my relationship with God as being a security blanket. I see it more as a guide, or a map. I'm terrible at orienteering, and my life is very wandery, but I can try to find a track. I don't think God owes me anything. I think it's the other way around.

"Grace is a word used in Christianity to refer not so much to skillful movement but to presence of God in touch with a human soul moving that soul to respond in faith and love. While the human being realizes that our response can never outdo the original and continuing redemptive action of Jesus the Christ, it is incumbent on us to do whatever we can to share that goodness with others.

[...]

But this lofty challenge is not always reflected in Christians. So Conversion and repentance are continuing realities in a Christian's life. What happens when our deeds have not redounded to the glory of God but rather have had others cursing our God or us? God gives us the opportunity as long as we have not finished this earthly journey to repent and renew the graced life we have received in Christ."

I think a lot of Christians forget that it's a constantly renewing thing. That it's a requirement, pretty much. Anyway, I'm no scholar. I'm just a noob on the whole religion thing, but that's a lot of what it's about for me.

Exactly.

[nosrialleon.livejournal.com]

You folks should bear in mind that, while we do not live in the bible belt, we do live in the VERY CAPITAL of self-absorbed, egotistical, self-righteous, greedy, Republican "Christianity". It really is all about politics 24/7 here. I wouldn't want to hang out with these people. The 'nice' ones tend to be hopelessly naive people who stumbled into money somehow; the rest tend to be shrill manipulators and evil bastards who want to contain and destroy everything I hold dear. No, thank you. When I meet Christians who are sane, it's always a shock to me. We really don't have that many of them out here.