Have Evangelicals Destroyed Christian Morality in the US?

[SinSaber]

Whatever. At least the world is a of a bit better place for the changes.

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Poitnless since this world is finite

 

[Skwim]

Poitnless since this world is finite

Aside from the bizarreness of your remark, why is a change in attitude toward abortion and homosexuality pointless because the "world is finite," whatever you mean by that?

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[The Kilted Heathen]

I see plenty of liberal bumper stickers that are guilty of social jackassery

My statement was in addition to @It Aint Necessarily So's statement regarding Evangelicals and the "War on Christmas".

 

[SinSaber]

Aside from the bizarreness of your remark, why is a change in attitude toward abortion and homosexuality pointless because the "world is finite," whatever you mean by that?

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You liberals act like because people ***** and moan religious beliefs should change. But the Bible says this world doesn’t matter so why should the grievances of the world matter?

 

[Buddha Dharma]

Which at first glance pits James against Paul.

Don't you think there's an argument to be made that there was a James/Paul conflict in the early community? Many Jesus scholars certainly think there was, of a similar nature to the Sunni/Shia divide in Islam. Essentially the fundamental question being- do we follow Jesus's brother, or the man claiming to be an apostle? We'll never know because Paul won, but James is notably different in it's tone than the Pauline epistles. In addition to being works oriented, James surprisingly seems to condemn Paul's prejudices in some areas because his epistle says- I extort you not to show favoritism among yourselves.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

You liberals act like because people ***** and moan religious beliefs should change. But the Bible says this world doesn’t matter so why should the grievances of the world matter?

Ask that to the swarm of Christians moaning and complaining about grievances of the world.

 

[SinSaber]

Ask that to the swarm of Christians moaning and complaining about grievances of the world.

They’re not real Christians. The only real Christians are the centrists and the moderates. Everyone else is politcal

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

They’re not real Christians. The only real Christians are the centrists and the moderates. Everyone else is politcal

No True Scotsman doesn't work for anyone.

 

[Buddha Dharma]

No True Scotsman doesn't work for anyone.

Yeah we're a little past that with what? About 10,000 Christian sects now? I know it's gotta be at least a 1000

 

[Shadow Wolf]

They’re not real Christians. The only real Christians are the centrists and the moderates. Everyone else is politcal

I don't think god likes it when you do something he reserved as exclusively his own task to perform.

 

[Skwim]

You liberals act like because people ***** and moan religious beliefs should change. But the Bible says this world doesn’t matter so why should the grievances of the world matter?

I'm sorry. Hope you get well soon.

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[SinSaber]

I'm sorry. Hope you get well soon.

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Hope you stop being a smug elitist

 

[Buddha Dharma]

Hope you stop being a smug elitist

There's nothing wrong with being intelligent and attentive to others. If that makes liberals elitist, so be it. Hope you stop glorifying ignorance and prejudice.

 

[Skwim]

Liberals don’t have a monopoly on intelligence. And your definitions of ignorance and prejudice and totlaterian where even the slightest deviation from total liberal ideology is to be feared and hated

Your the same kind of trash that told those North Carolina gays they couldn’t be in the pride parade because they voted for trump.

Your ignorant and prejudice you uppity douche.

Now, now, now. Play nice. Let's leave the name calling to your idol, Donny Trump. Okay?

Tell Buddha Dharma you're sorry, sit on your tuffet, and eat your curds and whey.

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[The Emperor of Mankind]

You liberals act like because people ***** and moan religious beliefs should change. But the Bible says this world doesn’t matter so why should the grievances of the world matter?

If the world doesn't matter then what's the point in getting upset or annoyed at how we feel about things?

 

[allright]

Gods standards never change.

Those who try to alter them can only destroy themselves

After all, Jesus did say only a few people would be saved

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I think you are defining a brand of Christianity that is ruled by ego, and by it's pretense of righteousness, rather then by the spirit of love, forgiveness, kindness, and generosity that 'Christ' embodies. And I think the failure occurred because even back in the "good old days" the various churches of the Christian faith found it more convenient to preach faith as being obedience to religious dogma, rather than faith being action founded in our hope for a better humanity; a humanity that reflects the loving spirit of it's Divine Creator.

It's the ego that craves obedience, and that inspires willful ignorance of our own flaws, while glorifying the flaws of others. And this is the sin that so many of the self-proclaimed Christians and their respective churches have succumbed to. As Thomas Merton once wrote, "A Pharisee is a man who's righteousness is nourished by the blood of sinners". This is what these people have become - modern day Pharisees. And they've done so because the illusion of their own righteousness has become their primary concern.

But I would add that they had help in choosing their own egos over the Divine Spirit that their religion proclaimed to be their salvation. And that help came from the corruption of our whole culture by the unfettered greed of capitalism. Everything of value in this world has become commodified by the systemic greed of capitalism. The serving of self is the endless and ever-present message being blasted at us from every media outlet we encounter; "consume, consume, consume; want, and want, and want more". Commercial advertising has been brainwashing us all to be more selfish, and more desirous, and to covet wealth and power because wealth and power are now the measure and substance life, itself. And of freedom, and of opportunity.

These are the lies we all now take to be reality. And so they have become our reality. So it's not surprising that so many modern day Christians have succumbed to this same sickness within their religious ideology and practice. Bigotry is just the act of turning strangers into another consumer product, in our minds, to be used to serve the endless desire of our own egos to be more righteous and superior than everyone else.

A fine post, an excellent post.

"Righteousness" is a word that drives me nuts, and especially when used by those who assume it is something that they understand, and worse, have an obligation (an evangelical obligation) to apply to others. And it is, as you nicely stated in your first paragraph, completely contrary to what Christ seems to have been about: "love, forgiveness, kindness, and generosity."

Is it more "righteous" to demand that somebody else live a life of desperate unhappiness, in order that they live the way you do (and therefore believe correct)? Or is it more loving, forgiving, kind and generous to recognize that they are not you, and that their happiness is dependent not on your values and sensibilities, but their own?

That is the essence of my morality.