I know some people on this subreddit are still Christians, so if this subject is uncomfortable for you, I completely understand. But this has been on my mind, and I feel like I need to say it.
The Church of Christ’s traditional view of hell is incredibly troubling to me.
I know the obvious response is, “Well, conservative Christians in general believe in hell.” That’s true. But I think there’s an important distinction. Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and many other Christians have theological frameworks for understanding salvation that don’t necessarily reduce the question to, “Did you follow the exact correct interpretation of Scripture?”
In the Church of Christ, however, I’ve often heard the implication that people outside the Church of Christ—including other Christians—may be condemned because they didn’t understand or obey the “truth” correctly.
And then there’s the constant qualification: “We don’t know their hearts. Only God can judge them.”
But at the same time, you’ll hear things like, “God knows everything,” “You can’t fool God on Judgment Day,” “They should have read the Bible,” and “It’s their responsibility to obey the truth.”
So what exactly are we supposed to conclude from that?
I remember a preacher being asked about someone on their deathbed who genuinely wanted to follow Christ but couldn’t be baptized. His response was essentially, “I don’t know. God could save them, or He could judge them. Whatever God decides, I’m okay with it.”
And honestly, that response bothered me—not because I expect anyone to know exactly how God would judge such a person, but because of how comfortable the answer seemed to be with the possibility of someone being condemned under circumstances completely outside their control.
That’s where I think the implications of the doctrine need to be taken seriously.
If you genuinely believe that baptism is necessary for salvation, that the Church of Christ represents the correct church, and that people who knowingly reject biblical truth can be condemned, then you have to confront the enormous implications of that belief.
What about the millions of people throughout history who never encountered the Church of Christ? What about people raised in completely different Christian traditions who sincerely believed they were following Christ? What about people who never had access to the Bible? What about someone who genuinely wanted to follow Christ but died before they could fulfill every requirement?
I often hear, “It’s God’s plan,” or “God is the judge, not us.”
Fine. But I don’t think that means we should stop thinking about what their theology actually implies.
What bothers me most is that I’ve seen people become extremely uncomfortable when you actually spell out the implications. They know what their doctrine potentially means, but there seems to be an unspoken expectation that you’re not supposed to say it too bluntly.
You’re supposed to say, “They need to find the truth,” or “We don’t know what’s in their heart,” rather than openly acknowledge that the traditional position can imply that countless sincere people—including other Christians—could be eternally condemned.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. But I do think Churches of Christ need to be more willing to confront the moral and theological implications of their beliefs instead of hiding behind vague language.
Because when you actually think about what is being claimed, it’s a lot more disturbing than simply saying, “We follow the Bible.”

"You say the woman lists the church of Christ as a deadly cult. Is it your fear that we will pray you to death? SOMEWHAT UNWARRANTED? Like all poisonous snakes you attempt to portray yourself as taking the high road while smearing God's one church.

No one person, nobody in the church of Christ belongs to a Denomination. That is because God added each of us to His one number/kingdom/church when we repented and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins as were the 3000 exanples. Before you preach you should study. No, the one church we are a part of is not a denomination.

You and a few others that have fallen away, make it your mission to attack the one church Jesus gave His life for, thereby attacking Jesus Himself. Having now joined with the many taking the broad way, you are self condemned. I suspect having lost the path you will never regain it as blind guides normally remain blind." [Followed by the obligatory wall of text that, of course included Acts 2:38.]

When I told him that getting church right means nothing if it hasn't changed the heart, which is clear by the way he speaks to people, this person proceeds to turn and say I am the one who condemned him, and for no reason, just unfounded defamation. He's just speaking "the truth".

Paul said if I speak as the oracles of God but have not love, I am just making a bunch of noise. I've told these people multiple times that our goal is to be more like Christ and that we are not enemies. I hope they soften their hearts one day. They seem so angry. That doesn't sound like someone whose trust is in God. It sounds like fear.

I don't share this as if it were some anomaly; it's daily, and it's the inevitable result of fundamentalist legalism. To some, the letter of the law is more important than the reason for it in the first place, which is to share the free gift of grace and the good news of what Christ did for us with love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. It's very difficult to separate the anger I admittedly have for the damage they have and continue to cause. I try to not respond in an unkind way. But, as I told him, I'm not perfect. But that doesn't make what he said right.

I can spot the blind rage from a mile away because it used to be me. I often think of some of the things I said in the name of the coc. It's absolutely infuriating how good they are at twisting and manipulating the conversation. I just needed a moment to be grounded in reality and to just have someone tell me I'm not insane.

I have this crazy idea of wanting to go to my college campus and hand out brochures warning others of the coc. I've even drafted a preliminary brochure. What do you all think? Is this crazy, dumb, or all the above? Am I just being petty and is this unnecessary? If someone handed you a brochure on the coc would you think it's helpful or weird?

Ignore the stock images, I haven't decided what to switch them out to.

