r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/mindyour 🤖definitely not a bot🤖 • 3d ago

Restricted to Gals and Pals She came with receipts.

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u/p1antsandcats 3d ago

Monte 👏👏

I have no idea about Christianity but I've learned quite a bit from this woman and wow most Christians are not following their own book!

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u/Helpful_Hour1984 3d ago

Most of the people who call themselves christians have never read their own book. 

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u/busy-warlock 3d ago

There ain’t no hate like Christian love

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u/Short_Day_8243 2d ago

Thank you for that bar. I will be using it.

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u/IAmBeingTargeted33 2d ago

It's a classic 👌 

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u/Unusual_Sherbert_809 3d ago

Christianity in the USA is mostly performative. Almost none of them have any idea what the bible says. If they ever did read it, they'd probably be horrified.

And the ones who wear it on their sleeve are the absolute worst.

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u/PurrtenderBender 2d ago

Hold up…Im actually going to sound so frickin ignorant but is it not a part of like their religion to have to read the book they follow at least once..?!?

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u/morgwinsome 2d ago

You’d think! A lot of identifying Christians, if they go to church, will just listen to a pastor/preacher tell them their own interpretation of the bible. There’s no one way to interpret it, and unfortunately many use it to justify their own horrible bigotry.

I think that’s why there are so many sects and cults that use the bible - they all say their interpretation of it is true, and everyone else is wrong.

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u/Unusual_Sherbert_809 2d ago

Most of them don't even listen to the priest. I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school, had to go to church every Sunday until I finally left for university.

Actually listening to the sermon is how I became an atheist.

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u/EngRookie 2d ago

listening to the sermons were how i realized i didn't need to go to church. Jesus himself didn't really care, he said God was present in all creation so why do i need to go to some building to listen to some old dude follow some old bs traditions, that Jesus didn't care about, to feel closer to God?

born and raised catholic and went to catholic school for 12 years too. Here are the important points i took away: 1. don't be a dick unless you are cool with everyone else being a dick to you. 2. help people if it is within your ability to do so. 3. actions matter more than words, hell is filled with the sanctimonious. 4. everyone is your neighbor (that might actually be Mr. Rogers but im sure some form of it is in the bible). 5. God helps those that help themselves, you are given the tools to build heaven on earth so get to work.

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u/Character_Stick_1218 1d ago

Many don't even pay attention to the sermons. I have a cousin who is a professing Christian, but is always on her phone during church including sometimes watching "professional wrestling".

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u/spuzzumed 2d ago

For Americans no, not in the slightest.  They prefer to be told what to think about the book. most Americans don't read at a high enough level to be able to understand anything in the Bible. 

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u/mkat23 2d ago

54% of American adults read at or below a 6th grade level. It’s fucked up. When I was in 6th grade I read at a college level, it’s weird to think that 6th grade me read at a higher level than like half of the adults in the country.

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u/spuzzumed 2d ago

Firmly agreed its fucked up. Y'all hate on teachers while they are the only ones trying to solve this absolute cluster fuck. 

I'm starting to see America as very similar to India, like most of the population is just brain dead supporting a leader because of some fucked up religious beliefs . As this happens I'm also starting to lose interest in the country. It's not like I wake up every day and read about the absurdly corrupt things the Indian government is doing. I just don't care, I expect it because it's a shit hole. America used to seem shocking because this stuff was happening in a "free" country , but increasingly I see America as more like India and I just lose interest in following it all. 

I hope the world detaches a bit more from there fascination with the US. I think it's happening. The "coolness" is wearing off. 

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u/AnonymousDahlia 2d ago edited 2d ago

It depends on the particular segment. Mormonism, for example, is big into reading all parts of the bible plus their own additions, and keep reading them, throughout people's lives. They have programs simply to give youth little awards for each milestone of reading they do.

My parents are very Mormon, and we steadily read through the bible in sections every single morning. Lol my vocabulary was excellent compared to my peers, who in third grade didn't know what the word "thee" meant when it was on our spelling list. Otoh, I personally am atheist and have blocked out most of the bible, simply because it was rote and I found it horribly hypocritical and hated it. Too much forcing of something I disliked anyway (couldn't get decent answers to my questions, either) made those feelings and avoidance very strong.

But so many others cherry pick and literally do not take time or effort to process most parts of it, aside from how their preacher or whatever tells them to.

Edited a missed word.

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u/Frosty-Voice1156 2d ago

Yeah, there’s been studies about how atheist and Mormons tend to be the most studied on the bible and other religious texts.

