Discussion Board

( I'm pretty sure I didn't start this thread. That makes my comment below a response to whoever did. I do not know why the orginal post was deleted. Just so you know!)


It is true that there is an anti-Christian sentiment in our culture. It seems to us at times that other religions or philosophies are "off limits" but that it is open season on Christianity.
I am perplexed by many Christians response to it. We weren't promised a rose garden in this life! The early church suffered horribly, and there is widespread persecution of Christians in the world today, with many believers losing everything they have for their belief, including their very lives.
In that context, is what we endure in this country really all that bad?

-Norm

Christians would get less grief if they were nicer to people. Im sure not all of them are mean, but its the bad ones that stick out.

And persecution? where? is it persecution when christians are told "No"?

Try being a minority, then see if christians have it tough.

Many Christians are from minority populations. A large number of Christians are black and hispanic. They are not any meaner than any other people as a whole. Since we are speaking in a McDougall forum I can safely say that the members that have identified themselves as Christian have been very pleasant. We haven't thrown a Christian out for meanness in a long time!!!!!! Was there another religious group you thought was mean, too or were they the only group that seems to have this issue?
Who can argue with the hope that people of any and all religious persuasions live up to their religious goals. And those without religion live up to theirs.
f1jim

I live in the south. If anything, there's an anti-NON-christian atmosphere.

Every now and then I hear about it..., Chinese Christians pray for persecution to come to America.

Maybe their prayers are getting answered.

I was raised as a Christian and I am a Buddhist now. It saddens me to think that we can not just simply appreciate each others faith and learn from one another. My husband is a Christian and we share our lives and faith with each other. No problem or conflict. Compassion, wisdom and tolerance are the way forward. Metta.

Boy, can I vouch for that!

That is so sad to hear. There is so much we can learn from one another.

I am a Catholic living in Germany. Our parish is pretty much on the progressive side of German catholicism, in fact it's so progressive that some U.S. folks would denounce it as being close to communism.

Public opinion in Germany is not openly hostile towards religion but religious people are often viewed as somewhat retarded.

I think, ideology can be religious but it can also be secular. I find most of the atheist convictions lack foundation just as much as the religious ones do.

Nothingness is not conceivable nor is God. Both "concepts" may actually mean the same if God is stripped from "his" many attributes assigned to "him" during religious history. If God is to be found anywhere, then it would be within ourselves, within our neigbor, and within our fellow creatures, the animals. But to believe in no God is just as much a belief than believing in God.

Accordingly, I find a climate where you are virtually forced to pay lip service to God pretty repellent, even though I know that my feeling is owed to my different cultural upbringing as a European. I'd rather like people not to be explicit about their believes, according to Exodus 20:4: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above...". In my view, believers who try to teach other people the truth, are liars, no matter if they are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, or atheists.

I don't think there was an anti-Christian backlash until the 1980s. Back when I was growing up in the 1950s and 60s everyone I knew went to some form of church on Sunday. The rise of both televangelism and the moral majority damaged Christianity IMHO. Watching a bunch of money-grubbing skirt-chasing idiots everyday on TV - living the high life on Grandma's social security - did real damage to the faith.

And the Moral Majority's attempt (often successful, alas) to dictate morality at the end of a policeman's gun left a lingering distaste that is still being felt today - restriction of commerse on Sundays, creationism taught in public schools, anti-gay marriage laws, birth control and pro-choice restrictions, "AIDS is a punishment from God", etc.

Between the money grubbing, the power grabbing, and the anti-science nonsense, the term Christian became synonymous with an uneducated, often southern, bully. Which is a shame. But the blame doesn't rest on American society. It rests in the Christian camp - and I don't see any willingness to change.

Kate

Yes, we have failed to love the way Jesus loves...and I am grateful that my faith is in His grace--not my performance.

re: restrictions on abortions. Pre born babies are animals. You know. Like the ones many on the group feel have a right to life.

Didi

This probably varies a lot depending on where you are. I have certainly known people who are critical of Christianity and more accepting of other religions. On the other hand, we have yet to have a non-Christian president. I think it's possible that we'll have a Jewish president in my lifetime (though I doubt it will happen), but I think the chances of having a Muslim or Buddhist or atheist president are about zero. In fact, Ronald Reagan's son Ron has said he did not consider politics because he is an atheist and thus has no chance of getting elected.

So is there anti-Christian prejudice? It depends on where you're looking and what you're looking for. I've heard lots of different people claim that the group they're a member of is the only group it's OK to be prejudiced against (not just religion - smokers, mentally ill, fat people).

I believe the apostle Peter was crucified upside-down. When Christians in America talk about prejudice, they're usually talking about getting their feelings hurt.

The Christian camp is an awfully big camp, and there are lots of Christians who don't fall into this category at all. I think it's unfortunate that Christianity is now perceived as right-wing. There's a very strong leftist Christian tradition, for example, the Catholic Worker movement, which began in the 1930s and still exists today. I don't think it's fair to blame all Christians for what the most vocal ones are doing and saying.

You are absolutely right! Unfortunately, at least from the Catholic perspective, the current Pope and his predecessor have contributed to the notion (especially valid in Europe) that Catholics tend to be conservative hardliners. Of course, there are many of them, especially among the Church's dignitaries. But I doubt there are many who, for instance, follow the Pope's verdict that contraceptives are against God's will.

When it comes to the flock and not the shepherds, European Catholicism, with some exceptions, is enlighted and more liberal than the Pope would tolerate (if he knew ). But this is only the European side of the medal. The churches (denominations) in Latin America seem to have moved to the right, especially when compared to the Golden Age of the Theology of Liberation.