#Liberal Christians

[possil]

CHRISTOPHOBIA

Christophobia is an ugly term which piggybacks on neologisms such as homophobia and Islamophobia. Islamophobia covers everything from burning down a mosque to looking sideways at a woman in a burqa or ‘greeting someone with “Merry Christmas” or saying “God bless you” after someone sneezes’. The growing use of the term Christophobia is just as imprecise. Continue reading CHRISTOPHOBIA

[kropotkindersurprise]

James Baldwin, talking about living his life based on observable fact, instead of white liberal promises. [link]

[arcenciel-par-une-larme]

When I say that I expect everything and anything from this hellsite...I mean it.

For example, if you have ever found yourself wondering, "I wonder if it would ever be possible for someone with a low-as-heck view of Scripture to be so deeply lost in the maze of his brain that his self-awareness reaches critical levels and drops to the negative, and he starts accusing orthodox, Bible-believing Christians of treating God like a storybook character, even while he calls the Bible mythological in the same breath"...

Rest assured, my friend; the answer is "Not only is it possible, it has most probably already happened."

[dapperinsanity]

I have a question for Christian’s that would be considered liberal. You know, any Christian that isn’t right wing and conservative. Before I ask the question, this isn’t asked as ab attack or meant to offend anyone but I’m genuinely curious. (I’m an exchristian, now atheist)

I understand the Bible has its good parts and messages but what about the not so good parts? What I mean, is I’m genuinely confused on how Christian’s who only live by the commandment “love thy neighbor”, view the darker parts of the Bible? For example, the Old Testament doesn’t ban slavery but rather teaches about taking care of your slaves. Or, to be more broad, the other commandments that are throughout the entire Bible? Jesus threats of Hell?

Sure, it depends on how literal you take the Bible. Putting that aside, what the point I’m trying to get at is that you, as a Christian, are saying that these are your beliefs so, would that mean you represent the Bible in a way? Or “endorsing” the Bible? I don’t know the right word to use because endorsing doesn’t sound right. Here let me put this in a hypothetical situation.

Say, I have a Christian friend who is a loving human being. My Christian friend isn’t afraid of sharing their faith either but here’s the thing. That faith is related/connected to the Bible which Christian’s believe is the word of God. So, let’s say I know nothing of Christianity ok? I then read the Bible and find myself a little concerned about the darker parts of the Bible. Wouldn’t that person think, “so this is what they believe/represent?”? Because that person is going to take everything into consideration. Some of that information maybe contradicting when it comes to the person observing a Christian’s actions compared to the Bible’s commands and teachings itself.

I understand that some Christian’s see the Bible as more of stories that teach something rather than taking everything literally. I’m just confused on how someone who is a decent human being can say they’re a Christian when the Bible also has some controversial messages? I’m not trying to criticize here, I am genuinely confused.

It’s like saying you don’t support chik-fil-a’s bigoted beliefs but continue to eat a chik-fil-a. At least, that’s what it feels like. I just want to know what liberal Christians think of the darker parts of the Bible, really? The message I get is that “God is so loving and caring” but when you compare that saying to how the Bible portrays God…it just doesn’t add up in my brain.

I know that when it comes to Christianity, most people will think of the right wing conservative Christian’s. I know that it’s “not all Christian’s” and that there are Christian’s who are against the harmful beliefs of conservative Christian’s. Heck, I know that there are lgbt+ christians as well. But if you ignore the conservative Christian’s and focus on the supportive and nice Christian’s, people are still going to be curious about what you believe in and read the Bible (if they choose to do so).

Again, this isn’t an attack on anyone’s beliefs. I asked the question because as someone who has seen both sides (Christian and not Christian) I can see why people who are not Christian would be wary of Christianity itself due to conservative Christians being extreme and ruining Christianity’s reputation. I feel like the same would apply if you took out the political side of it and just focused on the Christian and the Bible itself. That’s what I’m more focused on rather than the whole political side of it (right vs left) Christian’s).

It’s like the whole “not all men” phrase. As a transman, I feel like I can understand both sides. But, I also understand that it’s not all black and white and it’s a much more nuanced topic.

I’m just thinking, when it comes to safety and avoiding discrimination/oppression people are going to assume that all people in a group are bad if there’s enough bad people with influence you know? But I do want to see the other “side’s” view/opinion/thoughts. I’m trying to take a literal approach as well. If that makes sense. Anyways…Don’t be afraid to reply honestly to this.

