I hate to say it, but I really do. I can't stand it. I think the focus of American Christianity is all wrong, I believe it goes about things the wrong way, and I believe that it's intrusive to others. Let me explain.
American Christianity is the reason why LGBTs still do not have equal rights in America. American Christianity is the reason why helpful programs such as Planned Parenthood face extinction due to defunding (I'm 100% against the defunding of PP, though they do provide abortions they also do a whole lot of good, and none of their public funding goes to abortion anyway). It is the reason why school children aren't getting proper education in the science classroom. The list goes on and on.
The way I see it is this: American Christianity couldn't care less about the well being of others or the state of other people's souls. All they care about is the Bible being legislated and forced on the general public through the government. American Christians aim for theocracy, so to speak, and they will stop at nothing to attain this.
Nothing makes me madder than Christians trying to legislate Christianity. Jesus Christ never legislated the Gospel and discouraged it. Why did God give every individual free will if he wanted his word to be the law of the land? That right there is a contradiction in and of itself. Not everyone is a Christian, and the Christian moral code does not apply to non-Christians, so why should it be legislated?
America was not founded as a Christian nation, despite what they say. America's government has always been a secular state, and everyone has always been allowed to practice whatever religion they want (despite some American Christians claiming "freedom of religion" means freedom to be Catholic or Protestant). I think it's time for mainstream American Christianity to examine itself in the mirror, get out of the business of legislating Christianity, and get back to the business of winning souls to Christ. Alas, that won't happen and I know it's just wishful thinking (due to the inability of the typical American Christianity to separate patriotism and religion), so whatever. I'm glad I'm not associated with it. I'll just say that.
Do you think that all of American Christianity is in search of a theocracy, or is it just the vocal majority? Are there Christians in America that are doing good and serving others without being intrusive?
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Comments (107)
@StatelessPilot - Still around. Better luck next time.
@TravelingStranger@xanga - Woah, chill. No need to get like that. Yes, I've been to China, and I speak the language. 去年夏天我是在上海的华东师范大学学中文了, if you want proof of that.
And because I speak and read Chinese, yes, I expand my knowledge on a basis of analysis that transcends "the Western political agenda" (which ironically enough, is in many ways probably more accurate than from official Chinese sources [I can't speak for the blogosphere]), so please don't assume that I haven't.
In regards to the rest of your post, I don't exactly know what you have a problem with. I was not undermining what you said (and in fact, much of what I said complimented it). The fact is, though, tolerant views regarding homosexuality DID change after Christianity gained a foothold -- through official sources or not. This part of the argument is not political in nature, but cultural. Homosexuality is simply not allowed in the three Abrahamic religions, as you probably know -- as such, it was only "natural" that homosexual elements were forced underground socially. During the Cultural Revolution, yes, this adopted a political flavoring... but the process was in motion long before, and was especially compounded by later government policies regarding family planning.
Finally, Christians have played an essential role in helping China's impoverished and weak, but making a sweeping generalization that they're the only ones doing so is simply incorrect -- and I point this out not only because it is so, but because in your last comment derided me for not getting my own facts straight. Christian groups are some of the most charitable and effective organizations in the nation, but they're not the only ones.
As plagued by corruption and mismanagement as they are, there ARE other government led groups that do tackle these issues, and they do yield a response. The rise of the Chinese watchdog media is playing a larger and larger role in covering human rights violations and scandals that have rocked the countryside (e.g. investigations into faulty building materials in Chengdu schools that led to their collapse during the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, the locating and subsequent reuniting with his family of Peng Wenle via the actions of the blogosphere, and as I mentioned before, greater concern on the oppression of homosexual activities sparked by the arrest of artist Ai Weiwei). So don't discount that, don't assume that just because I responded I have to be in disagreement with you, and don't discount that I haven't done my research.
The last thing I want to touch on: parents leaving their children for nicer city lives. I'm assuming you're talking about the Floating Population (流动人口) phenomenon. While I can't justify what is going on, I do have to say that it is a heavy burden for these parents to leave their children... they're not doing it to get "nicer city lives", because the fact is, their lives in the city will be for the worse as they lack a Residential Permit (户口, hukou) allowing them to legally live there. They usually give their kids up for adoption for one of three reasons:
1) They need a son to continue the family line (usually this involves giving up a girl / infanticide)
2) They feel the child will be better off in a better home
3) They go to the city to find work but leave their children at home, because if a child does not have a Hukou, they are deprived of education in said city
Sorry to be so tangential again, but I felt like I did need to clear some things up.
@TravelingStranger@xanga - Sorry, one more thing to add.
You said that Christianity has had no effect on the government... again, this is also a bit misguided. During the waning years of the Qing Dynasty (I'm talking about the 19th-early 20th Century), the debate over Christianity was a HUGE one. Not because of what the religion embodied, but because what this new, unknown force that challenged traditional societal values posed towards the Dynasty. Attacks against Christians, indirectly, were what led to Western Powers more forcefully pressing the Qing Court to deal with domestic unrest, which it couldn't -- leading to a political power vacuum that culminated in the Boxer Rebellion and the eventual occupation of Beijing.
Similar things happened in Japan, and pretty much anywhere where Western colonial powers ventured to. Again, this was no "fault" of the religion -- it was due to the fact that Imperialism brought with it missionaries, who's jobs were to, well, convert people. Again, nothing wrong with that, but mass conversion is going to make local political entities wary of what sway this new moral/value system will have on their subjects.
Again, I stress that none of this is inherently because Christianity is wrong, violent, etc; and nor do I assert that those who spread it were themselves evil, unjustified, etc.
Just another thing to help clear up some historical facts that, while perhaps correct on the surface, have much more to them than meets the eye!
Sounds like you mean biblical Christianity.
America's Founding Fathers who understood the importance of Judeo-Christianity, rightly chose a weak form of government.
A theocracy is a strong from of government and leads to civil unrest and tyranny.
There are no mainstream Christians who favor a theocratic form of government for America since most Christians are patriotic and enjoy the blessings of liberty wrought by our Founders.
Since America was settled almost exclusively by Christians it would only be natural that America be referred to as a Christian nation.
God prohibited both incest and homosexual copulation in the same passages of Leviticus. And Saint Paul spoke out against homosexual copulation also.
As a result, one cannot be Christian and condone the gay life style.
Wow...non-believers have nothing to fear from you! You are on their side!
this prick is just a troll. I've run across him several times and he's nothing but a whiny little bitch who refuses to be open minded and think beyond his little "I hate america" soapbox. You'd do well to leave him alone.