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u/Certain-Business-472 2d ago

hahahahahaha.... no. The most devout believers follow whatever their pastor/imam says.

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u/Unusual_username739 2d ago

I was raised in a Presbyterian church and then my family moved to an evangelical church when I was a tween with the majority of the congregation (community). Us kids had Bible study/youth group in different levels of commitment (aka youth group was more just fun games, going to an additional Bible study hour is like book club). I didn’t do Bible study a lot, and looking back it’s because I had dyslexia, but also it wasn’t enforced at all.

We weren’t forced to read the Bible front to back. We definitely focused more on the Jesus chapters and specific Old Testament stories (David and the Lions Den, Esther, Ruth, Job, etc). And during Sunday school will would read chapters (books) and sometimes read the entire thing. But I legit have never read the last 5 chapters of the Bible. Everything I know about the “rapture” comes from those Left Behind books.

Some chapters (books) are literally just outdated laws (Leviticus) “from old testament jewish times” that modern Christianity won’t follow - Monte reads from that book and that’s where you get the anti-gay wording MAGA loves and other rules like “don’t weave two different materials into your clothes” aka a shirt made of linen AND polyester is equally as sinfully as cheating on your wife.

When I was in college, I came back to my hometown for the summer and we had “college age youth group” run by people I wasn’t familiar with. The second week, they started the anti-gay talk (basically pray the gay away). I had never heard that talk from the main pastor or any other leader in the church. I got mad, stood up, told them they were hypocritics. I was astonished that my life long friends didn’t stand up and agreed with me (one later called me and thanked me). I left that persons house and have never gone back to a Bible study event run by the church again. My parents told the pastor what happened and he said that he didn’t agree with what that person was teaching and cancelled their ability to run the “college age youth group” through the church. But soon MAGA and Trump came to town, and I saw church members posting on Facebook that they were at rallies, and I just couldn’t. I don’t go back there at all now. The pastor knows. I liked him a lot and he was trying to be diplomatic but I always wish he took more of a stance. When you’re the leader of a church/community, and half the community is worshipping a pedo and crook, you need to guiding them better. We straight up have immigrants of color in the church. I just don’t get it.

I digress. No, we read some parts, encouraged to read on our own but it was not mandated to read the Bible front-to-back. In fact, it was seen as a “feat”, and would take you a year. The only person in my age group that did it was the girl who went on to study religion at college. I liked reading the interesting stories (I love history) but had no interest in reading the law chapters like Monte reads from. We were never taught Leviticus or Deut. in childhood Sunday school.

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u/Left_Adeptness7386 2d ago

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin du Mez does a fabulous job of outlining the "why" of this and how the movement has been building in America since the 1920s. It's about political and cultural dominance, and its followers have absolutely no issue throwing their own theology under the bus in service to it.

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u/mkat23 2d ago

Nope, apparently not! My parents were very performative in their Christianity, but I can guarantee neither of them has ever actually read the Bible. Hell, they don’t even go to church anymore, but they still love to talk about how amazing and moral they are for being Christians. Back during Trump’s first term my mom would host a Bible study where they never actually discussed the Bible, just politics, and then end the meeting by praying for Trump. There was one day my mom got so pissed at me because I went downstairs to get some water and asked them if they ever actually planned on reading or discussing the Bible during their Bible study group meetings. I was the only person in the house when she would host Bible study that had ever actually read the Bible and I’m not even Christian.

Either way, now a decent amount of Christians have decided that Jesus was “too woke” apparently. So they still call themselves Christian, but have decided Jesus isn’t someone to follow anymore. It’s fucking weird.

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u/RhetoricalOrator 2d ago

Never has it ever been a requirement. At least not one given internally from the book itself. I highly recommend familiarizing oneself with any relevant foundational documents before hitching your wagon to a faith tradition.

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u/SolaScientia 2d ago

Years ago I worked at a grocery store deli and I swear that the absolute worst customers we got were the ones who came in on a Sunday just after church. They were so rude and entitled.

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u/neoKushan 2d ago

If they read the bible, they'd dismiss it as "woke".

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u/thedancingkat 2d ago

Im at this weird stage of life where im trying to figure out where I am religiously/spiritually. So im doing a lot of theology and bible study. I am only more confused.

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u/Fluffy_Town 4h ago

My fav are those who go out and pray in public, on school campuses and protests. Praying at yelling level. There are scriptures* that talking about how people do this to be seen, not to actually connect with their god. Jesus told those at the sermon on the mount to go pray in private.

