To think Christianity is becoming the biggest religious threat?

[Mustbethat]

With all that is going on in the world I am seeing Christianity becoming more of a problem.

it shocked me to see British people chanting “Christ is king” at the TR rally last week. That’s not really our culture.

then you have the Charlie Kirk/US issues- I am seeing so many people quoting the bible now, using it to justify their reasoning rather than actual facts and statistics.

”the bible tells us” or “the bible says” . The talk of “god-given” rights. Especially in the US where the pledge of allegiance and the constitution seem to be inextricably mixed up with a Christian god.

I am catholic. But I also believe the bible was written by men, not god, it is fallible. It is more of a collection of stories to convey a good way of living, a code of ethics if you will. But it is also extremely dated and of it’s time, and most of it isn’t applicable to modern life. To me religion is more about a community, a group of people with common ground than god is great we’ll all go to heaven stuff. But I’m probably catholicking wrong 😂. I also believe that most belief systems are pretty similar, and Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc are all probably praying to the same deity. Just slightly different rules.

separation of church and state. But increasingly Christianity is being dragged into politics as some sort of justification as to why that side is right. They have god on their side narratives

so am I right in thinking this increasing use of Christianity could end up more of a threat than any other religion?

If you look at what the Bible says then the narrative is not threat but redemption for sinners - an opportunity for those who have done what is wrong (all of us) to bring that to God and be forgiven and start afresh - the penalty for our sin being bought by Christ dying on the cross…

so, no Christianity is not a threat - sure there will always be those who do wrong things in the name of something else, but following Christ and living a life where the priority day by day is a stronger relationship with Christ / God will always be a positive thing…

And yes - God is King over the whole world - there will be many who won’t like it but that doesn’t change reality…

your post though is a bit surprising if you claim to be a Catholic as it doesn’t sit alongside the creed of the Roman Catholic Church - certainly your church would not consider religions to be the same or have any issue with people recognising God as King - perhaps something to chat through with your priest?

Well firstly, America has always been religious, everywhere you look is a church. Also most convicted criminals always say they have found God.
I would personally like to think that Christianity is alive and thriving.
You don't see many Christian terrorists.

I'm an atheist and find this kind of thing goes in cycles in the news. There's always someone to blame for something. Christianity has extreme sections of believers, just like all religions do.

TR used the Christians to ally with him and promote an England that has probably never existed, but their minds once did. He's pitting the "good" Christians against the "bad" Muslims, that's blatantly obvious. He's media-savvy, he knows what his followers will take to be the truth, and this is just one aspect of it.

All we can do as individuals is resist this kind of nonsense.

I see all organised religion as a potential threat, when those who choose to follow it attempt to force others to follow it. It's when 'worshipping' takes away the rights of others, or tries to, that there is an issue.

Christianity has been used to justify many wars and violence, from the Crusades to the Reformation and beyond. Christianity is not more violent than any other religion, but it can be used and abused for violence like others including Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. It’s important for moderate and non-violent Christians to stand up and condemn violence and racism, including against vulnerable groups like refugees. Perhaps it’s worth joining anti-fascist marches?

You choose to believe that 'god is king', and that's your perogative, but many folk don't believe that to be remotely true, and that's their perogative. HTH

How is loving thy neighbour, not commiting murder, adultery, theft, lying or coveting your neighbours ass, a threat to society?

I’m a Catholic as well … this lot in the States are Fundamemtal, Old Testament, Fire & damnation types. Like all Fundamentalist they use religion to hide their appalling behaviour behind. They pick & choose which bits of the Bible to follow, and which bits to ignore, to fit their particular narrative.

They hold Trump up as a leader, who has not upheld the sanctity of marriage, has lied, has stolen, has cheated etc. They lose all credibility at that point.

Unfortunately like all Fundamentalists, they think they are 100% right.. and they are in Gods mission. They will do whatever it takes, including taking lives. They are now pretty much in control of the Govt, with policy now being made on religious grounds.

Over here we have a much bigger separation of Church & State, and our law making process should stop anything like that happening over here.

