New Age Christians and the future of Christianity

[Paul the Human]

I think that (at least here in the U.S.) nearly everyone is told that god created the world and that Jesus was the son of god and died for their sins from the time they have a sense of hearing. Those two basic 'beliefs' are instilled at the earliest possible time and reinforced constantly, causing them to be deep-seated core beliefs in many people. It is only later that the bible(s) and scripture are added to the equation and then, rather than actually read it, they are simply told which passages apply to their particular denomination or 'today's sermon'. Total familiarity with the bible(s) is not a requirement in many Christian sects. So long as you accept the 'truth' of Jesus into your heart, you're good to go.

Then there are those (close to the majority) self-proclaimed Christians that do not go to church at all and know little to nothing about what the bible(s) actually says, but claim to believe it as fact. To them, all that matters is that god is real and created the universe and Jesus was his son and died for all of us. Those core beliefs are so firmly implanted that nothing can shake them loose... not even logic and reason. That is the awesome power of indoctrination.

So yes. Christians today are willing to admit that much of their fairytale is simply parable and/or allegory, but refuse to admit that the god (and its son) that star in that fairytale are fictional characters. They accept that evolution is the most logical and probable explanation for life as we know it, but their deep seated belief in god causes them to say that god must be behind that evolution. It works for them and lessens the threat to faith that science and the quest for truth represent.

True Christian mentions that "most people have felt" god, but I feel that that is a misunderstanding of how the human mind works. I can feel my self-awareness and consciousness as if it exists independently from my physical body, but I understand that it does not. It is a psychological 'projection' generated by a complicated biological machine known as the human brain.

[Eilonnwy]

I agree with the sentiment that Christianity was dragged kicking and screaming to current day morality. (Islam is where Christianity was during the middle ages.)

As long as there are institutions like the Catholic church, Baptism, Lutheranism, etc.... with more strict interpretations of the Bible, it doesn't matter how many individuals believe in a more loosely interpreted Bible, because my concern is mostly with those institutions as they continue to try and stifle human rights.

Sure the church is evolving, but I don't think into Universal Unitarianism. I think the people within the Christian organizations may shift over there, but the Churches won't become a completely lovey touchy spiritual realm

[Paul the Human]

I have actually read reports that say many churches are beginning to campaign to bring people back into the fold and that it is a direct response to the rise in believers that do not bother joining a church. The churches (organized religion) are designed to have (and to control) followers, but more and more people are choosing to simply believe in god, accept Jesus, never bother to read the bible, and consider themselves 'saved'. The churches realize, as do I, that if this is left to continue unchecked, agnosticism, atheism, and apatheism are sure to follow.

[Thor]

The church will adapt to whatever it has to in order to keep the money flowing in.


God can never be allowed to interfere with the bottom line.

God can do ANYTHING!

But he needs your money....

[Tiberius]

No, we need your money. *hint hint*

[Loki_999]

God is a being that no one can really comprehend but that most humans have felt, hence the many religions that have existed for millenia.

I liked your post very much and made a pleasant change from some of the regular posts we get from theists, but I have to pull you up on the text I bolded.

I'm sure there is a large % of people who believe they have felt god throughout he millennia... not just Yahweh, but whichever god they happened to worship - I presume you do not claim that people who worshipped Zeus were actually feeling the presence of Yahweh or Jesus? Especially as Yahweh and Jesus were relative latecomers to the religious scence.... the Egyptians had quite an advanced and complex religion while the Hebrews were still formulating their deity.

I would accept that you believe all forms of deity are simply different people's interpretation of the "one true god" ™, the creator as it were. And therefore these people were feeling this presence.

A nice twist you have there saying that god chose the Jews because they had a monotheistic religion (i'm sure there were others... Zoroastrianism for example was around before Jesus and presumably before Yahweh was anything more than a minor desert god).

Back to the point though... most I would say have not felt god. Possibly a large %, maybe even a majority/most believers, but there have always been atheists, agnostics, and deists in the world, so no, not most.

[True Christian]

God is a being that no one can really comprehend but that most humans have felt, hence the many religions that have existed for millenia.

I liked your post very much and made a pleasant change from some of the regular posts we get from theists, but I have to pull you up on the text I bolded.

I'm sure there is a large % of people who believe they have felt god throughout he millennia... not just Yahweh, but whichever god they happened to worship - I presume you do not claim that people who worshipped Zeus were actually feeling the presence of Yahweh or Jesus? Especially as Yahweh and Jesus were relative latecomers to the religious scence.... the Egyptians had quite an advanced and complex religion while the Hebrews were still formulating their deity.

I would accept that you believe all forms of deity are simply different people's interpretation of the "one true god" ™, the creator as it were. And therefore these people were feeling this presence.

A nice twist you have there saying that god chose the Jews because they had a monotheistic religion (i'm sure there were others... Zoroastrianism for example was around before Jesus and presumably before Yahweh was anything more than a minor desert god).

Back to the point though... most I would say have not felt god. Possibly a large %, maybe even a majority/most believers, but there have always been atheists, agnostics, and deists in the world, so no, not most.

True, im just saying "most" because up until the last century, "most" humans believed in a higher power. This is what i meant by feeling the presence of God.

And those who believed in previous deities also felt "God" although i dont think calling "him" "Yahwe" is correct because Yawhe is just an approximation of the idea of God, like Zeus or Jupiter or any other "Gods".

God, to me at least, is an entity, again, that we cannot comprehend and who did not involve himself directly with humanity until Jesus.

[Paul the Human]

God, to me at least, is an entity, again, that we cannot comprehend and who did not involve himself directly with humanity until Jesus.

And why do you believe that? Based on what source?

[Welsh cake]

Well religion has to adapt otherwise it'll die out; it has to incite more followers into the cult than those who leave, if that means looking for new ways to invoke or inspire then so be it. They cannot afford to become tedious, hence why Christians often cycle their idolised concepts between the wrathful arsehole god of the Old Testament, and the seemingly Care Bears deity present in the New Testament thereby ensuring the "message" changes and never stagnates. They need their beliefs to be entertaining to the general public, if nothing else.

This is how i personally see things: God is a being that no one can really comprehend but that most humans have felt, hence the many religions that have existed for millenia.

It's just a feeling? How do you know it's actually "god" then and not, more likely, an impending fart?