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The problem is the people worshipping, polytheistic nature of Christianity, which goes entirely against the message of Jesus, but the Romans used him the same way Amazon sells Che Guevara t-shirts, I guess. Add to that the Paulian “faith without works”, the addition of purgatory and priests “absolving you of your sins” (so fuck around, you’ll never find out! And Jesus “died for your sins” either way, whatever that means) and it’s easy to see why Christianity can never work. The well has been poisoned for a long, long time. ‘Jewish Christianity’, like it was before Rome fucked the message of the J-man, sure, but not what we’ve had for most of the last two millennia. Christianity today is basically a religion for those who don’t want to follow God’s rules and deny divine judgement… thankfully, things are not so black and white and we were created with a kind nature so, despite everything the West has done with this West Asian man and his legacy, some goodness still seeps through sometimes and motivates people to strive to be better.
And btw, “good” Christianity (that practiced by Jesus and his followers and anyone who internalises the Sermon of the Mount, for instance) is just good/sensible Jewish Scripture +1, and Islam (without nonsensical, heretical hadiths and superficial a-Quranic traditions) is good Christianity +1. If you read, you’ll understand. 👍
Christianity isn’t polytheistic
That’s not Christian doctrine
This is because the Christian God is infinitely merciful
I read the first three surahs of the Qur’an in full and some smaller segments here and there. To me, it really comes off as “this is a companion book to the bible”
I mean, it is polytheistic, but let’s just agree to disagree on that one. And mercy requires justice, and justice implies judgment. God is Merciful and Just, of course! Jesus preached that one had to repent and correct their behaviour to be accepted by God, you can’t just be an unrepentant sinner, a troublemaker, a violent rapey murderous racist or even just a heartless rich man (camels and needles!), and expect God to condone it! How do you judge, my guy?
A wise man doesn’t need much to understand what’s right and wrong and, honestly, anyone could just read and internalise the Sermon on the Mount and be in good terms with the Creator as it transforms you, but you can’t say that about the whole Bible, which is very internally inconsistent (because it’s a collection of books and letters with different authors, written and edited by power-hungry and immoral men at times). And if you’re clever, you could do that just with Ecclesiastes, but Jesus’ message is more… approachable. 👍
You are making a mistake that many sincere believers have made throughout history. You assume your faith is the singular, correct one, and that outsiders only need to open their hearts to see the “one true path.” What often goes unnoticed is that there has never been one true religion. You believe yours is correct because that is what faith requires. But history shows us that as soon as a faith gathers enough followers, disagreements arise. Some argue that leaders have misinterpreted the sacred texts, or that local customs conflict with established rituals. Whatever the reason, division follows. A religion grows, it fractures, sects emerge, and each insists it is the sole guardian of truth. Repeat this pattern over generations, and what began as unity splinters into dozens of sects, often hostile to one another.
Religion does what many of its adherents claim it does not: it changes. It bends, adapts, and evolves in response to pressure and environment. It speciates.
So let me ask you, as one who seeks to understand: if I were to study your holy book and choose Islam, which path should I walk? Should I follow Sunni, risking alienating Shia? If I found myself drawn to the Wahhabi or the Druze? Would these choices lead to peace and enlightenment or would they create yet another division? And if I sought to share my newfound belief with those raised differently, would they welcome my unity, or view me as another intruder cloaking sameness as love and peace?
This is why I, and many others, argue for pluralism. There can never be a single “true way,” for as long as people are individuals, there will always be differences in interpretation, values, and belief. History shows that tribalism, insularity, and suspicion of the unfamiliar are constants of human nature. The only way forward is not to cling to unity under nation or creed, but to accept each other as we are. Only by setting aside the conceit of a universal faith can we begin to overcome the divisions that have defined us.