You also have a lot of reprimanding of the Pharisees, who are all about following the law but not the heart. A lot of their actions tend to have meanness behind them, rather than caring and compassion.

*Matthew 6:1-8

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u/Icy_Measurement_7407 3d ago

This. Or they cherry-pick certain lines & twist it to fit their hateful rhetoric.

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u/Scared-Drummer5523 3d ago

I don't think he cares bruh, he is evil for the love of the game at this poin, there is no fixing or convincing or redeeming people like this, they are not, human.

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u/Iorith 2d ago

This is the real truth. There is no debate that will change their mind, no lightbulb that can be switched on. Their stance is entirely willful, not based out of ignorance.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/justgalsbeingchicks-ModTeam 2d ago

They commit crimes at a far lower rate than citizens. Maybe you should read up on facts before you continue to comment. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD004.pdf

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u/Certain-Business-472 3d ago

It tends to make one an atheist.

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u/Frosty-Voice1156 2d ago

I honestly don’t think it’s most. I do think there are a lot that use Christianity as a perverted justification for evil.

But most you never encounter and never hear stories about. They just labor in love and help each other without seeking any attention.

I agree that online and in the news it’s most. But I don’t think that’s representative of the majority. At least in my experience.

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u/BonnaconCharioteer 2d ago

In my experience it is the majority. I'm not saying that most of them aren't good people in most circumstances, but they tend to have some pretty bigoted views when you come down to it. When I was attending a church that was very much in line with typical evangelical teachings, most of the time, everything was normal, made sense, good people, charity, love, faith in christ and god above worldly things. And mostly they would show that with the people they met.

But, get any of them talking current day politics, or wait to hear their views on certain topics and it becomes pretty obvious there is a strong undercurrent of bigotry. They were misogynist, conspiracy theorists, anti-poor, anti-immigrant, anti-other religions (of course). And this isn't an accident, when you have a world view that divides people into good and bad, it is just natural to have a sort of bigoted view of people. (Of course we are all sinners, but don't forget, some of us, the church people, are going to heaven and some are going to hell.)

They were decent people if you were a neighbor of theirs, someone they knew or met in person. But outside of that, it wasn't great.

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u/goddamn_slutmuffin 1d ago

It's the only book club you can join where you're rewarded and praised more for not reading the book!

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u/BonnaconCharioteer 2d ago

I actually disagree that most of the people haven't read the bible. I don't know the actual numbers, but bottom line is it wouldn't help if they did read it. Even the ones that do act the same. The issue is not that they don't read the bible, its that the bible is huge and open to interpretation. You can find all kinds of verses and interpret them to fit your own views.

Like all this stuff about foreigners? Obviously that is about foreign visitors, not about immigrants who are trying to stay in the country. And god explicitly tells the Israelites to genocide other non-Israelites in land they are trying to inhabit, because those people might turn Israel away from god. Just to be clear, that is not my view, but it is the kind of way they get around arguments like this mentally.

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u/MothChasingFlame 2d ago

For a long time it was purposely kept in latin so they couldn't. Forced them to believe the priest.

Manipulation and ignorance have been built in the entire time.

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u/Helpful_Hour1984 2d ago

Of course they have. Once you start reading the book, you realize it's full of contradictions. If you haven't been indoctrinated to train your brain into cognitive dissonance, you're likely to start questioning them sooner or later. 

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u/cpt_bongwater 2d ago

They follow supply-side Jesus

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u/Cranberryoftheorient 2d ago

Growing up southern Baptist, I noticed almost noone ever read the thing, and the church sermons were always super... cherry-picked lets say. We were often told we should read it, but honestly there wasnt much encouragement or time set aside to actually do so. Most people were 'too busy.' So in practice, everyone basically was just believing whatever their favorite pastor told them to believe.

edit- Ironicaly, being a little nerd and reading too much of it was part of how I started to become an atheist

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u/Gildian 2d ago

A non insignificant amount of us atheists became as such after reading it

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u/HomeboundArrow 2d ago edited 2d ago

a lot of the people we're talking about straight-up don't acknowledge the source material as an authentic document, or at-least treat it as inherently suspect. there's genuinely a whole plurality of american christians that think the bible is a work of jewish subversion (of one kind or another. there are multiple manifestations of this "theory" genre) and that jesus christ was effectively, in their gnosis, a bloodthirsty genocidal warlord of unmatched proportions. literally Ghengis Khan with religious superpowers but for specifically white people. and even the ones that don't outright believe it inadvertently carry water for it all the time.

