WWJB (What would Jesus Blog)?

[richlevy]

This is an interesting concept. On one hand, it does document an overt attempt to inject religious dogma into secular issues. On the other hand, they are talking about restoring civility.

'God Bloggers' Head to National Conference

The three-day conference at Biola University marked an important benchmark for Christian bloggers, who have worked behind the scenes for years to spread the Gospel and infuse politics with religion.

Topics included God bloggers' relationship with the traditional church, their growing influence on mainstream politics and how to manage outsiders' perceptions.

Some predicted bloggers could play a role in reforming the modern church by keeping televangelists and other high-profile Christian leaders honest.

At one well-attended workshop — "When Non-Christians Read Your Blog" — Biola University professor Timothy Muehlhoff gave instructions on writing about faith without alienating nonbelievers.

He stressed that God blogging has the potential to be a "train wreck" because done wrong it can reinforce stereotypes of evangelical Christians as angry and close-minded "pit bulls of the culture wars."

"As Christians today we are embroiled in the argument culture and we have forgotten this one thing: 'Blessed are the peacemakers.'," he said. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could say we brought a level of civility back to the conversation?"

Well, I'm glad that someone realizes the possible down side. It is an unfortunate fact that people make generalizations based on their interactions with a limited number of members of a religious group when that person discusses his or her faith. For instance, if I only knew one pagan and that pagan told me that he was very sorry but I and everyone I knew were doomed to hell because we were not pagans, I might actually accept that person as the spokeperson for all pagans.

A lot of close-minded jerks have been interviewed about religion lately, partly due to the fact that the press likes to interview close-minded jerks. However, bloggers cannot blame the press for any bad impressions since they are their own publishers.

I don't mind discussing politics and faith with members of the Cellar, and I even realize that a persons faith shapes their social view which will shape their politics. What I do object to is anyone from any religious order who becomes a proxy for their leadership and refuses to assert any individual thought into their choice.

Maybe increasing the debate is a good thing.

[wolf]

Why are people so afraid of Christianity?

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by wolf

Why are people so afraid of Christianity?

Crusades, Inquisition, forced indoctrination of natives and destruction of native cultures, etc.

[Troubleshooter]

Who's afraid? I like xtians, they yell so loud you can shoot them in the dark.

[wolf]

So, Rich, resentment over actions of the Catholic Church 500 years ago has put you off to the whole notion of Christianity?

It's not perfect, no religion is, but beats the heck out of folks that actively want you either converted or dead, right here in the enlightened 21st Century.

I still don't get the fuss over Christians in the blogosphere, anyway. Less than 0.3% (number pulled out of ass, not an actual statistic) of blogs even get read regularly ... this is not the next new wave in religious advertising.

Just wanted to say also, that especially as a Pagan, I find the use of the abbreviation "xtian" to be disrespectful.

[Undertoad]

Xtians do me the dishonor of believing that I am a bad person, a heathen and sinner, and will suffer eternal torment.

In return, I do them the dishonor of abbreviating the name of their system of beliefs.

I am not afraid. Fuck them.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Xtians do me the dishonor of believing that I am a bad person, a heathen and sinner, and will suffer eternal torment.

I don't know about these Xtians, but I sure do think you are generalizing something sinful.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by wolf

So, Rich, resentment over actions of the Catholic Church 500 years ago has put you off to the whole notion of Christianity?

It's not perfect, no religion is, but beats the heck out of folks that actively want you either converted or dead, right here in the enlightened 21st Century.

There's also a proximity issue. Christians who want to give their dogma force of US law are orders of magnitude more likely to be successful than Muslims who want me to convert or die.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by dar512

I don't know about these Xtians, but I sure do think you are generalizing something sinful.

We sysadmins tend to do that.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by wolf

So, Rich, resentment over actions of the Catholic Church 500 years ago has put you off to the whole notion of Christianity?

It's not perfect, no religion is, but beats the heck out of folks that actively want you either converted or dead, right here in the enlightened 21st Century.

But not as good as people who will leave you alone and not try to turn their dogma into secular law affecting a quarter of a billion citizens.

This is not about all of Christianity, but a significant, vocal, and obnoxious minority of Christians, many of whom have yet to be disavowed by their parent denominations.

[smoothmoniker]

χ�ιστος

greek spelling of christos. the use of "x" isn't derogatory, it's just a shorthand abbreviation for the name of christ. you might notice in some lutheran churches that the table verstury uses "xp" for the same reason.

[smoothmoniker]

ARRGHH! curse you, unicode tom-foolery!

That should read something like Xpristos. The greek letter chi looks like an english X

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by richlevy

This is not about all of Christianity, but a significant, vocal, and obnoxious minority of Christians, many of whom have yet to be disavowed by their parent denominations.

Exactly. A true Christian is one who follows the teachings of Christ. Including compassion towards all, not alienation. A true Christian loves his/her fellow human beings unconditionally.

[Amnesiac42]

i don't have a problem with christianity, when it's actually practiced. what i have a problem with is people who are what i would call "social christians", in that they give little to no creedance as far as the theology goes. there are many forms of christianity, but social christianity (i plan on writing a paper on this as soon as i get to a class that allows me to) is governed by a tacit social contract. being that i live in south carolina, let me tell you... it has nothing to do with christ as the person that he was, or the anything to do with the bible. it's all about christ as a figure, who continually is crucified over and over in the sense that he is used and put up for other people's agendas. now i use the word agenda loosely. it has to do more with morals than faith or theology. and they aren't biblical in origen, or even christian in orgien, they are simply imposed. like opinions on abortion, gay marriage, most conservative movements right now are of this social form of christianity. it's a result of conservative people trying to justify their social positions through their religion, beliving that every facet of their lives is governed by their religion. and vice versa. Also, they shut out any opposition by engaging in polemics; they refuse to entertain the idea that they may be wrong or misguided, which is something i feel everyone should exercise to check their beliefs against reality.

my girlfriend is a christian. our beliefs coincide, though i am iffy about god and claim no religion, not even atheism or agnosticism. just no religion. no, that's not agnosticism. but it is these social christians who make the mess. they accept their beliefs as truisms rather than faith, which is what it's all about anyway, faith.

"Whoever excludes others will find himself excluded in turn. Those who affirm that their God is the only God are doing something dangerous and pernicious, because they are on the way to imposing their beliefs on others, by any means possible" - His Holiness, The Dalai Lama.

[Sundae]

Because of my upbringing I have been involved with various Christian groups. They haven't all shared my parents' liberal viewpoint (they are people 1st, Christian 2nd, Catholic 3rd) but my experience has always been positive.

Many evangelical Christians genuinely believe you will burn in hell for all eternity if they do not save you. Would you try to rescue someone from a burning building no matter how much it hurt them? Imagine that burning continuing until the end of time & you will see where they get their zeal.

It also doesn't do their balance sheet with Jesus any harm.

We don't really have a vocal fundamentalist movement in this country, so I can't give an opinion on what its like to come up against them. I have dealt with the Gospel of St Matthew kind ("If a stranger asks you for your coat, give him your shirt as well"). They are out there - don't tar them all with the same brush.