87% Of Christians Say Jesus Would Disapprove Of Christianity

[Vigile]

Ah, but, you see, they'd have to think that Jesus would disapprove of Christianity (most of them, anyway), since their Christianity's the only one doing it RIGHT. A fun followup question would have been: "which of the following denominations do you think are real Christians?" Also, they're kind of committed to believing that Jesus would have to disapprove of most Christianity, in order for "persecution and corruption" levels to be approaching the End of Days, which they think will have to be any day now, right? ... right? Any day now... Wait for it....

 

Yeah, I'm not going to hold my breath in anticipation.

 

Exactly, you beat me to it. 

 

This poll, I think, doesn't reflect disappointment with the religion in general, but reflects the fact that most of them think they are the only ones who get it right while everyone else hasn't figured it out or is deceived. 

 

[bornagainathiest]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Camping

[mymistake]

 

Ah, but, you see, they'd have to think that Jesus would disapprove of Christianity (most of them, anyway), since their Christianity's the only one doing it RIGHT. A fun followup question would have been: "which of the following denominations do you think are real Christians?" Also, they're kind of committed to believing that Jesus would have to disapprove of most Christianity, in order for "persecution and corruption" levels to be approaching the End of Days, which they think will have to be any day now, right? ... right? Any day now... Wait for it....

 

Yeah, I'm not going to hold my breath in anticipation.

 

Exactly, you beat me to it. 

 

This poll, I think, doesn't reflect disappointment with the religion in general, but reflects the fact that most of them think they are the only ones who get it right while everyone else hasn't figured it out or is deceived. 

 

 

 

 

That certainly was my view back when I was a fundamentalist Christian.  I thought most denominations were lost and even most of the people in my own Church were not serious enough or On-Fire enough to be real Christians.  I was crazy.

[Storm]

As many of you pointed out, this all is based on an individuals perception of christianity. But christianity teaches unity and oneness among its believers. For there to be such a disparity among its constituents is more ammunition for skeptics and those teetering on deconversion. How can you look at this from a non Christian perspective and not see that christianity is nothing more than another world religion? Once you step outside of the brainwashing, you get a clear picture. No matter how much emotion or fun or charisma you put into it, its still just a religion.

 

But as a Christian, how can you look at something like this and not be ashamed and/or perplexed? If jesus is alive, as you claim, and if god is real, as you believe, why is there such a division among believers? If everyone is truly seeking god's will and doing as he commands, this disparity would not exist. If you want to claim that "its because we are human and humans are running the churches and people are just human and they aren't perfect" argument, this would be more likely to produce a result of 87% think that Jesus would approve and the remaining 13% would say Jesus would not, because god's power is sufficient to overcome human insufficiency. god said he would build the church, the bible teaches that when you become a believer that jesus will ultimately make you like himself. So this poll result would not be so lopsided because I suspect that most believers  have been Christians for a while. This isn't a country of new believers.  So, you are not looking good as a result.

 

You have to look at this and seriously consider that god and jesus are not real. the whole premise of your "faith" crumbles when you look at things like this objectively.

[directionless]

Storm, I think you are saying that being a Christian ought to cause changes in people that can be measured.

 

I'm not sure the poll is a good way to measure those changes. Christians are supposed to be modest and Christianity has impossibly high standards (love thy neighbor, bless those who curse you, ...). So it would be natural for Christians to say that Jesus would be disappointed with the behavior of Christians - even if Christians are measurably more Christlike than non-Christians.

 

Also, I guess there is a great variety in Christian theology, and that leads to different understandings of what Jesus wants from Christians (inner transformation, community activism, evangelism, ...)

 

I have heard that Christians give more money to charity than non-Christians. That is something.

 

It would be interesting to study the effects of religious beliefs on the believers to see what religions and denominations "work".

[Storm]

Storm, I think you are saying that being a Christian ought to cause changes in people that can be measured.

 

I'm not sure the poll is a good way to measure those changes. Christians are supposed to be modest and Christianity has impossibly high standards (love thy neighbor, bless those who curse you, ...). So it would be natural for Christians to say that Jesus would be disappointed with the behavior of Christians - even if Christians are measurably more Christlike than non-Christians.

 

Also, I guess there is a great variety in Christian theology, and that leads to different understandings of what Jesus wants from Christians (inner transformation, community activism, evangelism, ...)

 

I have heard that Christians give more money to charity than non-Christians. That is something.

 

It would be interesting to study the effects of religious beliefs on the believers to see what religions and denominations "work".

I see what you are saying and I agree with some of it. But the main point I was trying to make was that if god and jesus are real and are doing the things that the bible says they will do to Christians, the results would be pretty obvious and the results of this particular survey would be different.

 

I understand that there are numerous different theologies, but truthfully, if god was real, he would have directed those theologies all back to a unified belief system. The bible claims that all Christians will eventually be changed into a christlike people and that Jesus will marry a spotless bride. Both of these would logically lead to unity in belief and purpose, neither of which are evident in the church. This poll reflects that.

 

You cant see love. You cant see what it is, but you can observe it in people. The same holds true for christianity. Even the bible admits this. The bottom line is this. if god was real and his people were truly following him, he would lead them to unity of purpose and belief. It hasn't happened and I doubt it ever will.

[LongWayAround]

When I was a christian, I often thought that jesus would not have approved of the way we were practicing christianity.  I think he would have walked through the immense parking lot filled with cars that cost more than many people's houses, into the coffee-bar-lobby with a variety of donuts and herbal teas, and into the vast auditorium with its half a million dollar projection and sound system and thought, "Where in the world did you get the idea that this is what I wanted?".

[TheRedneckProfessor]

When I was a christian, I often thought that jesus would not have approved of the way we were practicing christianity.  I think he would have walked through the immense parking lot filled with cars that cost more than many people's houses, into the coffee-bar-lobby with a variety of donuts and herbal teas, and into the vast auditorium with its half a million dollar projection and sound system and thought, "Where in the world did you get the idea that this is what I wanted?".

Yeah, I had a big problem with this kind of thing, too.  Granted, the church I went to did have outreaches in the poorer communities in town--food, clothing and such--but I guarantee the pastor spent more on his car than the church spent on the underprivileged.