Thanks for the very lovely and informative post. I agree with what you’re saying and, as a Qur’anist/non-sectarian Muslim, I don’t have much of a ‘community’ myself, sadly, and I’m often demonized by other Muslims online more than folks on Lemmy, lol. 🤷
I take what’s good and disregard what makes no sense, but I have found the Qur’an to be extremely useful and hard to disagree with. Even what you’re saying could arguably be found in the Qur’an : “righteousness is not facing the East or the West” (the belief is not superficial rituals that differ amongst tribes); believers are those who “have humility, abstain from vain talk, guard their chastity except around their mates, but whoever seeks beyond this are the transgressors” (it’s an attitude thing, not just words on paper and rites). I quote previous Scripture and will even yap about Daoism and Western philosophy because wisdom comes from many places (although, as a self-proclaimed Muslim, I take the Qur’an as axiomatic, of course). As long as you strive to control yourself and try to live righteously and generously, I honestly don’t care what you call yourself, you are my brother/sister, and judgment beyond that belongs to the Creator. 🙏👍
The first thing we declare is that “We believe in One God”
God doesn’t forgive unrepentant sinners. God only forgives those who truly and earnestly repent. God doesn’t forgive based off of works either- because then where is the line? And God can only forgive because our sins have been paid. If our sins haven’t been paid off, then God would be unjust.
Works don’t save you. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The sermon on the mount teaches that you’re damned if you ever looked at a woman you aren’t married to with lust or if you even hate somebody.
And your screenshot, If you scrolled down on your article, you’d clearly see it is exclusively a Roman Catholic doctrine.
If you’re not Trinitarian and think Jesus, a man, is part of this small pantheon, then what I said does not apply to you (and that’s fantastic!). And only works can save you (and we can’t know the line, that’s God’s judgment, we just do our best and hope for the best. Don’t you believe God is Wise, Just and Merciful?), as the words are supposed to be transformative: “Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” If you say you believe in A but only do B and don’t regret it and change, you’re just a hypocrite, right? And I don’t disagree with the Sermon on the Mount at all (only the divorce part has to be read with historical context). Is being lustful not sinful? Should a married man be posting fire emojis on Instagram thirst traps? Should we hate others, or even dislike them so casually, when none of us is perfect? Strive not to be damned, and God will see it and take it into account, right?
I’ll finish by paraphrasing part of my previous post: Christianity today seems to be a religion/group of religions for those who hate the idea of being judged for their actions; it’s for the immature and confused ones who don’t wanna check themselves but still want to be in good terms with God.
So mormons?
Yes, which is why sin cannot go unpunished.
Jesus commands us to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48).
This was immediately after teaching about lust and anger. He was quite clearly alerting everyone to their sin then and there.
You then quoted St James. Who clearly teaches that saving faith produces works.
James 2:21-24 ESV
We are justified by works. But not saved
Genesis 15:6 ESV
This was before the altar event with Isaac in Genesis 22.
And since we are quoting St James:
James 2:8-13
If you break one law, you are damned.
Romans 6:23
Emphasis on “free gift”. We don’t earn our salvation.
It’s not owed to us because nothing is, every moment of our lives is a gift and Heaven is also a gift, but we make ourselves more pleasing to God through our actions and He, being Merciful, allows us eternal life if we’re good boys and girls. We’re splitting hairs now, friend. If you work good deeds and honestly repent and change our bad ways as much as we can, God will take care of us. That’s the basis of belief regarding the Day of Judgment. That’s all.
That’s not what Jesus taught. If it’s all about good deeds, then we’re all going to hell. None of us are good. Not one.
Omg, that’s like the most black and white, Mariana Trench deep-in-the-spectrum way of seeing things… Of course no one is GOOD, “only the Father is good”, but we can be good enough (“strive to be perfect just as your Father is perfect”, knowing full well it’s a limit we’ll never touch). God made us this way, flawed and capable of both great evil and goodness, do you think he’s expecting more of us than reasonable righteousness?
If this is just your way of saying “I can’t ever be good enough so why try?”, then that’s your prerogative. There’s no need to rationalize your way into Hell though, God is Just and Merciful, do your best and He’ll be pleased.
In Christianity the triune god is three aspects of a single being. I know it can be confusing, but it is not polytheistic.
That’s why I said before “let’s agree to disagree”. A man born from a woman and a Spirit, whatever that might be, both part of this universe cannot also be the Creator that is before and behind spacetime. But whatever, as long as you work good deeds and I work good deeds, we can live together, right?
That all depends on your personal definition of good deeds. Myself, I don’t think picking arguments about religion online counts.
I’m preaching here! But honestly, I just politely replied to people’s comments on my post, which is what you’re supposed to do in a discussion forum. 👍