A Rant About Christianity (and Jesus)
I read a young man’s deconversion story today, and it broke me. Yup, you read that right, his deconversion, as in the story of how he decided that God wasn’t real and walked away from his beliefs. I’ve felt a lot of emotions since this morning…frustration, anger, sorrow.
Do you want to know why he walked away and chose to stop believing? A lot of it came down to the fact that when his life fell apart, the Christians he knew had plenty of judgement and quick answers, but not a lot of love. And the people who took him in, and loved him, and cared for him, and accepted him, were agnostics.
There is so much going through my head right now…
What would Jesus have done if this young man came to him? Would He have judged him and told him that he was being punished? Would He have given him pat answers and expected him to get back up on his feet? Nope. I’m pretty sure He would have held him and cried. And maybe Jesus would have talked about how much He hates the mess this broken world is in, and how He can’t wait to fix it. And probably Jesus wouldn’t have said much at all…He would have just been there.
Christianity is broken, peoples; the church is broken. Millennials are walking away from their beliefs every day and I honestly can’t say I blame them.
They are tired of empty tradition, and rules, and religion.
They are sick of condemnation, and judgement, and hypocrites.
So they leave.
Big, fancy church buildings with talented bands, dynamic speakers, and smoke machines can’t keep them either. Because Millennials see past all that. It looks like fake, and Millennials hate fake. They want honesty, authenticity, genuineness…
I sat at Starbucks today with my peppermint hot cocoa, trying not to cry in public, and jotted down thoughts, as fast as they came. Here are some of them…
How Did We Get Here? Maybe too many years of tradition, doing what has always been done. Maybe not enough people who actually know what the Bible says for themselves, so they are easily swayed by teachers/preachers. (That’s what happened with my family and Bill Gothard.) Maybe getting caught up in looking and being different (standards) instead of being caught up with the One who will make us different. Maybe fixating on building a large following (mega-church) instead of fixating on Jesus. I don’t know…I think there are a lot of reasons that Christianity is what it is today. But, there is hope! Because the church is made up of individual people, and if those people begin to love, get to know, and follow Jesus, the church can change! It will change because Jesus will change us!
What Do We Do Now?
- Examine our hearts. Start with salvation…are we trusting in Jesus and His death alone to save us, or are we trusting in our works, our prayer, that moment we went forward, the time we raised our hand…where is your trust? Where is your faith? (John 3:16-18)
- Get to know Jesus. Read the Bible for ourselves, not because it makes us more spiritual or to get more brownie points with God, but because we want to know who this God is and who we are as His children. Pray! Not a dry monologue, but a sincere conversation. It might be awkward at first, but it becomes amazing! Coming right to God, as His child, is one of our special privileges. 🙂
- Honestly, everything else will naturally flow out of these first things. We will be loving, grace filled people because we will see God’s amazing grace and love towards us. We will have joy because we will have experienced God’s Presence. Etc.
- Jesus will work on us and help us to let go of selfishness, sin, and addictions. Not because we have to in order to earn something from Him, but because He loves us and wants us to be free.
It’s happening. I believe it. God is changing His people and His church. More and more people are finding a real relationship with Jesus instead of a dead religion. Jefferson Bethke (I put a link to his site on his name) is a great example, with his books “Jesus>Religion” and “It’s Not What You Think”. People want what he has to say. They are hungry for more, as his large following evidences.
What Do I Want? More than anything else, I just want the real Jesus to be known! I want people to find a genuine, satisfying, incredible relationship with Him. I want people who called themselves Christians to become obsessed with Jesus in a whole new way. I want Christians to be known for their love. I want them to love sinners and skeptics and haters in a way that makes people think they are crazy. Because that’s how much Jesus loves us. I want people to find freedom, joy, and abundant life because of Jesus.
Thanks for reading my rant! I’d love to hear some of your thoughts.
Christy Lynne Wood
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, a grateful wife, and a mother of two. I love to communicate truth. Nature refreshes me, coffee comforts me, and deep conversations make me feel alive. My greatest recent accomplishment is learning to own house plants without killing them.
0 Comments
KIA
People don’t just DC from emotional issues of rejection or offense from the church. I for one left Christianity because I found out the foundational documents and history was fraudulent
Letmebefoolish
Just out of curiosity, what brand (denomination) of Christianity did you deconvert from?
