mydisplayname Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 To me it seems that these days people are serving more of a generic god. Christians, the X generation anyway, tell me that there's only one god. A loving, forgiving god that doesn't care about your denomination as long as you believe in the trinity. This god doesn't care about homosexuality, living together before marriage, race or abortion. Yes, hell is still there but it's super easy not to end up there. You have to be a horrible rapist or murderer probably. I'm being accepted as an atheist and even being invited to religious weddings. They really don't care. So it seems that religion, at least as it is in my country, is changing from the way it was in my parents generation to more of a kind of water downed version. Do good and good things happen. Be bad and bad things happen. God loves you irrespective. Where is the pastor of my childhood that used to visit everyone's houses every couple of months to make sure everyone's is ok? What happened to threatening children with hell when they're naughty. Why is the pastor not threatening eternal damnation in the sermon anymore? The sermons these days completely ignores the entire hell thing and rather focuses more on eternal life and not losing out on that. I don't like this generic version of god anymore than I like my parents generations version of him. Now he's whatever we want him to be. This gives people that want to be unethical a place of concealment. Pedophiles and fraudsters becomes priests. What will generation Y make god? Probably an even more generic god that frowns upon pollution and wastage of fossil fuels. Not carpooling is a sin maybe. We argue with Christians on this site, but our argument really doesn't matter because the bulk of Christians don't give a shit. They embrace science when someone gets cancer and in my experience even thank the doctor and modern medicine. Praying for god to help the doctor gives them some peace, but there's no way they are going to just pray and not take any action themselves. It seems that generation X's god only helps those who helps themselves. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey101 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Watered down version is a good description. It's based on strong Christian roots, but modern life leads people away from church and to have their own 'spirituality'. It's still religious belief though based on Christianity and the New Age religious movement (which is based on Eastern religion). It's the rise of the new Secular Religion. Modern and lazy, doesn't have to do anything or commit to anything but can call themselves spiritual to feel good. To me it's just a fresh turd. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted September 22, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted September 22, 2014 When atheists don't have enough sense to realize what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helvetios Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 When I was a Christian I used to think that the 'watered down' Christian God of today wasn't consistent with the bible. Now I realize that the major contradictions in that book mean that there is no truly biblical God - no coherent version of who God is supposed to be. If you say God has a certain attribute and point to a verse, you can find three verses elsewhere that say the opposite. God is love, but love is not God. Love is not jealous. "I am a jealous god." For God so loved the world, that he changed the rules about who gets into heaven and still excluded billions of people who unfortunately go to hell. Or maybe they don't go to hell if they never heard of them, which is why Christians love to be missionaries so these people get extra-saved (or extra-damned, their choice). It's like they use the bible when it suits them, but build their own version of faith independent of it except for a few choice verses that support their beliefs. Nothing new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey101 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 The spiritual not religious put down religion, but follow religious beliefs. It's like biting the hand that feeds. One guy looks at another and sees him as 'religious', not spiritual like me. The other guy does the same thing, sees himself as spiritual and that guy as 'just religious.' Which one is really spiritual, not religious? It's all the same though, assigning meaning to existence through ideas like God or karma is religious belief. Saying they don't have anything to do with religion but are 'spiritual' usually just means they think their religious belief is superior to anyone who believes different. Hence, 'Jesus is the truth, not a religion'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
directionless Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 It seems like Christianity and other religions are being challenged by: - internationalized culture/religion - science - changing morals - ...? So some denominations try to drop the beliefs that cause problems in an attempt to stay viable. Other denominations put on their blinders and become extreme about the beliefs. This raises a question: Has there ever been an example of a denomination's leadership declaring that they were entirely wrong? Like imagine if the pope tried to lead the whole Catholic church to atheism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbit Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 When atheists don't have enough sense to realize what they are. This exactly sums up my Xtian years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenstar Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 It's always been this way, from the beginning. Different interpretations of the religion… Look at the Council of Nicea.. there were a shitload of different thoughts from day one...Catholicism did codify the religion for a time - through illiteracy and despotism, but there were always those who saw it differently (umm.. protestant reformation anyone?). The 'church' started out divided, and has continued in that grand division ever since, especially since the reformation.. the exposure to eastern religious though has added to it. The spiritualist movement, the Order of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, unitarianism, universalism, humanism, etc..etc..etc.. the rise of reconstructed neo-pagan religions, new age thought, the recent interest in shamanism… (bwahahahahahaha) Christianity itself has no clue how much of these cultural and philosophical influences have affected it.. it's kind of humorous really. I don't know how many 'christians' who have adopted the concept of karma… even use the term with no sense of irony at all. LOL Humans are lazy… that's what it comes down to. Christianity affords them a way to feel good about being assholes… the lack of personal responsibility just keeps piling up. It will continue to be watered down… until it doesn't resemble christianity at all, except in name. It's how society works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seven77 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 If the God of Gen X is generic and soft, the God of Gen Y is organic and free range. The God of Gen Y is unique, authentic, raw, vine-ripened, artisanal. Our Jesus is a Jewish best friend who loves you no matter what and forgives anything and everything. Church is not about community and conformity, it's just an excuse to show off your latest Hebrew tat work while drinking cheap coffee drinks from biodegradable cups and tweeting about your "experience" after the service is over. Faith isn't about God and church isn't about coming together with those who love God. It's about finding a place to socialize with other people who are just like you and that you feel reasonably safe with dumping your kids 1-3x a week til they turn 18. All of the above is jmho. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey101 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 And Gen Z will be putting guns to their heads. Hebrew tat work lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Religion is evolving. Awesome irony, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydisplayname Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 Religion is evolving. That sums it up nicely. Religion changes over time and it's not only the christian religion. In my city there are those that are trying to open an "open mosque" "There will be no separate female entrances or women’s screens in the prayer hall. Most significantly, this new mosque will be autonomous, non-sectarian, gender-equal, inter-racial and unaffiliated to any specific school of thought (madhab), ideology or denomination. " If we don't adapt to change we die. Humanity will always have questions and there will always be those claiming they have the answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neverlandrut Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 When I was a Christian I used to think that the 'watered down' Christian God of today wasn't consistent with the bible. Now I realize that the major contradictions in that book mean that there is no truly biblical God - no coherent version of who God is supposed to be. If you say God has a certain attribute and point to a verse, you can find three verses elsewhere that say the opposite. God is love, but love is not God. Love is not jealous. "I am a jealous god." For God so loved the world, that he changed the rules about who gets into heaven and still excluded billions of people who unfortunately go to hell. Or maybe they don't go to hell if they never heard of them, which is why Christians love to be missionaries so these people get extra-saved (or extra-damned, their choice). It's like they use the bible when it suits them, but build their own version of faith independent of it except for a few choice verses that support their beliefs. Nothing new. Can anyone say bingo? Nail on the head!! I often hear Christians accuse other Christians of cherry picking bible verses and ignoring others. The last time I heard a Christian make that accusation, I told her, "Every Christian cherry picks! The bible is so full of contradictions and incoherencies that a Christian must cherry pick in order to say she is a bible believer." The irony is that, due to biblical contradictions, believing the bible also means not believing the bible. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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