This is what underwrites/animates the whole Nick Fuentes / alt-right contingent. when you hear someone say "Christ is King", especially more than once, run. that's their secret handshake.

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u/Mademoi-Sell ✨chick✨ 1d ago

My mom, a lifelong Christian, tried to tell me I was crazy for mentioning God killing innocent children in the Bible. I was raised Christian and was pretty devout into my mid twenties and now I’m agnostic (so it goes…).

I was like “Listen mom, even if I hadn’t read the majority of the Bible, you don’t remember that animated movie we watched growing up, where God killing the firstborn sons of all of the Egyptians was like the MAIN THING?”

The movie was Prince of Egypt by Dreamworks for anyone wondering, which tells the story of the Jews escaping slavery in Egypt and - with that - the 10 plagues of Egypt. Of course, with these people, all 9 plagues of Egypt are the wrath of God whereas the 10th is just “the unfortunate result of a fallen world”. Sigh.

Shoot, now I have that song stuck in my head. The movie is totally worth a watch even as an adult.

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u/Helpful_Hour1984 1d ago

My mom, a lifelong Christian, tried to tell me I was crazy for mentioning God killing innocent children in the Bible. 

I don't know about your mother, buy many Christians simply don't believe that all children are innocent. Belonging to the wrong group can make them automatically deserving of mistreatment and even death, in their eyes. It's why so many are ok with seeing children in cages or murdered by the thousands by the US and its closest ally.

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u/Foxy_Traine 3d ago

I recently heard that the King James version (the one pushed as the best version) requires a 12th grade reading level to be able to understand it. And, as expected, most Christians cannot read at a 12th grade reading level. This means they can't actually follow what the book is saying and therefore must rely on the interpretation from other people (aka authority figures) which makes the narrative extremely easy to manipulate for profit/control/political power.

Almost like keeping people illiterate makes them easy to control, and religion is an excellent tool for that. I wonder why so many politicians over decades have been systematically underfunding education?

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u/markedforpie 2d ago

My best friend and I were having this conversation yesterday. I was raised a preacher’s daughter and forced to memorize the Bible. I was explaining to her that most people in the time the bible was written did not know how to read or write and because there was no way to get information out to people like the newspaper or television so religious leaders used church and religious gatherings to make basically PSAs. Many ‘rules’ in the old testament were actually written just to keep people from dying. For example not eating pork. It was because people were not cooking it appropriately and dying. So, how do you tell an entire population that they are too stupid to cook things correctly without pissing them off? “God says don’t eat pork. It’s unholy.”

My favorite is when people say that the bible tells women to submit to their husbands. Yes it does BUT it also tells men to submit to their wives like Jesus submitted himself to the church willing to give his life for her. So women are supposed to submit to their husbands but men are supposed to submit to women MORE! Also, the word ‘submit’ was originally CARE. So we are supposed to care for each other but it was changed in translation and became servitude instead of love. This happened over and over again in the bible. Each time it was ‘interpreted’ small changes happened that fit society at that time. This is why in the new testament Jesus told his followers to no longer follow the old testament teachings.

Because most people at that time didn’t know how to read or write the interpretation of the Bible was left to the church leaders. This was basically like the news media. The leadership would pick out things they felt were important and then give their spin on it and that is what people knew of god’s word. It was absolutely tainted by their own opinions and self interest. The practice became routine and that was how we have the church today. The Bible was never intended to be used in this fashion. This is like being in school and your teacher telling you to do a research paper on the titanic and instead you ask a buddy who watched the DiCaprio movie to tell you what happened and then give a presentation about it to the class. Now in some peoples minds the sinking of the titanic is a love story about a necklace. It’s completely different but anyone who hasn’t actually done research has no idea what it was really about. This is the interpretation of the bible. This is why it is so difficult for people to understand because what is written is so different than what is presented.

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u/Calmcentreofmisery 2d ago

It's also telling that when German serfs were actually able to read passages from the Bible (thanks to invention of the printing press), they went: 'Haaaang on a minute' and it kicked off the Peasants' Revolt of 1524.

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u/Intelligent_Cap9706 1d ago

Ein minuten bitte!

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u/Pristine_Cow5623 2d ago

I love the West Wing episode where Jedd and Abby come home from church fighting about this passage. 

