The Main Objection to Christianity

I've heard people say, "Religion is the problem!" Which I have to admit is true.  Yes.  You look at the history of the Christian Church and it doesn't look too good.  We have the crusades, where basically "Christians" went around and killed anyone that wouldn't convert to Christianity.  Then in more modern times we have cases of clergy abusing kids, and I just saw a video showing three of the well known TV evangelists, agreeing that "The world is a mess because you're not sending us enough money!"  And Muslims aren't helping any since they have people blowing themselves up in buses loaded with people, in the name of God.

Where did things go wrong?  It's a long story.  Well, maybe not that long, it's just been going on for a long time and it's not getting any better.  Religion has been used to control and manipulate people since there's been religion. Convince people if they don't do this or that they will go to hell, and then use that guilt against them.  And people without scruples/morals will do or say anything they need to to accomplish their ends, which is usually power, money, and control.

And in the case of Christianity, people are either lead astray, or they forget what Christianity is all about.  In either case, the problem is they don't read their Bibles. If you don't read it then you're susceptible to anyone's interpretation of it, which includes not just individuals, but also the general trend of society.  And then when things go bad, who do we blame? God. And anyone who associates with God, and that includes all religion. Attitudes like, "Why does God allow this!  Your religion is #$^&* ! You're the problem!" But you know what they say, if you're pointing at someone, there's three fingers pointing back at you.  Yes, everything we blame God and religion for is actual our own fault.  If the world is a mess, it's because we're a mess. Society is a reflection of the individuals in it, or at least those in control of it.

Jesus didn't come to start a religion. People made a religion our of him. Why? Because people like routines and religions. Takes the thinking out of it.  In fact Jesus came to set men free of religion, guilt, fear, and meaningless ceremony.  How do we know that?  Well, he was really hard on the religiose leaders of the time, because they were hypocrites and legalistic, rather than doing the right thing.  And so, it was they who decided he needed to be killed and handed him over to the Romans. They also didn't like the fact that he claimed to be the Son of God and went around forgiving peoples sins (removing their guilt), because you can't control people that don't feel guilty and afraid. Their religion (rules, status, and practices) made them blind to the reality of what was going on.  Of course he also performed miracles to show that he was accredited by God, but they chose to ignore that little fact.  All he did was help people, talk about the Kingdom of God coming, and what God's guidance is for people.  Of course, people don't always like to hear the truth.

So, the problems mentioned above, with Christianity and Religion in general, really have nothing to do with Christianity.  In fact people engaged in those types of behaviours, are going against what Jesus taught.  Which was, to love one another.  He said that the only religion God respects is taking care of the poor and the widows, and feeding the hungry.  Beyond that, the Gospel message is deep but simple.  Jesus came and died, and rose again to life, for the forgiveness of our sins (falling short of moral perfection), anyone that believes that and repents (turns away from sin), and accept Jesus as Savior, will receive the Holy Spirit as a guide in their life, forgiveness of sins, and the promise of eternal life in an incorruptible body just like Jesus' resurrected body.

Christianity is about being reconciled to God, just like a wayward child may come back to their parents.  The baptism that Christians go through is a symbolic washing away of our sins, and also dying to our old nature, and resurrecting as a new person.  In effect we die to sin and are born again and sin has no more power over us.  Which part of what a Christian does, including this acceptance of God's guidance, and what Jesus taught, is a problem? It isn't. 

The problem is what people do which isn't Christian behaviour.  It's easy to see that if people truly did "love one another" there would be no wars, the rich would help the poor, and the world would be a much better place for everyone.  This primary message, the good news, the Gospel, is clear in the Bible.  Certainly there are people who argue finer points about some of what's in there.  Now, there are some real issues within the church (the body of believers), like Catholics actually pray to saints and Mary, which isn't biblical.  In fact God makes it clear we should not make images of anyone or anything on the face of the Earth (not even Jesus) and worship it. But that is about religion; practices and rituals which can become a substitute for a real relationship with God.  That's what Christianity is, a relationship with God.  It's not about doing certain things that will get you to heaven (by the way, we're not going to heaven, different topic).  It's about what God did for all of us, and he gives it freely to anyone who accepts Jesus' message.  This relationship saves us from ourselves, from the corrupt world, and God/Holy Spirit works in us to transform us for the better and save us from final destruction (well yeah, if hell is not eternal torture, it's a final destruction, again different topic).  All the enlightenment that people are searching for, is right there in front of their noses. Connecting with and being transformed by the living God.  That is Christianity.

So, what is the problem?  The problem is free will, or rather, not using our free will to choose the right thing to do, even when we know what that is.  And without reading the Bible, starting with the New Testament, we don't understand what God wants for our lives, which is only what's good for us anyway.  But more importantly, we don't have the will power to do what's good for us.  This is one of the things we get when we accept the Holy Spirit; God's power to transform our lives.

No, true Christianity is not the problem, it's the solution.  The problem is once we attained knowledge of good and evil, we chose to do evil.  Now we need to choose to do good.  We need a fresh start, which is what Jesus gives us.