Christianity as seen through the eyes of an unbeliever?

Question

The disease in my family

There is a horrible disease in my family. It came up again yesterday and slapped me around. I feel so sad and powerless and hopeless.

It started with me trying to do the right thing. My mom sounded sad on the phone. Her daughters don't speak to each other! My mom, well, she ain't getting any younger, so I decided to do my part. It was time to phone my sister who hadn't talked to me in two years.

I kept my voice even, pleasant and said "for mom, can't we heal the..." was met with rage touched by a little bit of insanity. The phone call lasted two minutes. I won't be calling her again. My sister has the disease in my family pretty strongly. The other sister, she's got it worse. The disease is Jesus.

We were all raised with Jesus - but the ones that caught him the most, that stayed with him the most, are the sickest now. My brothers and I, we get along fine! We get along fine with our parents too. But the sisters - you can judge how ill they are by how MUCH Christ they have. The one that's the sickest? Her husband is a pastor. She is fearful, cruel and speaks to nobody in my family. She and her husband have roaming wars with just about everybody I know. They aren't "friends" enough with anyone in the family to even go to their houses. They don't stay with a church for a year before they end up breaking off in a bitter war. They have had child services called on them for beating their children. They refused to go to their own childrens weddings when they marry the "wrong" people. She started out kind, loving - a wonderful sister. It's not much better with the other one. Though she and I were once so close, she now literally has no friends in her life. She has never been to her brothers house, tho he lives in our town. She hides in her house and home-schools her boys who have various degrees of mental illness (one is obsessive compulsive with trash and lives with 8 bags of garbage in his room).

If "by their fruits ye shall know them" why are the ones who soak themselves in Jesus, the most intollerant hateful jerks who tear my family apart? Why, in spite of how nuts I know they are, objectively, does it hurt so much that I can't have relationships with them anymore? I comfort myself with "but NOBODY in my family has relationships with them. They even hate each other..." but it still hurts. You'd think I could apply "science" and detatch from the pain.

I am torn apart when I read this! Can you BLAME this person for ot wanting anything to do with Christianity when it's not being portrayed?

Christians, We need to get serious with GOD!

Your comments?

This is not my family's story. This is the story of an unbelieving atheist and her family. What's truly tragic, is that this unbeliever reached out with more love than her so-called Christian sisters, and was met with hostility, rather than the love and embrace of God!!

Edit:

Kait

You've got that right! NO GOOD whatsoever, if you ask me! It sounds like they have legalism "down pat" however, but not Christianity!

Answer 1

Your story makes me so sad..I hurt for you and your whole family. Something is terrible wrong in your sisters case...this is not a God filled household, they may be talking Jesus but they certainly aren't acting it I'm praying that your sister will come to her senses and soon. God Bless.

Answer 2

Jesus had the right message, how ever, the problem is at the same time as people regularly do not take heed to easily Jesus, and take the completed aspect in suggestions, previous, and New testomony. The previous is done of alot of violence. Too many people do no longer keep on with his note, and do many stuff he suggested no longer to do. They decide, they kill in his call. at the same time as Jesus grow to be no longer a violent guy, the e book as a regular entire has a tendency to be that way. A quote that has been thrown at me, infinite situations through people declaring they were christian, is "Thou shalt no longer conflict through a witch to stay". obviously that is going hostile to his teachings, being that he didn't want people to judge one yet another. Judging is to be left as a lot as God, and is not any longer meant for guy. I very a lot comprehend what I actually have study, i grow to be Catholic for the first 12 years of my existence. i understand, and comprehend what it says. yet *many* people do not take his note heavily and pay more beneficial interest to at least some thing else of the e book.

Answer 3

I think you made your first step and called your sister, don't regret that.Alot might consider it a weakness that you was the one who called first but it is not.
I'm a muslim but I believe that every religion has its own beauty. When you invovle religion in your life it should change your life to positive and not the opposite. You try more to treat people kindly and justly because that what every religion teaches us as basics. But from what I understood your sister does not understand that, and you behaved 'more' as a Christian.
Don't worry you did the right thing, don't wait for people to reward you because God is the one who gives best rewards.

Answer 4

Jesus isn't a religion. Its a personal relationship with a person and Jesus. The bible says of all the commandments that God gave us, that love is the greatest. So, in over words if they don't love others than they don't love Jesus either. Which means they aren't Christians no matter what they call themselves. Jesus is not the problem here, your family is. Christians that have truly invited Jesus into their hearts know how to love and care for others because He lives in their hearts and will convict them of ill behavior. A true Christian feels bad when they hurt others and tries to love and forget like Jesus says to. So I say, Jesus isn't their disease, it is what's inside themselves. If isn't fair to assume that all Christians are troubled, unloving people. Sounds to me like your family needs to search their own hearts and do what Jesus would want them to do instead of following the world. It also sounds to me like your sister's pastor husband isn't as dedicated to God as what he may want people to think or he would love his wife instead of mistreating her and not taking care of his children. It is not for me to judge though.

Answer 5

I think you're seeing things from my p.o.v. Christianity has a tendency to impose a caste system upon its followers. Many of them don't even notice!

The easiest way to look at this- Jesus, alcohol, politics, video games, dieting, sex, drugs, gambling, television etc..... when taken to extremes, anything can ruin a person's personality in one way or another. Religion can be just as addictive as anything else. It can make the nicest people do the meanest things.

When accepted at a moderate and comfortable level, it can also make you a better or happier person. So can all of the other things I mentioned (yes, even drugs and alcohol).

Answer 6

I think you're pointing at the wrong thing. The problem is the people and not the religion. The people you described would have similar problems with any faith and how they apply/live that faith. Hopefully in time, they will learn what God really expects of them...before it's too late.

Answer 7

I hate religion, meaning I hate rituals. Even when I was in India, my wife wanted to do the Hindu rituals, and I don't see the logic. So it doesn't matter what your religion is. I think what you feel for the almighty is up to you.

Answer 8

I'm sorry you had to go through that. I know what you mean, but that is not Jesus. There is a huge diference between Jesus and religion.

Answer 9

the problem is that some people get so deeply involved that they fail to realize that their are people who are different from them and it then bothers them and they act differently that is what's wrong with religion is that some people become fanatics and they don't realize that they push people away from their faith and they end up doing more harm then good

Answer 10

This is a bunch of BS. Look here, Christians have a dysfunctional life too you know. Look at Ted Haggard a closet homosexual and meth user.