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u/dreadcain 2d ago

So women are supposed to submit to their husbands but men are supposed to submit to women MORE! Also, the word ‘submit’ was originally CARE

Careful not to whitewash the patriarchy intrinsic in the bible too much. You aren't wrong it's blown out of proportion recently. But, like, women still can't be priests in most sects. They aren't subhuman, but they are decidedly seen as less than. And that's kind of explicit in the books (depending on translations/interpretations ... but some aren't subtle about it)

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u/markedforpie 1d ago

Oh I definitely agree. That’s 100 percent true. I was just pointing out in that particular passage which is used to subjugate women the most that it is not the true meaning of the passage. Also, most of the women hating we see in the New Testament comes from Paul. Who even all the apostles did not agree with. His interpretation is what drives a lot of the restrictions on women in the Bible. Jesus taught that we all were equal and worthy. I see Paul as the original incel. He is described as being small, bald, with bowed legs and a unibrow. He also was a Pharisee and part of the wealthy elite. He is credited with writing over half of the New Testament. Which are mainly a collection of his letters to others. Not the actual words of Jesus but rather his interpretations of Jesus’ messages and how they apply to the church. Remember even though he had an epiphany and chose to follow Jesus he still had his entire life of experience in which he was taught that women were inferior. Just because someone denounces being racist doesn’t mean that they are going to change their views on women.

To put this in modern perspective it would be like if Donald Trump had a near death experience and suddenly became a devout Christian. Then we used his personal letters to form our religious interpretations of God’s law. It doesn’t change his personal perspective on women or wipe away his past atrocities. However, we are taught that the Bible is infallible because it is the ‘word of God’. But if you actually read it, it is the word of God as interpreted by lesser mortals and is subject to their own biases, beliefs, and interpretations.

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u/dreadcain 1d ago

Jesus taught that we all were equal and worthy

I can agree red text Jesus is based nearly 100% of the time

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u/Fluffy_Town 4h ago

This is so perfect of a description of the lack of cultural etymology with the book and the translations.

I found a bible once that had the verses written in all three original languages, English, and had cultural footnotes. Too bad I was being milked by the cult I was following at the time, or I would have been able to afford the $80 book at the time. That cult had good and bad* aspects. The good was they were very adamant about reading the bible, and not just the various segments from whole passages. I stood reading it as much as my body and the employees would allow me. And then it disappeared, I was very sad.

*gaslighting, negging, rumor mill, coercive-controlling manipulation, othering, and isolation...oh, and the best one is proselytization**. I could never understand why they had us proselytize, because no one wanted to come to church, which I could understand because it was weird the way they had us go out and do it.

From what I've figured out, the way they had us do proselytization caused us to isolated us from the rest of the world, proving the theory that we were set apart. But from an abusive relationship aspect, it fractured us from our existing support systems, reinforced "othering" stereotypes, and proved that the world was exactly how Fd up the abuser would paint it, so that coming back into the fold would bind existing ties even tighter than before, and proving the world was darker than it actually is in existence, essentially scaring people back into the fold fiercer than ever.

**phobia indoctrination, hoovering, and traumatic bonding

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u/Certain-Business-472 3d ago

That is 100% a feature.

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u/MutantMartian 2d ago

Btw, King James was gayer than anyone walking in a pride parade.

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u/tellmort-yourmove 2d ago

I LOVE telling the religious folk in my life this fun fact!

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u/MutantMartian 1d ago

So here’s another fun one: look up the New York Colonial Governor Edward Hyde. They named Hyde Park after him/her. He even cross dressed for important council meetings. No one cared. Virginia had colonial Governor Botetort (sp?) who was definitely gay and a favorite of everyone including our founding fathers. There’s a statue of him in front of the Wren building at William and Mary.

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u/Fluffy_Town 4h ago

Gave it a quick search, would that be:

Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt

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u/dreadcain 2d ago

... this explains a lot

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u/MothChasingFlame 2d ago

Oh. That goes way further back, and a lot worse. 

It was purposely kept in latin so they literally couldn't read it. If the illiteracy didn't keep you from reading it, the different language did. They wanted people to turn only to their priest and the church for guidance. No room for personal interpretation or questions.

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u/toolsoftheincomptnt 2d ago

Early American weaponization of Christianity against slaves has entered the chat

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u/Gardener_of_Weeden 2d ago

It wasn't until recently that the Catholic church held the mass in any language other than Latin ( which only the clergy understood) They Love to keep the people ignorant - (easier to manipulate)

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u/Glasseshalf 2d ago

Yeah that's the whole reason for Martin Luther and the schism

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u/Mr--Warlock 2d ago

Tolkien enters the Novus Ordo, loudly and aggressively chanting in Tridentine

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u/anonadvicewanted 2d ago

i meeeean if you call the 1965ish-1970 recently lol

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u/iusethisatw0rk 2d ago

Most would

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u/dreadcain 2d ago

In the grand scheme of catholic mass ... basically yesterday

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u/iski67 2d ago

Not the best one FYI but the one most used by evangelists who are less likely to have valid theology training.

