I believe there are many misconceptions associated with what being a Christian is. Most of these are the reasons people don't want to become one. I think that these misconceptions are the rules associated with 'religion' and not the true meaning of being a Christian and all the negative things associated with 'religion.' Non-Christians don't want to conform with the rules and traditions of Christians, not understanding that God gave us a way that we should live our life, so that we may live it the best we can.
1. George Bush etc...(people might jump to conclusions)
2. You can't keep a low profile with the devil anymore.
3. It takes a lot of courage to be hopeful all the time.
4. The truth is often painful and embarassing.
5. Grappling with a weird book like the bible can make your head ache.
6. Loving your enemies is hard work at its best and deadly at its worst.
7. You can come away from meetings on Sundays feeling sad and small and silly.
8. Sermons (evangelistic and otherwise) can be very boring.
9. Jesus was a strange revolutionary and seems to require his followers to be like him.
10. Most importantly....God is not safe!
1. You can't just do whatever you want whenever you want.
2. You need to forgive people when...
3. The bible can be a really confusing book.
4. Church is boring a lot of the time.
5. People are going to hassle you.
6. People have higher expectations of your behaviour which you consistently fail to meet.
7. You can't just blithely agree with whatever spiritual rubbish people come up with.
8. Life and decisions frequently become much more complicated.
9. Your sexuality needs to be curbed. (ditto drinking).
10. Growth and change are painful.
11. People endlessly project onto you their stereotypical understanding of a 'Christian.'
There's some thoughts. No particular order.
1. Because it's hard work.
2. See number 1.
- I think being a Christian is hard because people want to box you and say that you must be like this and not all Christians are the same. The diversity of Christianity should be celebrated but sometimes it is not and that can be challenging.
- Read Dave Andrews' "Christianarchy." Full of great reasons why Christians can suck.
- Social justice and trying to love everyone is not as cosy and as cool as the hippies tried to make it look.
1. No sex
2. No drinking
3. No having fun
4.Don't want someone telling me what to do
5. See reason 1. (Please see reason 1!)
6. Tele-evangelists
7. Nerd Christians
8. Fascist Christians
9. Old fashioned
10. Refer number 1
you have to wear a cardigan
1. The perception that Christianity is about aspiration, not reality, artificiality not authenticity. "I'm not allowed to just be myself..." ... An inner feeling of being set against one's own nature or self. Distortions in self-perception, and one's perception of the world.
... So that Christianity is all about feeling bad. Catholic guilt. Protestant guilt. Plenty of guilt to go round.
... All the sexual hangups; hypocrisy...
2. The perception that Christianity is about make-believe; speaking to an invisible friend. No empirical or tangible or experiental basis...
3. ... "Intelligent design" versus evolution. The perception that walking into church means leaving your brain at the door.
4. The Crusades; Henry 8; the Inquisition; European pogroms... down to current religion-based wars... The notion that Christianity or the other monotheisms preach (or quietly imply by example) that killing is sanctioned if God tells you to do it.. From Abraham down to modern-day terrorists ..
5. Problems with St. Paul: Persecutor of Christians turns into belligerant key figure in Christianity, with all sorts of barely concealed hangups.
6. Money, wealth, and the pentecostal churches.
7. It just doesn't work: Doesn't make people behave better; be better; feel better.
8. "Jesus: liar, lunatic, or Lord" ... The old CS Lewis trichotomy doesn't seem to address what I think is a common perception of Jesus: A nice guy, but misrepresented/misunderstood by St. Paul, and Christians down through the ages... "Son of Man", rather than Son of God.
9. The notion that its all about being nice. The nice or nerdy kids eventually just get the bloody nose in the playground -- that's all that turning the other cheek did for anyone. Christianity and Christian schooling doesn't prepare you for the real world.
10. The boredom of sermons and liturgy and ritual. Heard it all before.
11. Atheism is hip and cool and in. Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. The wikipedia entry on Richard Dawkins has some pointed remarks.
oops -- that's 11.
10 reasons it's a bad idea to be a Christian
(or I don't remember reading that in the brochure.)
1. Submitting and sacrificing can be really, really hard.
2. Your money, time, stuff and your life is no longer your own.
3. Other people don't think it's relevant. So they think you and your point of view aren't relevant.
4. Church and community can be mutually exclusive. (Often because Christians are too busy doing "church related activities" to really connect.)
5. Other Christians can be very judgemental. We are our own worst enemy.
6. It can take you out of your comfort zone.
7. You have to confront and deal with your own sin.
8. You don't always have a sense of God's presence. It can be a long, hard, joyless slog.
9. Sometimes it doesn't make sense and you just have to live with that.
10. Once you're on the Kooring mailing list, you can't get off it.
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