1) Christianity encourages arrogance among its followers.
I agree with you on at least one thing, Esquilax: It is a mistake for a Christian to think of themself as somehow better than a non-Christian. It doesn't turn the world into the Saved and the Evil; we are all equally evil, but being saved means we have a chance to change. It is because of God, not us, so there's no reason for us to be arrogant. If we are, then that's a problem with the Christians themselves, but Christianity in no way supports it.
2) Christianity commands us to do evil things.
I've read a lot of the Bible (not its entirety, I'm ashamed to say) but I've not come across one of Jesus's commandments that is truly evil. Let me use BSB4's examples:
-No coveting.
At first glance, this may seem like an exercise in futility. It commands us to put aside all motivation to build a successful comfortable life and future for ourselves, since we cannot even desire things we don't have.
Except that's not what the commandment is.
The commandment says, Don't covet things that belong to other people. As in, if someone has something you'd like, don't resent them or hate them for it. Be happy for them, because something good happened to them.
-Give no thought for the morrow.
YOLO, right?
Wrong.
This teaching says, Do not WORRY about tomorrow. Don't be afraid of what will happen that you have no idea about. Don't embrace every little fear as if it were the end of the world. Believe me, I've done this before, it's miserable and nothing good comes out of it.
-Abandon your loved ones.
I'm not sure where it says this, can you please elaborate?
3) Christianity commands us to abandon reason in favor of faith.
If you come across a branch of Christianity that teaches this, I don't blame you if you want nothing to do with what they teach. But there are definitely some Christians who disagree. Saving faith, "Christian" faith if you will, is not what happens when you say "I don't know if this it right, but I'll go with it just in case" (I'm looking at you, Ray Comfort) or "I can feel - in my heart - that Christianity is true!" The kind of faith I'm talking about is based on evidence. It says, "Here are my reasons to believe that there is a God, and what He says is true. It's evidence that He's truthful and reliable. Now that I have my reasons, it's time to put them into practice and believe what God says." If you haven't found any good reason to believe in God, to be honest I don't blame you for not having faith in Him. But I would encourage you to keep looking, because whether you believe in God or not, if you're wrong you've missed everything.
I know I kind of summarized your posts in single sentences, but I hope I got the general idea.
I agree with you on at least one thing, Esquilax: It is a mistake for a Christian to think of themself as somehow better than a non-Christian. It doesn't turn the world into the Saved and the Evil; we are all equally evil, but being saved means we have a chance to change. It is because of God, not us, so there's no reason for us to be arrogant. If we are, then that's a problem with the Christians themselves, but Christianity in no way supports it.
2) Christianity commands us to do evil things.
I've read a lot of the Bible (not its entirety, I'm ashamed to say) but I've not come across one of Jesus's commandments that is truly evil. Let me use BSB4's examples:
-No coveting.
At first glance, this may seem like an exercise in futility. It commands us to put aside all motivation to build a successful comfortable life and future for ourselves, since we cannot even desire things we don't have.
Except that's not what the commandment is.
The commandment says, Don't covet things that belong to other people. As in, if someone has something you'd like, don't resent them or hate them for it. Be happy for them, because something good happened to them.
-Give no thought for the morrow.
YOLO, right?
Wrong.
This teaching says, Do not WORRY about tomorrow. Don't be afraid of what will happen that you have no idea about. Don't embrace every little fear as if it were the end of the world. Believe me, I've done this before, it's miserable and nothing good comes out of it.
-Abandon your loved ones.
I'm not sure where it says this, can you please elaborate?
3) Christianity commands us to abandon reason in favor of faith.
If you come across a branch of Christianity that teaches this, I don't blame you if you want nothing to do with what they teach. But there are definitely some Christians who disagree. Saving faith, "Christian" faith if you will, is not what happens when you say "I don't know if this it right, but I'll go with it just in case" (I'm looking at you, Ray Comfort) or "I can feel - in my heart - that Christianity is true!" The kind of faith I'm talking about is based on evidence. It says, "Here are my reasons to believe that there is a God, and what He says is true. It's evidence that He's truthful and reliable. Now that I have my reasons, it's time to put them into practice and believe what God says." If you haven't found any good reason to believe in God, to be honest I don't blame you for not having faith in Him. But I would encourage you to keep looking, because whether you believe in God or not, if you're wrong you've missed everything.
I know I kind of summarized your posts in single sentences, but I hope I got the general idea.