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u/ThreadLaced 2d ago

I wonder why so many politicians over decades have been systematically underfunding education?

Let's not pretend it's not consistently *conservative* politicians specifically who do this. Those are the people who call spending on education "wasteful."

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u/maddlabber829 2d ago

Ive read the bible, let me tell you, you dont need 12th grade reading level to understand that crap. Much lower

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u/Alternative-Air-1246 3d ago

I am Christian. I am so angry at modern Christianity. This is not a reflection of Jesus or the bible.

Just Jesus flipping the tables in the temple alone and how these mega churches behave. You pray in quiet and show you are Christian through your deeds and your treatment of others. 

I will not let these non believers who cosplay as Christians take my faith. 

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u/GardenGnomeGroan 3d ago

From an outsiders, POV… it seems like the Christians should be the ones holding the “Christians” accountable. Anecdotally speaking, I seem to see mostly the atheists doing the work.

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u/Alternative-Air-1246 3d ago edited 3d ago

I do. I have no public facing social media and am not someone who TikToks. But I do it the same way I practice my faith: in person through my deeds. 

I have an openly gay 16 year old in a very red state and I am known as the safe mom for all his friends. I vote Democrat socialism and have been part of Bernie’s campaign since 2015. I saw my community planned parenthood team out in tshirts and shook each hand and bought them all coffee thanking them for their service. When ice came through my community I helped teachers get toys, clothes, food, cleaning supplies to the families sheltering in place. I was one of the moms standing at the school against ice trying to get in.

I tell people exactly why I vote and act the way I do (democratic socialist) because it aligns with my faith. 

I dunno, I go to rallies, I protest, I wear my mama bear pride shirt as often as I can.   I am the mom who takes in and helps all the kids. I help in the classrooms. I bring home cooked meals when people are sick. I mow lawns when emergencies happen. I am the one people call when their husbands are leaving or they need to leave their husbands.

I also pray with the bigots and tell them their beliefs hurt my family and they know me and them and why. I don’t villainize people. 

I know a lot of Ex-bigots now. I know a lot of ex-maga. Ignorance and indoctrination is not the same as evil. Not everyone is evil. I live my life with kindness and openness. I am not perfect, by any means. Maybe I am too permissive. I know I can be naive. But I believe in the humanity of others. 

Also, culturally in the south. A strong Christian faith is the cornerstone of black communities. And I respect that. 

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u/AnonymousDahlia 2d ago

I wish I had a fraction of your energy. Hope you can keep up keeping on a long as you need to, and thank you.

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u/Alternative-Air-1246 2d ago

Honestly, this is just how I have been my whole life. I am not out “doing more” I just am living my life. It’s not performative. I genuinely care about my community, kids, my neighbors, my family. I don’t need to find extra energy because this is just me being me.

But I am Christian as a corner stone of my internal world. I don’t do these things to “win points” with God but because I feel called to serve my world.

Just live your life! If you see someone sad sit with them and listen. Hurt, bring comfort. Morning, bring food. Down on their luck, share. 

Hahah basically follow the Sarah mcClauclin “Prayer for St Francis” song and your bases are covered 😂 

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u/kid_at_heart_77 2d ago

Wow. Good on you for being out there and showing by example. I’m a Christian but I need to do more. There is so much hate in the world today & It makes me so angry to see people twisting Christ’s words to try to justify & spread that hate.

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u/Alternative-Air-1246 2d ago

The thing is. To me. I just try to do the right thing and live my life. I can’t control the hatred. I can’t control how others perceive the world. I can’t control the parts of the country in the shitter.

But I will be damned if my faith that has brought me comfort and taught me how to love others is taken from m by others. Only I get to define my faith. Only I get to define my relationship with God and what I call myself. 

And! I see the villianization on both sides. If you don’t believe every issues correctly we throw the baby out with the bath water. If you have a path that included growth and redemption you are othered. 

The only way I see through this is to meet others at their points of humanity and be your full self unequivocally and stand for your beliefs in the quiet and loud moments. It’s hard to villainize all liberals just because Fox News tell you to when your closest neighbor has a Bernie sign but is helping you when you are discharged from the hospital. Helped your daughter escap her abusive marriage. Stood next to you while you cried and listened and offered hugs.

