Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell
- Thread starter darkbeaver
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It's nice to know that husband and I (respectively, an atheist and an agnostic) beat the stats both financially and timewise https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/
The scanner of the Grocer who doesn't want to be sued for selling an outdated product. The product that 'never goes bad' was never good to begin with, ask any Raven.
The rapid decline of Christianity in America, particularly in the last three years, might accurately be attributed to the public stance so many of the born again crowd have taken in support of Trump and the glaringly unloving, uncompassionate, unchristian values espoused by him and his fellow republicans. Add all those heart breaking revelations of abuse [both sexual and financial] by priests, bishops, pastors, and ministers of various stripes, and you have a Christianity that does not come close to mirroring the love and compassion that its great teacher lived.
Christianity is declining for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons perhaps, is Christian leaders once viewed as sacred spokespersons for god that would do no wrong, no longer have the comfort of secrets that can be hidden from the rest of us. In this day and age there are no secure secrets. The internet one way or the other can now reveal all of ones darkest hidden things. Everyone is looking. We can see the truth or falseness of the grand words and quoted scripture of these leaders by how they live their lives and what they do unto others.
The so called elect of god often turn out to be very ordinary flawed human beings, some flawed much worse than the rest of us. They reveal a Christianity that appears to have been hijacked by liars, hucksters, narcissists and sociopaths, a faith where the most vulnerable are not safe from the wolves in sheep’s clothing living with and guiding the flock. The secret lives of these leaders, reveals a disturbing lack of love and compassion at work throughout broad swaths of the faithful from the top down. Without the shining threads of unconditional love and spontaneous compassion woven into the fabric of Christianity, why on earth would anyone wish to remain a Christian or become one?
The Christian right decry the diminishing numbers of Christians in America. They see this as proof the battle between good and evil is being fought and lost. They are frightened, angry, looking for a ‘them’ to fight, the face of the enemy.
What they fail to see, what they can’t see because they envision a ‘them’ they are fighting against, is this fight by its very nature excludes from the start every principle, value, and indeed the very raison d'être for Christianity existing at all. It is a fight that creates an imaginary polar opposite where the unconditional love and compassion the great teacher exclusively taught, has no place at all.
It is a fight that has transformed these evangelical warriors into the very thing they fear, the thing they imagine they fight against. There is no good news to be found anywhere in the message they share. Their actions tell the truth about the faith they say they live. Unbeknownst to them, they are the ones they imagine they fight against. Living as they do, without love and compassion, creating boundaries, borders, and limits to love where there is none, these faux Christians are the ones who assure the decline of Christianity will continue, and even accelerate. - Chris Waller
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
An update on America's changing religious landscape
More: https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace
Christianity is declining for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons perhaps, is Christian leaders once viewed as sacred spokespersons for god that would do no wrong, no longer have the comfort of secrets that can be hidden from the rest of us. In this day and age there are no secure secrets. The internet one way or the other can now reveal all of ones darkest hidden things. Everyone is looking. We can see the truth or falseness of the grand words and quoted scripture of these leaders by how they live their lives and what they do unto others.
The so called elect of god often turn out to be very ordinary flawed human beings, some flawed much worse than the rest of us. They reveal a Christianity that appears to have been hijacked by liars, hucksters, narcissists and sociopaths, a faith where the most vulnerable are not safe from the wolves in sheep’s clothing living with and guiding the flock. The secret lives of these leaders, reveals a disturbing lack of love and compassion at work throughout broad swaths of the faithful from the top down. Without the shining threads of unconditional love and spontaneous compassion woven into the fabric of Christianity, why on earth would anyone wish to remain a Christian or become one?
The Christian right decry the diminishing numbers of Christians in America. They see this as proof the battle between good and evil is being fought and lost. They are frightened, angry, looking for a ‘them’ to fight, the face of the enemy.
What they fail to see, what they can’t see because they envision a ‘them’ they are fighting against, is this fight by its very nature excludes from the start every principle, value, and indeed the very raison d'être for Christianity existing at all. It is a fight that creates an imaginary polar opposite where the unconditional love and compassion the great teacher exclusively taught, has no place at all.
It is a fight that has transformed these evangelical warriors into the very thing they fear, the thing they imagine they fight against. There is no good news to be found anywhere in the message they share. Their actions tell the truth about the faith they say they live. Unbeknownst to them, they are the ones they imagine they fight against. Living as they do, without love and compassion, creating boundaries, borders, and limits to love where there is none, these faux Christians are the ones who assure the decline of Christianity will continue, and even accelerate. - Chris Waller
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
An update on America's changing religious landscape
More: https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace
If someone "destoried" the Bible, all that would be in it would be a few names of people and places and maybe some mundane events.