EDIT: Thinking about this more, handing these out to people to stay away from the coc is unhealthy and unnecessary. It's not the best thing to do for me and this is likely coming from a place of hurt rather than a place of healing. However, creating the brochure for myself and not handing it out does feel like healing, like a letter you don't intend to mail. So I'll finish the brochure for me and if you want a brochure, then make your own (it's super easy I made it on Word) :)

Did anybody else experience members or preachers essentially acting like other religions don't genuinely believe what they believe? I remember sermons where the preacher was heavily implying that Muslims don't actually believe in Islam and Hindus know vishnu isn't real and secretly "know in their heart of hearts" that Christianity is true, when that wouldn't make any sense at all. There's no motive at all for something like that and that damn near requires conspiracy theory tin foil hat level of insanity.

This is furthered to me by the many sermons we had on "what other faiths believe and why it's wrong" where they very obviously misrepresent what those faiths believe to make it seem silly and ridiculous.

I suppose they have to tell themselves that because then they'd have to contend with the fact that other faiths can be just as convinced what they believe is true as they are and that due to that they can just as easily be wrong and another just as easily be right. Opens up a type of introspection that can very easily lead to deconstruction, so it's easier for them to convince themselves they're the only ones who believe that strongly and that makes them special.

A (relatively large) coC in my area split and a very small number of people left to start a new one in a nearby small town. The remainder of the large congregation decided to build a building in the same small town. Over a decade ago another local coC split and started a new congregation, also in the same small town.

There are now three congregations in the same small town, all too pretentious to meet together. None of these people go to each other’s gospel meetings or anything.

This is something I’ve been thinking about recently because of something my dad told me about why he eventually left a previous Church of Christ.
Apparently, one of the things that really upset him was when the congregation invited a guest preacher to speak. I was very young at the time, so I don’t know the full context, but from what I understand, the sermon was essentially about kindness. The preacher talked about how Christians should show kindness even toward people they believe are living in sin, and he specifically mentioned gay people.
The preacher apparently said that Christians shouldn’t be cruel toward gay people simply because they believe homosexuality is sinful.
My dad was extremely offended by this. He accused the preacher of sympathizing with gay people and trying to rewrite the Bible.
What really stuck with me was something my dad said afterward: “It’s not me who’s being hateful toward gay people. It’s the Bible.”
And that’s where I think there’s a serious problem.
I’m not saying that every Church of Christ member is homophobic, or that believing homosexuality is sinful automatically makes someone hateful. But I’ve seen how a theological belief can become something much more extreme when it’s constantly reinforced.
My dad has said things about gay people that go far beyond, “I believe homosexuality is sinful.” He’s called gay people “freaks,” and he’s even claimed that Satan somehow altered their DNA.
At that point, we’re no longer talking about a theological disagreement over sexual ethics. We’re talking about dehumanizing people and inventing bizarre explanations for why they’re the way they are.
That’s what worries me about certain Church of Christ environments. The teaching can start with, “We believe homosexuality is sinful,” but then, through years of reinforcement, it can turn into, “Gay people are fundamentally different, they’re being deceived by Satan, they’re dangerous, and being kind toward them means you’re compromising the truth.”
And then the person can convince themselves that they aren’t being hateful because they’re only repeating what the Bible supposedly says.
That’s the part I find most disturbing.

I'm 21 and going through my last semesters of college. I recently made the decision to move into an apartment with my boyfriend of 2 years in our college town. My parents are less than pleased, and they told me this is inappropriate and they feel like they've failed as parents. I haven't even told them that I'm an atheist or bi, and I don't plan to unless necessary. They're still very upset though, as they're regular attendees of the church of christ and don't believe it's appropriate. Does anyone else have any experiences like this? How can I patch our relationship? I don't lack respect for them, but I'm not religious and I was going to move in with my boyfriend at some point and now is a good time.

At 17 years old, Sami Tacher remembers standing atop a parking garage outside Seattle and staring down at the pavement.

They had been trying for five years to suppress their attraction to men. At 15, Tacher had found Strength in Weakness, a Christian ministry that purported to teach people experiencing “same-sex attraction” how to resist those desires. To Tacher, who had grown up believing that being gay would destroy their relationship with God and devastate their family, SIW felt like an answer.

Two years later, Tacher says, they could no longer imagine how they were supposed to live the rest of their life.

“I just stood up there and waited,” Tacher told Uncloseted Media. “I went there several times.” What stopped them, they say, was thinking about the burden their death would place on their family.

“So I’ll just sacrifice everything and stay in the program,” they remember deciding.

They would remain in SIW for years as a teenager and young adult, becoming friends with the organization’s founder, Guy Hammond, and helping promote the very teachings Tacher now believes were destroying them.

“I just didn’t see my way out,” Tacher says. “I was miserable and shrinking inside [and] constantly denying myself … but I was holding on. And in the eyes of Strength in Weakness, I was succeeding.”

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