In what way? Do you have family and/or acquaintances who preach to you all the time? That seems to be one of the biggest problems people have with Christianity. I know that a lot of people also think that Christians are brainwashed. What are the other issues you have with Christianity. Is it just Christianity or all organized religions?
2006-12-30 07:57:19 · 23 answers · asked by Cori 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
But are you judging all Christian together? That's kind of dumb.
2006-12-30 08:08:40 · update #1
Angel: Knock it off! I'm a Christian. I'm just seeking information. It's funny how fast people can make assumptions. We have to be open minded. I'm interested in hearing what people have to say. I think it could make me a better Christian.
2006-12-30 08:12:45 · update #2
Hm, stuffed down my throat? No.
I do not have friends, family or acquaintances who preach to me all the time.. the only place I really get chopped up scripture taken out of context thrown at me is here. Being that I WAS a christian for 20 years, I know how to combat that, as I'm finding more and more, I was in the minority in reading my bible cover to cover over 50 times.. most of the christians on here (with whom I've had contact) haven't read it cover to cover even once.
My problems with Christianity in general stem from my study of it in depth, along with Judaism.. finding the major disparities and then finding historical evidence that Jesus did not exist (and I am NOT trying to sway you from your belief in any way when I say that).
I've found a few (very few) christians on here who are polite, respectful etc.. but overall, Christianity to me is a plague on its followers (and I say that respectfully as my own opinion of the organized religion and not as a slam against you or any christian in particular).. as evidenced by their hateful remarks toward anyone who disagrees with them or who proves that they are uneducated in their own scriptures, and by their hypocritical unchristlike behavior, which is also evidence in the bloody history of the Church.
I don't dislike ALL organized religions. I look at the effects (by their fruits you shall know them) of the religion on the person. ALL of my buddhist friends are simply lovely, peaceful people and I ADORE being around them.
My hindu friends are the same way.
My jewish friends are funny, witty, and welcoming.
Paganism is my "religion" of choice.. but it is not monocentric, nor do we have a leader telling us what to believe or setting doctrine for us, so it is NOT an organized faith.
The effects of that are evidenced by my love for my pagan brothers and sisters who don't try to convert ANYONE. Actually none of my friends try to convert anyone so include all of the above and below in that.
I ADORE my atheist friends.. they are intelligent, fun, and like pagans, very welcoming.
I don't personally know any agnostics, so I cannot comment on them from personal experience.
Again, I look at the overall effects of a "faith" (or lack thereof) on the majority of its followers to determine whether I have "issues" with it or not.
Thank you for asking a respectful question :)
Many blessings on your path,
Kallan
2006-12-30 08:32:03 · answer #1 · answered by Kallan 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Over in the UK it is not really these days. Occasionally Jehovah's Witnesses might trespass on your property and beliefs but that's all so far.
No religion should be allowed to forbid scientific work. No religion should be allowed voice in the creation of law. No religion should be allowed within a million miles of tell ME what I should or should not be able to do in law and with my life. Science should be regulated only by law and agreed away from religious diatribe.
I personally have come to dislike the concept of religion. The more I study of cult creation and deprogramming, influence and brainwashing the more I realise that is all that has happened for millenia. I knew Christianity was a means to control early populations before I left primary school at 11 years old. I didn't know about other religions so much then.
I also know how to generate the wonderful ecstatic tears of joy feeling that feels like religious ecstacy. Tears, throbbing, lights of joy, ecstacy, ultimate peace, forgiveness and gratitude are the words I could use to describe the feeling. Guess what folks, it comes from within. Not "God". It's a wonderful complex rushing cascade of neurotransmitters and electrical impulses. It can be triggered in other people using music, dance, rhythmic and dramatic emotional speech a.k.a sermons etc and deliberately attached to symbols, people, ideas and beliefs.
I was very lucky, I learnt to generate this immense "spiritual" high by accident when I was small. I realise now that this "could" be the "God" circuit I read about time ago.
