Christian Extremism is Right There [Read first post]

Br. John wrote: Since there is no stipulation here as to what makes someone a Christian (other than their saying they are one) - how does anyone know what we're talking about?

Uh oh, slippery slope John. I can feel people waiting to pounce asking "Well what makes a Jedi other than saying that they are one? Huh?! Huh?! Huh?!" :laugh:

That said, I completely agree. The kinds of people mentioned in the OP are, in my opinion, far from what Christians should be, but that's just my opinion and there seem to be a lot of them who are like that, or at least they are very vocal about it.

There's an image that your post reminds me of, if I find it I'll post it here. Give me a minute...

This one!

As with any group, they are comprised of all types no matter what their doctrine or what they claim to believe is. Even here at TotJO.

I know a lot of very sweet and very Christ like Christians and I also know some scum-bags. So I’m not entirely sure it is fair to use the broad term Christians when talking about the people that are making the responses. I also failed to see where the snippets of comments made by the people in opposition, in the original post, were identifying themselves as Christian. They could be, they might not be… I’m just not big on making assumptions.

I would personally be oppose to the TST starting the indoctrination of youth. I would hope that anyone would seriously consider and research the TST before they turn down that path as I do not agree with their teachings or beliefs. But that is because I believe in the Jedi Path.

Goken wrote: Uh oh, slippery slope John. I can feel people waiting to pounce asking "Well what makes a Jedi other than saying that they are one? .

lol. Except that we are bold enough and open enough to have that conversation all the time. And many of us are more than happy to admit that we dont really have a good answer

I'd like to clarify a few things:

First, I want to say this isn't a post saying all Christians are like this, in fact I would submit that it runs in direct contradiction to the teachings of Jesus and James in the same way that the actions of Daesh are in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and the Qur'an. Like Steam, I'm of the opinion that Paul ruined the Gospel message. Much like the Hadith are picked and chosen for their "veracity", so too were the letters from various apostles chosen for their "veracity". The thing they won't teach teach you in mainstream Christian churches, but can be verified through independent historical and archaeological reserach, is that the early leadership of the Church handpicked Scripture which affirmed their claim to authority over the Church.

A big part of my frustration and impetus for making the original post is that there seems to be an unwillingness to acknowledge there is a problem, like Cabur suggested, I don't think it's inherent to Christianity (I'm not sure I ascribe it to ego and the static self, but I'm not discounting it either). I think when people think of Christians, society is generally of the opinion of kindhearted people who keep society grounded in a spirit of generosity and charity (or love, if you're Protestant). That would be more or less in line with the teachings of Jesus, but something else has creeped into Christian circles (and I specify American Christian circles because I think it's most prevalent here).

This is me saying, "Look, this is what I've been talking about the whole time and now it's staring you in the face so stop acting like I'm being hyperbolic and let's talk about this." We can't talk about this if we can't even acknowledge it's there.

So can I ask you in one plain simple sentence what you would like me, Rosalyn Johnson to do?

Rosalyn J wrote: So can I ask you in one plain simple sentence what you would like me, Rosalyn Johnson to do?

Be aware, acknowledge it is happening, and continue to dialogue about it.

I don't expect any one individual to figure out what to do, but we certainly won't figure out how to address a problem we can't admit is there.

I appreciate your response. I'll do my best

I'm still confused about what problem we are to acknowledge and address. I'm being sincere about my confusion, so let me share my questions and anyone can try to steer me in the right direction.

Is the problem that Christianity specifically has a grip on institutions in America and this pushes out or silences other voices?
Is it that Christianity in America has been twisted into something not Christian by some groups?
Is it that we should allow everyone equal voice and access regardless of their affiliations and this isn't happening?
Is it an issue of separating church and state, more specifically the state favoring Christianity over other faiths?
Is it that people had extreme reactions to a group with different ideas than theirs by threatening violence?

Or is it a combination of all of these things? I can't really nail down where I should begin. Thank you all for any guidance.

Jamie Stick wrote: I'd like to clarify a few things:

First, I want to say this isn't a post saying all Christians are like this,...

One thing I have to say about this Jamie is that while I get that you may be saying this now can you see how people might see it the other way in your OP? You don't talk about individuals or even small groups, you use the words "Christianity" and "Christians." That's how you identify the people you are talking about so that leads me to believe that you mean the group as a whole. I get that you don't mean that, but can you see how I might take it that way? You might also want to think about whether or not you do actually feel that way on some level, even subconsciously. Those sorts of things can come out in the way you write or speak without you even knowing it.

Also, I'm not saying that these things aren't happening, I don't think anyone here is. Just not to blame the group. As I said, those individuals should be prosecuted for something.