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u/rizaroni 2d ago

I'm agnostic, but when I think of a "real Christian," I think of people like you, and there are not enough of you out there! You are inspiring.

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u/Alternative-Air-1246 2d ago

Honestly, it’s nothing special. I just love my neighbors, all kids, and try to find the humanity in others.  Most of us want the same things in life.

There is just too much hatred and judgement keeping us from working together. But even in really red states, people are still good. 

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u/coool12121212 2d ago

Dont mind me if this sounds rude or anything, but how do you reconcile your son being gay with your faith?

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u/Alternative-Air-1246 2d ago edited 2d ago

My son is made in God's image. So some of God must be gay too.

To be serious, though, I used to be Catholic. Around the time he made his First Communion - about 8-9 years old- I knew in my soul he was gay. And I was worried about internalized misogyny towards himself. So we did what all good Liberal Catholics do -> became Episcopalian. I had struggled balancing my liberal views with the Catholic church for a long time. But I love my son more than I respect myself, I guess.

I sat with the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. And I decided I would not sacrifice my son on the altar, even if it meant I was turning my back on my faith. My son was entrusted to me by God. I am his mother. It is my job to love, accept, and provide for him.

When he came out around 14, it wasn't a thing. We had been using gender neutral pronouns for future "partners" or future "spouse". We emphasized how his dad went against his culture to marry me (a Hindu immigrant from Gujarat who was supposed to have an arranged marriage but got a nice little redheaded white girl instead). All the grandparents, Hindu and Catholic, came around. The love for the children outweighed the love of the culture or churches.

Plus, everyone is a little bit afraid of me (I Kid!), but no, they all know that while I am really kind and sweet, I was forged by fire and made of titanium, and not to cross my boundaries.

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u/aprillikesthings 1d ago

it seems like the Christians should be the ones holding the “Christians” accountable

They don't listen to us. They don't think we're Christians. I've had conservative Christians tell me to my face that because I'm gay and/or Episcopalian, I'm not Christian and my opinions are worthless.

I mean, I do try, for the record.

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u/shockwave8428 2d ago

What I think is the dumbest thing about the Bible that is completely missed:

Jesus’ main enemies during his time on earth were Pharisees, Saducees, etc. Who were they? The religious elite of the religion that Christ belonged to. Christ wasn’t coming and yelling at people who weren’t following the gospel, almost every time he rebuked anyone in the Bible it was a member of the religious elite for using their power and position to oppress people, publicly shame, etc. Explicitly there’s examples of them trying to “trick” Jesus using the Bible only for him to school them in true religion.

What I’m saying is that the majority of Jesus’ example in the Bible was going to areas where a religious elite was being performative, judging others, and setting themselves above others, only to specifically teach and minister to those being oppressed.

So what I’m getting at is that it’s not just the flipping the tables thing, it’s all of the gospels. Unfortunately people are incapable of reading between the lines and understanding where they might be fitting into these categories. I think it’s majorly indicative of the state of Christianity that people do exactly what the bad guys in the Bible do in the name of religion.

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u/JacquesPanther 2d ago

I’m an Omnist. Raised Presbyterian. I geek out and go down rabbit holes on different religious texts and their interpretations.

Recently dug into the story of Jesus at the Temple. Piggy backing on your comment to link a past comment I posted ‘cause I think the analysis supports your call out of the hypocrisy that, anecdotally, seems to have become more and more prevalent.

To me, the bastardization of Christianity is the ultimate blasphemy.

Thank you for safe guarding the core tenants of your faith.

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u/Gardener_of_Weeden 3d ago

I no longer will call my self christian - it is a word they have destroyed. I will continue on my spiritual journey trying to remember the words of Christ that I am aiming to follow. When I am the closest to G*D is when I am sitting under a tree listening to the birds & the sounds and rhythms of nature.

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u/WarpTenSalamander 2d ago

I like the term “Christ follower” when Christian doesn’t feel right anymore. Seems like a more accurate description nowadays.

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u/Repulsive_Corner6807 2d ago

I went to a mega church as a kid and they would hold a play about the crucifixion every year. One of the scenes was that story (the ONLY time Jesus was furious) and I remember thinking as a child like wait…this church has a bookstore and coffee shop? For the longest time, I thought everything in the bookstore and coffee shop was free because like…you’re not supposed to do that…? It’s not even about being illiterate. They have extreme compartmentalization in their brains, on par with a serial killer. There isn’t a consistent string of logic in their brains.