Religion has caused more harm than good in my view, from everything I've read, and everything I've seen. Mankind would have developed social ethics without it. Either that or we would have perished. Religion was an unnecessary impediment and still is. It may cause the 3rd world war because people still believe that religious belief is worth killing others over. Stupid stupid but probably unavoidable. It does sadden me.
A "God" who can create Hell, who can punish for eternity various transgressions, and is supposed to be all forgiving (but clearly is not) is not a "God" worth knowing. End of.
An infinite being would completely condradict the existence of our universe. Infinity is all inclusive. If there's such a creature then nothing but he can exist. Think about it...
2006-12-30 08:23:30 · answer #2 · answered by karnautrahl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My problem is when others want me to respect (submit) to their religion while not affording me the right to my differing opinion. It bothers me when I listen to the arguments about if there should be the 10 commandments in a courthouse or creationism is school. Those are places for everyone, paid for by everyone, and should be inclusive by not favoring one group. Creationism at home or church is fine, the commandments may lead your life, but I ask to be free of other's religious beliefs. I promise I won't come to anyone's church and start talking about taxes as long as they stay out of everyone's public spaces.
How would Christians feel if we decided that there should be religion in the public arena (which I have heard many people call for)? It would probably be fine with them as long as the religion chosen to represent was theirs. But if we decided that the religion represented would not be theirs there would most likely be a fight.
I also have a bit of a personal thing against organized religion. It is odd to me that people choose to belong to a group that has a known history of perpetrating violence (yes, actually killing people). This goes for many, many religions, not just Christians. I would not want to belong to (let's just say) the Klan, even if I was not a hateful person and the part I belonged to only did good public works. Many people who have belonged to this organization felt that they were doing good work for the rightous reasons, but I would not feel comfortable belonging to an organization steeped in this kind of violence. I am not specifically trying to compare Christians to the Klan, I am just trying to show an obvious historical aspect of any organization that has used it's power over people in a way that is manipulative.
This is just the way that I feel and my opinion, although not in it's entirety, and hope that I have answered honestly without angering too many people.
2006-12-30 08:13:56 · answer #3 · answered by tajmina 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do feel that sometimes it is thrown in my face. My friends and family reacted badly when I gave up religion, and seemed determined to perceive it in a negative way.
My mother told me I was "abandoning God", and that I would be abandoned in return, and that nothing in my life was ever going to work out the way I wanted it to. She also came to visit at Christmas, brought gifts for everyone, then glared defiantly at us until they were opened. She was later removed from my home by the police.
My fiance said that me being a non-believer wouldn't work for him, then gave me a gold crucifix at Christmas. The engagement is off.
My son jumped for joy, and said that he'd never been into religion but had been afraid to admit it. That explains the Nintendo DS in church.
My other son said, "I'm going to keep believing what I believe", and I told him that he didn't need my permission, that I respect his beliefs, and I do, and he respects my right not to believe.
I encounter a lot of people at work and school (really enjoying some time off right now). Sometimes they are religious, and I don't allow myself to get drawn into discussion about it. It's a no-win situation anyway. A lot of my neighbours are Jehovah's Witnesses, and it annoys me when they come to the door. Some of my neighbours are Christians, and they all spend time together talking about which kids have done what wrong and how they've forgiven them. I take no part in that.
My bunny loves me, no matter what.
I love myself, no matter what.
2006-12-30 08:08:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Believe it or not, the only time I felt Christianity was stuffed down my throat was when I was deployed to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm.
Everyone who was not Muslim had to keep their faith indoors. Christimas 1990 was celebrated in closed buildings with guards at the doors, to make sure the Muslims would not see what was going on. Jews were even suppose to hide the fact they were Jews, by changing their dog tags to read either "NONE" or "PROTESTANT B". The chaplains in the USAF had to take off their religious badges and were referred to as Morale Officers.
We had a Commander's call one day which everyone had to attend as it was a mandatory formation. At the end of it, the Commander turned us over to the Chaplain, I mean, Morale Officer. He then lead the group in a rousing version of DOWN BY THE RIVER. Since it was a mandatory formation, no one could leave until dismissed, after he was done.