KIA
Started Baptist at 15, then Calvary chapel at 24, aog. When I married an aog. Girl, the C of C when we moved…
But I was more discipled to Jesus than denoms. And the bible wwas the inviolable, infallible word of the god of all Christians. I said “many flavors, one ice cream. I was as bible based, fundamental as you could get, but I accepted all true followers of Christ as my family
KIA
What flavor are you, may I ask?
Letmebefoolish
I was raised in a Church of Christ for the first 13 years of my life. Then we went to an ultra-conservative, cult-like church that called itself Baptist but was more involved with the teachings of Bill Gothard than anything else. In college I attended a wonderful nondenominational church and my husband is currently a youth pastor at an Evangelical Free Church. If I was going to pick a “flavor”, I’d call myself Evangelical, but mostly I’m just a hater of legalism and lover of Jesus Christ.
KIA
I invite you to read a couple of posts on my blog regarding my deconversion. it may be helpful in understanding where I am coming from. -KIA
Letmebefoolish
I looked at your blog and read some of your posts including your deconversion story. I have a couple questions. Back when you considered yourself a Christian, how did you believe people became “saved”? Also, have you done any research into the historical evidence of Jesus Christ besides online? Please feel free to contact me via email on my contact page if you want to continue this interesting conversation. 🙂
KIA
I’d be glad to answer. Yup, I was a True Christian ™. And yes, did lots of research both as a Christian and a minister looking into the evidence for a historical Jesus.
KIA
A question for you if I may.
Are you possibly implying I wasn’t a True Christian and asking how I believed people got saved to determine if I was in your own mind?
And additionally, are you implying the information gleaned from the internet regarding the historicity of Jesus is somehow less than reliable… Thus I never really did my due diligence? If true for both of these, what an odd way to have a respectful conversation.
You are more than invited to comment on any of my posts and ask questions. But please, don’t start from the position that I must not either have been a True Christian or really studied the historicity of Jesus because I now reject my former faith/profession.
If like to continue the conversation from any of my posts you have questions regarding
KIA
A question for you if I may.
Are you possibly implying I wasn’t a True Christian and asking how I believed people got saved to determine if I was in your own mind?
And additionally, are you implying the information gleaned from the internet regarding the historicity of Jesus is somehow less than reliable… Thus I never really did my due diligence? If true for both of these, what an odd way to have a respectful conversation.
You are more than invited to comment on any of my posts and ask questions. But please, don’t start from the position that I must not either have been a True Christian or really studied the historicity of Jesus because I now reject my former faith/profession.
I’d like to continue the conversation from any of my posts you have questions regarding
KIA
a less defensive response to your question on salvation., with apologies for the former response.
i believed that salvation was by grace thru faith in the shed blood of jesus, and the power of his resurrection alone could one enter into relationship with god by new birth and by adoption as a son of god. my obedience didn’t add to or ‘fill up that which was lacking’, it was evidence of the reality of my day by day living relationship and walk with god thru jesus christ and the indwelling holy spirit.
‘for me to live is christ’ and ‘christ in you, the hope of glory’ were two of my favorite verses to describe my faith walk. i followed jesus and trusted in him completely for my life, not only in eternity but also right here and now.
salvation was jesus and entering eternal life was entering jesus and vice versa. but, i was wrong. the foundational documents of the christian faith are not what they appear. they are not the word of god, but the literary creations of human minds and pens over the ages, bearing all the flawed markings and errors as such.
-KIA
Letmebefoolish
Thanks for your apology and your response. It was not my intention to offend you, I was just curious.
I think that we are going to have to agree to disagree. Nothing can convince me that Jesus is not real. it’s like trying to convince me that my husband or my parents aren’t real. I know Jesus; I have a relationship with Him, and He has changed my life. If Jesus was just someone I knew about, like Donald Trump, maybe it would be different. I respect your beliefs, your story, your experiences, but I doubt we will ever see eye to eye. Thank you for making me think and evaluate. I appreciate that! All the best to you, KIA!
KIA
thank you very much for your reply and the forgiveness you have extended to my rather off the cuff and rude 1st reply.
-KIA
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