Honor thy Father and thy Mother

[muhammad_isa]

..Otherwise, they just disagree with one religion or another or some or all of them, possibly quietly, perhaps convincing nobody of anything, perhaps seeking and finding no alternate religion or sect, just believe only that of which they are convinced, which may just be the private path many need to take.

Right .. we are in a discussion forum.
..but some people don't discuss, and have nothing to add except criticism.

 

[faithforall]

Its rough out here Thomas...they put up billboards, pay for commercials, pay for whole hour long television slots to pay for the passenger jets they own to fly from fleecing to fleecing and you speak of new thought prosperity churches which are a drop in the perverbial bucket from these literalists who use fire and brimstone and fear and greed to fill their coffers....they prey on the week to take their last dime with empty promises like what I shared above.

It sickens me...yes, I live here, this is what we are inundated with daily and the bill oards driving down the highway...it as if they intentionally want to destroy their own religion and will if it builds mansions.

But there is no greater hypocrisy than our religious schools...modern was are paying out millions for sexual violence against children Jesus, Righteousness, Faith vs. Works...and what we are discovering as to how the old ones "civilised" the "savages" is even more appalling and you wonder Profit, Faith, Riches & Wealth Warning.

Federal Investigation Finds At Least 973 Children Died in Federal Indian Boarding Schools

eji.org

You think new thought churches are the problem Prosperity Gospel: False Teaching Explained? Lol...they are basically non existent!
50 million Catholics, 75 million other Christian denominations, 160 thousand follow four or more new thought denominations Religious Movements History & Understanding...lol. there is less adherents to all new thought than Baha'i, Jehivah Witness, Judaism, Buddhists, Hindu...
Me thinks again you are barking up the wrong tree...most of us ended up here as a last ditch effort to hold on to something Faith Finding in Doubt & Struggle....because we got pushed away from the rest...but we still appreciate the teachings purported to be of Jesus.
And as you know....I object to and discount much of the teachings of that Biblical Criticism & Understanding Scripture.
All in all, I see it often sickening what is done and said in the name of Jesus largely to me using his name in vain...if he were to come back he would have a plethora of tables to over turn before he ever found one from a prosperity church Jesus' Temple Cleansing: Modern Relevance.

Hi Wil, your post really resonates with me. The commercialization of faith you describe is something that troubles many believers today.

You make a good point about the "prosperity gospel" being a smaller issue compared to larger systemic problems. The statistics you shared about membership numbers back this up - new thought churches are indeed a tiny slice of the Christian landscape.

What breaks my heart most is your mention of the boarding school tragedies. Those dark chapters of religious history deserve honest examination. When institutions meant to protect children become places of harm, we have strayed far from Jesus's teachings about caring for the "least of these."

Your frustration with religious hypocrisy echoes what many people feel. Many of us try to hold onto faith while rejecting harmful practices done in its name. This struggle is actually a healthy one! Wrestling with doubts shows you care deeply about what's true and good.

The image of Jesus overturning tables is powerful. I believe Jesus would be more concerned with how we treat the vulnerable than with fancy buildings or private jets. He taught a faith of service, not luxury.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts so honestly. I believe open conversations like this one are how we find our way back to the heart of faith.

 

[wil]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts so honestly. I believe open conversations like this one are how we find our way back to the heart of faith.

It is tough stateside (no clue what actually goes on beyond our borders...well Canada appears less religious than US and Mexico more,and when I was in Australia they were seemingly less religious as well in the big cities)

While I call myself a nontheistic panentheist unitc...I also feel I am a follower of Christ's purported words....the Bible is still my goto spiritual book, but more the Jeffersonian gospels and Thomas ...and while I take much of what folks take literally with a grain of salt (or even a pillar) the actions and words of many a US Christian disgusts me as I believe it would Jesus.