It’s absolutely absurd. They’re so awful.

This is why my church is down to like 10 members and we’re struggling to pay monthly bills.

I am so far left I got my guns back, as the saying goes, and I believe in radical kindness and love, but to those who wish the same, which is not the right.

It’s everything Jesus did not want, and that made up horseshit in Leviticus and Romans can go fuck itself.

Just like the people who showed up on January 6 claiming to be “patriots”, there to “defend” - rather than overthrow by violent means - the Constitution, which many admit to never having read, so too many “christians” (ostensibly meaning “follower of”) do the precise opposite of their teachings. Of course you can’t have a rational discussion with people like this!?!? You cannot extract blood from a stone. They just don’t have it in them to be capable of that. And yes ofc you, having read the book, know better what is in it compared to someone who can’t read, or more precisely someone who refuses to.

Whereas people of conscience, regardless of religious - including non- or even anti-religious - affiliation, can discuss pretty much anything. There are real Christians though, just look at their actions and it’s extremely easy to tell (just like there are real patriots, desperate the presence of mimics that try to claim that they are while being the polar opposite - many are dedicated civil servants and/or members of the armed forces, both of whom lay their literal life on the line, and the latter also their possible death, though non-armed forces also contribute as well).

All that aside, there are many ways that Jesus claimed to be God. I started listing them out in my head but in looking up some scriptures to back them up (like “I and the Father are one”, John 10:29-33; plus He claimed to be able to forgive sins, which only God could do - so to the people of the time, He was being quite clear), found this article that says it a lot better than I could: https://calvarychapel.com/posts/did-jesus-claim-to-be-god/. So I hope that’s interesting.

My controversial opinion: one day there will be stupid atheists as well. There aren’t really that many right now, bc it’s popular right now in atheism to actually examine one’s beliefs and decide for one’s own self what you believe - however, the same was once true of other religions too, before they got institutionalized, and in another hundred (or thousand) years when atheism has been passed down through enough generations, it too will become corrupted as well.

For now, I find that people of good conscience of all religions - and again, including non- and anti-religious folks too - share a heck of a lot more in common with one another than with the non-thinking sheeple. After all, the book literally commands people who follow it to be skeptical: “Test everything against what you know to be true (aka prove it) and retain only what passes that inspection” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Also it says stuff like pay the workers their wages, kill the money lenders, don’t heap heavy burdens on others without lifting a finger to help (be ye not a Karen), don’t judge others, but do hold your own leaders to account (cough fondling little children cough, also that whole felony / insurrection / treason thing). So really, if that breed of “christian” could (sigh, rather “would”) read, they would (should) be very upset! 😭

My advice: don’t mind them - they only matter in aggregate - just hold yourself to the higher standard that you, as a non-hypocrite, know that you must regardless. Argumentum ad populum et al.

This sounds like something I might want to read about, any chance you could drop some links or titles to what you’ve been reading?

Honestly there’s some lovely Christians out there who love queer people without question. It absolutely does not have to be the conservative way. My church has gay people and two trans ladies, and the one time I overheard one of them talking to a bunch of the guys about the local football team. Like it absolutely does not have to mean a thing.

No gods are real

Funny you mention this because I was about to bring it up but as a bad thing. They don’t care about Jesus or his teachings or any of that because they see the whole “all of your sins will be forgiven” as “I can do whatever I want and then just have to tell a priest about it before I die and then I get into heaven”. Why they think they can pull a fast one on a being they believe is omniscient is beyond me, best guess is maybe they have a really simplistic view of rules and think exploiting loopholes can be done in good faith?

This is a made-up version of Christianity that didn’t exist until the last few hundred years. It’s heresy and unless you repent, you’re going to hell.

Not ignoring it, I’m recently baptized even. It’s just not my comfort zone.