[many-sparrows]

[corpsentry]

a glass sun 1/2

[radykalny-feminizm]

Another based TikTok woman being 100% right about religion, love the tendency ✊

[eve-ate-the-right-fruit]

Before the abolition of slavery in the United States, the majority of American Christians believed God condoned slavery. That didn't change until after the abolition of slavery. Abolitionist Christians existed, and there were denominational splits over the issue, but the abolition of slavery wasn't made possible through those abolitionist Christians persuading their fellow Christians to change their minds. Their fellow Christians were only able to gain space to change their minds once slavery was abolished. Before it was abolished, many Christians didn't have the ability to imagine God beyond a God that ordained the status quo. The same lack of imagination exists today. This is how most beliefs function. We rationalize and internalize the reality that has been institutionalized in our everyday lives. We naturally want to assume that there must be a good reason that things are the way they are, and that people much smarter than us must have set things up this way. Obviously, individuals can change their minds on their own, but the only way to change minds on a mass scale is to transform the institutions in our everyday lives to give people a new reality to rationalize and internalize. This is how minds change en masse, for better or for worse. Before a massive transformation, people fight and cling to their old conceptions of God, claiming that those who are trying to transform things are working against God, who carefully set things up the way they are. Then, after the transformation takes place, people praise God for leading the way for this necessary historic change. . . . Abolishing the institutions that maintain our inequalities is the only way to open up space for Christian teachings that preach equality to become the norm. Christian history is filled with those who understood this and were empowered by their faith to resist the institutions that used Christianity to oppress them. Those who choose to continue this important work today are joining a long line of Christians who helped shape the path toward our collective liberation.

Damon Garcia, The God Who Riots: Taking Back the Radical Jesus

[whereserpentswalk]

I'm not lgbt in the sense of "Jesus would have accepted gay people too." I'm queer in the sense of "if God hates faggots then I'm on the side of Satan."

[thurifer-at-heart]

"Christianity is the only major world religion to have as its central focus the suffering and degradation of its God. The crucifixion is so familiar to us, and so moving, that it is hard to realize how unusual it is as an image of God." Churches sometimes offer Christian education classes under the title "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?" This is not really the right question. A better one is, "Why was Jesus crucified?" The emphasis needs to be, not just on the death, but on the manner of the death. To speak of a crucifixion is to speak of a slave's death. We might think of all the slaves in the American colonies who were killed at the whim of an overseer or owner, not to mention those who died on the infamous Middle Passage across the Atlantic. No one remembers their names or individual histories; their stories were thrown away with their bodies. This was the destiny chosen by the Creator and Lord of the universe: the death of a nobody. Thus the Son of God entered into solidarity with the lowest and least of all his creation, the nameless and forgotten, "the offscouring [dregs] of all things" (1 Cor. 4:13).

—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ (p.75)

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

y'all need to get a grip. you blab all day about how much you hate bigots and hateful people and how evil it is to dehumanize anyone and then you turn around and say "kys" and "i think [x] should all just kill themselves" and other disgusting, violent and childish trash

so many people on here are just full of hatred and vitriol and turn into frenzied sharks anytime the target 'deserves it' and they think they can get away with it and not be called bad people. then they whine about how sad it is that we can't all just get along and if only all the evil people in the world would stop doing evil things wouldn't that be nicer

you're just as vicious, hypocritical and fanatically puritanical as the caricature you have made in your minds of the people you think you have nothing in common with. if you've ever told someone, ANYONE to kill themselves you're not advocates of justice, you're not artisans of peace, and you certainly don't have any moral high ground that would allow you to pass judgment on others

[mysharona1987]

[queerism1969]

[redditreceipts]

how about the men who are apparently weak enough to "stumble" when seeing an underage girl's developing breasts are just not fit for Christian heaven and by constantly accomodating them, you are actually getting in the way of God's plan to send only the righteous to heaven? Because a guy who puts his own comfort over the safety of another person isn't that righteous after all and won't get into heaven either way.

(I don't really believe in Christianity btw, I am just trying to follow the argument of not cause men to "stumble" instead of teaching them how to be a righteous person. in my opinion, the latter would get them into heaven at a much higher rate than just making girls vulnerable to car accidents)

[many-sparrows]

Embracing my queerness made me a better Christian, and I mean that in a very literal, concrete sense. I read my Bible more often and get more from it, I live out the gospel better. Embracing my queerness was the thing that truly taught me to love without bounds and it has irreversibly shaped my life and faith for the better. I want non-affirming Christians to gnaw on that for a while.

[cath-lick]

Had to buy this zine!