The people over here chanting have probably never seen the inside of a church, other than weddings & funerals.

The American Christian Fundamentalist Right are very dangerous people, and are now infiltrating over here - I genuinely think there is a cabal of them here on MN.

This is misguided imo. Jesus, in particular, was basically a woke leftie, but there are so many different readings and interpretations of the Bible, and that's why it's potentially dangerous. I always find it really weird that right wing conservatives claim their Christianity as a reason for their beliefs. I wonder whether we're reading the same book!

Nah, I’m am not a Christian and don’t come from a western background. I just don’t see this as particularly threatening tbh. I’ll start worrying when christians start blowing themselves up, shooting people, trying to ban abortion and homosexuality (which frankly cannot see happening in the UK).

I think those people are basically making a point about their culture rather than actual religious belief imo. Not sure what I think of that but many groups are vocal about their religious sentiments so it’s not a massive deal to me if someone wants to yell “christ is king”.

A lot of people in the USA had similar views until now.
Christianity is as dangerous as any religion with the followers become over zealous.

Islamism is a far, far bigger problem in this country, OP.

You are right - God gave us free will and therefore the right and ability to believe or not…

As with so many things, that doesn’t change reality…

Far right, christian nationalism is on the rise because of the likes of TR and his gang. "We want our country back", "make England, English again", "England is a Christian country" blah blah blah, all fuel this absolute shit show we now see trickling in. People are much open with their blatant racism now, "im not against immigration but...." then goes onto a full on racist rant. They all seem to think Trump is some kind of America saviour. I've seen many a reform voter online peddling the notion that Britian needs a Trump because of two tier Kier.
America started off as a trickle before it became a flood of Christian nationalism too. Now look at their Abortion rights, immigration policies etc.

This is exactly my worry too.

Personally I’m no longer religious as the deep hypocrisy of the Catholic Church around their own child abuse scandals put me right off them. I also have personally experienced Christian values, particularly forgiveness, being used to silence victims particularly women and children and to wholesale DARVO and gaslight to protect abusive males. Until we have a response to these abusers in a religion that puts genuine accountability onto them instead of pressing for victims to forgive then I’m completely sceptical about any religion.

However your assessment about the benefits of religion for community and a way of life that shouldn’t fully apply in modern times but with a thread of values and ethics that still fit somewhere is still true.

I am extremely worried that many men with pretty low character and very little to offer in this world really want the male dominance hierarchy with its associated privileges back and are going to once again use religion to try to achieve this.

The reality is some people believe and some of us don’t.

Christians are being persecuted in many parts of the world, across the Middle East and in Nigeria for example. Churches are also being burned down in many countries, France for example (you only have to Google arson attacks on Churches to see shocking statistics). So I think your OP is ridiculous, and suspect that you wouldn’t dare say similar about any other religion.

The IRA back in the day?

This is the future that should scare you OP

The evidence doesn't support your view
Go and have a gander at which religion is responsible for the most terrorist acts in the last 20 years and which is the highest on the terrorist watch list
It's not Christianity!

Lol. No.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_Europe

I think all religions are a threat because they allow people to justify the unjustifiable. And history has proven over and over that they can be hijacked by the worst elements of society. Christianity is not better or safer.

I find Christian nationalism so baffling...its like they've decided to completely ignore the "we are all made in the image of God" message.

Most Christians/Catholics I know in the UK (myself included) would be horrified to be lumped in to what Christian nationalism is doing to the US right now.

I’m sure you have a lovely time feeling you are better than the billions of non Christians out there. But it’s a faith not a reality… That’s the convenient thing about faith - you don’t have to prove it, just beleive it, though unfortunately this is often associated with the perception of moral superiority.

Nothing good comes of humans doing things “in the name of religion”.

Love thy neighbour is a great motto but the issue is people twist shit for their own agenda ie the far right knobheads using it for their ‘cause’.

On a slightly different note, what I don’t understand is what draws people to religion in the first place. Why can’t you be a good, kind human with values and morals and be grounded in your own love and power without one? All religions use made up stories and fables to brainwash/control people and make them think that their religion is superior to others 🙄