Saturday, January 08, 2011

The Coming Christian Divide

By the Rev. Howard Bess
January 8, 2011

Five years ago, we became aware that something significant was happening among Christian churches. Young people were leaving churches in huge numbers, most with no intention to ever return.

Read on.

3 comments:

Morton Kurzweil said...

The appalling ignorance of the early history of Christianity displayed by Rev. Bess confirms the dilemma of modern Christian sects. Since the beginning of the Jewish movements to accept Jesus as the messiah there have been self styled prophets interpreting numerous oral and written histories to satisfy the tastes of foreign audiences. This has been accomplished by denying the Jewish historicity of Jesus as a rebel against Roman occupation and perverted into a religion of submission to state authority. Hierarchal male dominance has been the result of patriarchal control of law and morality with the result in two thousand years of service to belief in a church, not belief in freedom, responsibility, equality or justice. Based on the actions and results of the past, there is little to show except violence in support of sectarian differences within the Christian religions.

JonnyJames said...

I think M.K. brings up some important, often forgotten, points.

The early Christian church was comprised largely of Jews and Jesus was of course, himself a Jew.

One of the only times Jesus was observed to lose his temper was when he overturned the money-changers tables. He spoke out against corruption and injustices in the imperial power structure and the religious establishment.

He was also against the accumulation of wealth as well ("it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than...)

He was clearly a radical, a rebel -he "spoke truth to power" if you will. He could easily be characterized as a religious socialist.

Most so-called Christians portray Jesus as quite the opposite.

This is one reason why organized religion (of all stripes) is so dangerous and all too often used as a political tool.

Twilight Mack said...

This is me, my generation, because I am a sincere beleiver, but I also have so many questions that it drives me crazy sometimes. I was raised Seventh-Day-Adventist but left the church in my teens. I'm 30 yrs. old now with two children of my own and with all the craziness happening in our world today, beginning for me on 9/11, I want to know why all this is happening and what I can do to protect my family. Nothing else answers those questions for me better than The Great Creator, Jesus Christ. Awesome article. Wish we would see more like this in the mainstream media. High five!