General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When did so many (not all) "christians" become hateful psychopaths? [View all]Tigress DEM
(7,887 posts)Part of the Christian teaching is that God is a God of Love. So people who live in that zone aren't living in fear at all. Right? Wrong? Who cares? There are people to feed and lonely people who don't know the love of God or the kindness of others. The things the OP listed as basic stuff Jesus did are "right enough" to keep most Christians busy.
A lot of Christians have had to simplify our belief structure and aren't attached to the multiple contradictory aspects of believing every single word in the Bible as complete and indisputable truth. Lutherans, Unitarians. None of it is necessarily perfect; but what is?
There is a term for Catholics I heard a while ago that applies to Catholics who pick and choose what to believe and what to discard or leave alone; Cafeteria Catholics. I'm sure it's considered derogatory by many, but I know some who are proud to call themselves that because they are thinking Catholics and have no easy answer for the contradictions, but have faith that it will all work out eventually. They are more concerned with doing good and keeping their own noses clean than being politically in line with the Pope.
I left the Catholic Church because that felt dishonest to me, but I was pretty much a cafeteria catholic before I left. Realize too that Vatican II in 1965 changed a lot of things, but things swung back to conservative in the late '90's so I had to choose to adjust myself to the Church's changes or stay true to the beliefs I had growing up. Staying true to myself meant leaving the Church.
But in my mind and heart, my personal relationship with Christ wasn't something I picked up and left behind at church. It is something that is mine and it goes with me wherever I go. I was born to my parents at a hospital and moved with them until I was 18, but they were no less my parents when I moved out and started living independently. God is no less my God because I left the church where I met Him and made my commitment to Him.
Tig