Gripes with your own...

This is another idea for a thread along the same lines as the last. This is an idea based on an interaction between an athiest and a Christian on youtube which I have seen which has been rather successful and I think it's a good idea.

The idea, gripes about how your own ideology is executed or the others that are sharing your belief. Mine are as follows. For the first while I would like atheists to do this as well, just so we can be a bit clearer about ourselves. I realise this can be hard to do but please make an attempt rather than complaining about the motives of the thread.

1) Denominational squabbles or disputes. When Christian unity as Jesus advises in John 17, is threatened by people arguing over tiny points of Scripture. The fractures in Christianity can put newcomers to belief off, and fractures in Christianity often stop us from being a more effective force in the world.

2) Televangelism and greed. The popularisation of Christianity has unfortunately brought people who make business and make profits from the Christian message and from the person of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Jesus Christ by donations. I find this irreconcilable with the Gospel message.

3) The promotion of violence in the name of Christianity. This was one of the issues I have particularly in America, that people can advocate that a war is God's will without providing rhyme or reason for suggesting so. Given the character of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament and the idea that Christians are to be submissive of the State and it's authority it seems difficult to me to suggest that Christians should be leading battle efforts under this motive.

4) Doubting the salvation of other Christians. This is related to point 1, I think we should be building other people who are interested in Christianity up as in Ephesians 4 rather than casting doubt that they have indeed achieved salvation. I see this as fruitless, as even if people have not achieved salvation in your opinion does not mean that they have not already, or that there isn't room for growth.

5) Denying what Christianity is for the sake of popularity. For example referring to Christianity as being "not a religion, but a relationship." I find that Christianity does tick all the boxes of a religion as being a group of people who organise a community based on rites, and practices, and that believe in a theos (God). There is no reason why a relationship with God cannot be an integral part of religion.

6) There is a tendency not to encourage questioning by certain Christians. I think this however is the greatest tool in strengthening people to serve God in a world that demands answers.

7) Primary method of communicating the Gospel - I far prefer someone who can tell me what Christ can do for me rather than telling people what Christ can't do for people or how He will punish x, y and z. Defending the Gospel gently as called for by Apostles such as Peter and Paul is crucial. I believe that this is crucial for people to actually see Christianity as a real option. I don't believe that topics such as hell should be avoided, I just believe that other methods of evangelism should be promoted.

8) Physical sins being seen as somehow worse than the rest - There seems to be a notion amongst some that physical sins such as sexual immorality and drunkeness and so on are so much worse than hatred, lying, coveting, lustfulness, greed, gluttony when in reality the Christian texts say that the heart is the store for all things that are evil and evils are brought forth from the heart.

9) Distortionism - The justifications of hatred in the name of Christianity such as abortion clinic bombings in the USA, white supremacists such as the KKK, religious based violence in Uganda amongst other things. It's hard not to have incidents like these make your blood boil. On a more local scale, the abuse of Christianity by political terrorists such as the IRA, UVF, UDA etc.

10) The awful deeds done in the name of Christianity in the past - Part related to the last point. However, the Crusades, the Inquisition, violence against French Hugenots in France by Catholics and vice versa in other parts of Europe. Salem Witch Trials, Papal abuses in the name of Christianity, things like this just make you frustrated to even think that they took place. Christianity has so much to offer the world and it's a shame the corrupt nature of man has to get in the way.

11) Oversimplification of Christian beliefs. There has been a trend to simplify beliefs into nice and easy acronymns, they often cause a lot of unnecessary misconceptions about Christianity. An example of this is for Bible, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I personally do not think that the Bible is basic, or that it merely contains constructions, but rather legal, wisdom, poetry, prophesy, narrative and so on.

12) Advocating Christianity as merely something that you do rather than inspiring your life - I find that often rituals such as baptism ends being done only due to the fact that it is the done thing. The meaning of these events can often be lost. There is also a tendency for church to be just something you do, not something you are passionate about. This is another gripe of mine more that Christianity is so centred on ritual rather than the message.

Maybe some Christians can help me out with the gripes. It's quite a hard subject to deal with. I want to see some atheists try and do the same. I hope we can have a fulfilling discussion about this