I definitely felt like I had Christianity stuffed down my throat. Which was funny because we were sitting in Saudi Arabia and having to put up with their religious fanaticism every day. It was ironic that we complained about proslytizing only to have more done to us by our own Commander. One might say it was a case of the same song, different tune.
2006-12-30 09:14:59 · answer #5 · answered by forgivebutdonotforget911 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Islam and Christianity put God ahead of everything.
... well they are monotheistic anyway...
Christianity teaches that if you don't love God you can't achieve salvation no matter what you did on earth... No exception even after you saved millions of lives and showered the world with profound peace and happiness...
While Islam teaches that if you don't believe in Allah all your merits will not be acknowledge and you will be burnt in hell.
Not to belittle other religions but my believe is if the originator is really omnipotent, caring and kind... Preaching the practise of good deeds, the spreading of happiness to the world etc should be given more emphasis and should also come first before worshipping His Greatness.
2006-12-30 08:25:53 · answer #6 · answered by SSBCSS 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to have a house mate who preached Christianity to me every time when I see her. This is actually the only topic we talk about. I always tried to talk about something else. But she always bring this topic back. She is always trying to get me to go to church and christian gatherings. She would implied constantly that my Buddhism religion is that of satan and that I'll go to hell. She constantly insult Buddha and implied that he's just a fake, an idol (no such person). She frequently implied there's no truth in Buddhism. It gets to a point that I tried to avoid her as much as possible and dreaded to see her. She claimed that she's just trying to help me because she sees me falling into hell. I told her that that's my life, and I'll take responsibility for my own decision makings. If I didn't ask for help, then don't offer. But she still continued her relentless pursue in trying to convert me.
After that terrible experience with her (I also have many bad experiences with other Christians before), I hate talking about Christianity. I don't even want to care about what others believe in. I become reserved in telling people what I believe in. Because many people will start attacking and trashing what is precious to me.
2006-12-30 08:56:04 · answer #7 · answered by Renee 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
2 issues right here, one in the event that they're 'shoving it down your throat' they are not evangelizing ideal and the different is they have not have been given any ideal to choose it somewhat is God's branch basically. yet while a 7 3 hundred and sixty 5 days previous starts off speaking to you that's not shoving something and that they suspect that there is a extra helpful existence to attempt for, a place the place issues are not so tousled as around right here, free of war, suffering, strife, hate, politics and unjustice. it somewhat is a advantageous difficulty to attempt for and it somewhat is a unfastened us of a to sell.. a minimum of it somewhat is sturdy now if we've 4 extra years of government like we've, there will be interment camps and executions like the communists had in 2 extra years.
2016-10-19 05:54:36 · answer #8 · answered by benner 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I do sort of feel that it gets stuffed down my throat. Any religion that tries to force others to see things only their way is annoying to me. Christians are probably amoung the worst to try to push their beliefs on other people. I do believe in God, dont get me wrong. I just hate it when people come knocking on my door and want to come in my home and beg me to go to their church. I also hate when people harass others in public places about religion. I try to live right and be kind to others in my own ways. I dont necessarily think I have to be any one religion or the other to get to heaven.
I go to the church of my choice when I choose to. I do not think you have to be there every time the doors are open.
2006-12-30 08:02:50 · answer #9 · answered by I know, I know!!!! 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I guess R & S is going to finish the old year off with the same old Christian bashing. You must try harder girl, to be a bit more tolerant of others. This is how people like Hitler and Saddam get started they hate others because, well who knows why? If you don't want to hear about a religion just say so. Or are you too mushy to speak up for your self. Do you know what it takes to actually brainwash a person? More than going to Church for 1 hr. and listening to a pastor speak, especially when you are free to get off your hinney and leave, if you are in fear of being brainwashed. Now, say to yourself, "I will try harder to be kinder in the New Year to other people, who think differently than perfect me".OOPS, I just tried to brainwash you, did it work, nah, you will be just as nasty next year.
2006-12-30 08:07:39 · answer #10 · answered by angel 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