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| | Why are more Americans rejecting religion? |    |
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rock4king
Age : 47
Joined : 21 May 2007
Posts : 263
Location : Omaha
| |  | | Tonnenator
Age : 36
Joined : 21 Jul 2007
Posts : 351
Location : Columbus, OH
Age : Midlife Crisis
|  Subject: Re: Why are more Americans rejecting religion?  Fri Nov 09, 2007 2:10 pm | |
| | Yay! Finally! Somebody actually LIKED something I said! LOLOLOL |
| | | | Billion Dollar Baby07
Joined : 10 Oct 2007
Posts : 3
| | Subject: Re: Why are more Americans rejecting religion? Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:46 pm | |
| I think the rejection of Christianity by most Americans and
the growth of alternative religions from islam to paganism
{and all points in between} is that Christians do not live out
the commands of the Bible...
It is a sad commentary on the state of US Christianity when
a survey group like the respected Barna Group has surveyed
Christians and the results are that there is NO
{ABSOLUTELY NONE} major difference between Christians
and non-Christians in terms of moral behavior!!
Shame on us {including me} for failing to letting the Bible's
teachings impact our daily lives and morality.. |
| | | | switchbladeknitter
Joined : 13 Nov 2007
Posts : 460
Location : through the looking glass
Age : 29 and holding!!
| | Subject: Re: Why are more Americans rejecting religion? Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:57 pm | |
| I think part of the reason that so many Americans are rejecting religion is that the media shoves stories and reports down our throat all day long about scientific facts to support everything. If they can explain away every problem in the world through science then who needs God right? (that's what they think not me)
Add that to the fact that the only Christians that get any media coverage are fire and brimstone everyone is going to hell kind of people. And let's face it in a world where people don't care about God, when you go full out like that you become a joke to a lot of non-religious people. (again them not me)
And yes, sad as it is to me, it's very hip and cool to be ahtiest now. Listen to NPR (Boo!! hiss!!!) for a few hours, if you can last that long. Being anti-religious is almost as cool as being anti-president. (do I need to say it?)
That's my 2 cents, well it was more like 4 or 5.
_________________
Life and death, energy and peace. If I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes that I made and would have unmade if I could. The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it, for having been allowed to walk where I've walked, which was to hell on earth, heaven on earth, back again, into, under, far in between, through it, in it, and above.
-Gia Carangi |
| | | | futuristicfolkartist
Joined : 18 Jan 2008
Posts : 85
Location : franklin, nc
| | Subject: Re: Why are more Americans rejecting religion? Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:46 am | |
| | i used to think "religion" was a dirty word. but, in james, "true" religion takes care of widows, visits those in prison, gives the hungry food, etc. i hate to say it, but the church has failed miserably in this area! |
| | | | rock4king
Age : 47
Joined : 21 May 2007
Posts : 263
Location : Omaha
| | Subject: Re: Why are more Americans rejecting religion? Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:18 am | |
| | futuristicfolkartist wrote: | | i used to think "religion" was a dirty word. but, in james, "true" religion takes care of widows, visits those in prison, gives the hungry food, etc. i hate to say it, but the church has failed miserably in this area! |
AMEN! I totally agree!
Here is what Pastor Bob has to say about it. I found an old article by him. He makes some really good points.
The Deadly Grip of Religion
by Pastor Bob Beeman
Did you know that your ability to live the Christian life successfully is impossible? It's true! Jesus knows it. God knows it. That is why God sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross in the first place! So why do we continue to live as though it is something we can do on our own?
Religion says, "I can work my way to Heaven." Christianity says, "My righteousness is as filthy rags, but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
"Okay, Pastor Bob, I already knew that!" But do you really? Whom do you perceive as the greatest enemy to your faith? Most of you would answer "Satan." You might be surprised to find that this was not the answer Jesus gave. He said, "The Thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Who is the thief? According to the original Greek language, the word correctly translates as "Religion."
Religion is the thing that makes us feel like we have it all together. Religion causes us to feel justified when we gossip instead of loving each other. Religion causes us to turn up our noses at the world and its ways, as if we have arrived at some state of magic perfection. The truth of the matter is that many stay away from the faith because they know too many Christians!
I guess I am somewhat a novelty wherever I go. I do a lot of traveling in the ministry, which sometimes puts me on an airplane for over 10 hours at a sitting. (The truth is, even as I write this I am flying over Texas.) I know that at some point during my flights, the person sitting next to me is going to ask me what I do for a living. When I tell them that I am a Pastor, I can always tell it is the last thing they expected me to say. I am sure I don't LOOK like any Pastor they have ever encountered. I can also tell it is the last thing they WANTED me to say. Being stuck for many hours sitting next to some religious nut is not what they had in mind! As the flight continues, I am sure they are just as surprised that I am not trying to convert them. The Bible says, "Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have within you." (1 Peter 3:15) My job? Display hope!
Every day my love for Christ grows as my dependence on Him becomes greater. The direct result is HOPE. Hope isn't something I try to do. HE is my hope. Most of the time, the person sitting next to me is the one that begins talking about God, not me! Today, on the first leg of my trip, I had an older woman who was a little taken back with me as I explained I was a Pastor. But about 30 minutes into our flight, she said, "Can I talk to you? You seem like such a nice young man." She was just returning home from helping her son and his new bride as they gave birth to her 21st grandchild. She was coming home a week early because her new daughter-in-law was being very mean and obviously didn't want her around. This sweet little grandmother, with tears running down her face, said, "I have never had anyone dislike me before. I don't know what to do! What do you think God would say?"
It is sad to me that we miss those kinds of opportunities because we are so busy playing religion and trying to earn spiritual brownie points. We dedicate ourselves to the fine art of evangelism. We take classes on it, we rehearse our strategy, and we initiate the attack. The Bible tells us that … no one comes to the Father unless he draws them first. When I surrender my will to His will, and my agenda to His agenda, He will always bring those who need to talk at the appointed time. I love the verse in 1 Peter that we just read, because it takes the pressure off of me to perform, and instead gives me an opportunity to respond in love.
All too often the world sees us as arrogant, self-righteous snobs. And, in many aspects of our faith, they are correct. Why? Again, we have forgotten our enemy. Jesus said, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1) What kind of slavery? Simple. Religion. Legalism. The belief that I can work my way to Heaven and to the love of God. But you see, it is not for my freedom only. It is also for the freedom of those around me - those that I influence. When I am truly free in Christ because of his Grace, and not operating within the confines of Religion, then people truly see hope. Religion produces a sense of gloom and doom – almost a "holier than thou" mentality. Christ gives us hope – contagious hope!
_________________
peace and grace,
gary
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