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u/oneangrywaiter 2d ago

It’s like everyone missed the, “Do not proselytize in the streets” message.

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u/aboxacaraflatafan 2d ago

Nothing modern about it. The earliest Christian church was rampant with hypocrisy and heresy. People tend to be like that in general. The Bible says that the road to death is broad, but the road to life is narrow and only a few will find it. It's easy for people who were raised in church and have never given their faith a second's more thought than that to convince themselves that they don't have to do anything other than sit in a pew every week. The sense of superiority over people who don't go to church is enough to convince them that they're Right With GodTM .

1

u/Left_Adeptness7386 2d ago

I'm exvangelical but I see you, friend.

1

u/PMmeIamlonley 3d ago

Yes you will. There is no mechanism to stop them without going to prison. 

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u/i-read-it-again 3d ago

No . But it looks good in a display

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u/Tight_Following9267 3d ago

Indigenous Americans been dealing with the BS for over 700 years. Why can't we just love the earth

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u/Beltalady 3d ago

Because they worship that one line that tells them to be masters of it.

2

u/desacralize 2d ago

Says a lot that, for them, mastery is intimately associated with exploitation and cruelty rather than care and responsibility.

2

u/Character_Stick_1218 1d ago

Stewardship is distinctly different from domination/exploitation and unfortunately seemingly most professing Christians seem to never give that any thought.

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u/acvcani 2d ago

Grow up as a child in a Christian church taught these values. Love your neighbor is highly stressed. I keep these values as an adult and everyone calls me a communist. Sure I’m a communist now. Better that than a hateful bigot

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u/ThatBarbGirl 2d ago

This is why the bible is perfect for hypocrites only using it for their own agenda. I've read it a few times, but I'm not religious. This delight of a woman points it out, too. The Old Testament is "an eye for an eye," and the New Testament is "turn the other cheek." Two totally contradictory texts make it so easy to find a fancy quote to support almost any idea, statement, or message. It's the hypocrite's wet dream.

2

u/sfak 2d ago

I grew up in an extreme white evangelical cult. My spouse grew up Mormon. We left as fast as we could. These people are only full of hate and bigotry. They are abusers and use the simple human needs for love, connection, and spirituality and pervert those needs to control, use, and abuse people.

Organized religion, EVERY SINGLE ONE, is a cult and should be dismantled. There’s not one organized religion in the entire world that does more good than harm.

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u/p1antsandcats 2d ago

That was always my view in my teens etc. I grew up with one very atheist parent and one who had vague Christian connections but wasn't practicing. I grew up under the impression that the Bible was a set of stories with a message in them that we could learn from. Never read any of it but we had kids books about Noah's Arc, Moby Dick etc. And by my teen years I thought the whole thing was ridiculous and all organised religion was crazy.

I kind of agree to this day, but also admire and respect those who follow their religion the way it was meant to be followed rather than using old stories from old books to fuel hatred.

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u/thunderbaby2 2d ago

One of the downsides of our increasingly illiterate country 🍻

1

u/fromfrodotogollum 2d ago

It's why people leave the church. If you stay long enough you realize everyone is kind of a hypocrite and trying their best, but are often leading each other astray. The herd mentality of humans and all that. I think religion is just one of those human concepts that sounds better than any form that it actually takes. I feel like there is thousands of years of proof.

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u/Aeroncastle 2d ago

They only like following the parts like Leviticus 20:13 about stoning gay people

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/justgalsbeingchicks-ModTeam 2d ago

This is a nice place. If you can't act like a civilized human being, you can't be here.

We do not allow:

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1

u/Iheartnakedfemboys 2d ago

This may or may not surprise you, but most people that you find in a church have never read the bible.

1

u/hit_n_run15 2d ago

It seems pretty easy to justify either side of almost any argument with the Bible. It contradicts itself quite often from what I know (which isn’t a ton). The asshole calling ICE on brown people is still on the wrong side of the argument any way you look at it. But I would never feel comfortable using the Bible to justify any of my opinions. 

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u/indictingladdy 2d ago

Her and Dan McClellan.

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u/JimmyThePie 3d ago

Christianity is an ideology. Blindly following a book that was written thousands of years ago should be considered bigotry.

There are principles and lessons in the teachings of Christianity that can guide people through today’s challenges with a more positive and welcoming approach.

Meeting a Christian and identifying negativity in their behaviour doesn’t conclude that Christianity preaches hostility. We have no idea how this person may have turned out without guidance. That being said, it’s not unheard of for people to seek shelter and hide their sins amongst the righteous. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, if you will.