Evangelical Christians superiority complex???

[headache]

Let me try to explain this, I work with a few young Christians which is fine, great I have absolutely no problem with religion (FWIW I am an atheist married to a RC, my DC raised RC) I am happy for anyone who finds comfort in religion the work is a hard enough place and if religion brings you peace great.

What I do find strange is that they seem to have this superiority complex that unless you are a Christian you are a lesser person. Jim wouldn’t do that he’s a Christian, Sues a lovely person she’s a Christian etc. In addition, their whole personality/life is based around being a Christian, attending lots of events etc and they will only socialise with other Christians. They have said they won’t marry someone who is not a Christian and they don’t agree with gay/trans people. They also seem very intolerant of other religions which I found very surprising as I thought Christianity was about peace and love. With it being Eid recently I was talking about it and was immediately shut down yet they talk constantly about Christianity.

I was brought up culturally Christian, went to Sunday school etc and it wasn’t never like this so is it evangelical churches or just these few or a new thing?

I knew a couple who were very committed to church. Then their son had a terrible accident and he was left severely disabled. And she lost her faith completely. She admitted she had seen it as a sort of insurance policy. She never went back to church.

Why can't you give a straight answer? You make glib comments about women being somehow responsible for whether men rape them or not, so how does your thinking transfer to someone who is an "indisputable" victim? (NB I read your deleted posts)

Not at all. My original input was about unthinking adherence to ideology - not just religious and certainly not just Christianity. I made very sure that across all my posts except the ones pertaining to abortion, I mentioned politics and ethnicity/tribal division as well, and that these were every bit as harmful and divisive as unthinking religious belief. The problem I have is with people abandoning thought in favour of belief - no matter what that belief is in.

I was not the one who first mentioned abortion. Nor was I the one insinuating that women could EVER be to blame for being raped, which is arrant misogyny.

That’s very sad. And a scenario absolutely predicted by Christ in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13). The fact that sometimes people fall away from their profession of faith in such circumstances is to be expected.

@LeaningOnTheEverlastingArms I and at least one other poster are responding to someone who is blaming women for rape, some of whose previous posts have been deleted as breaking guidelines. I am not lumping all Evangelicals of whatever bent into that and am surprised you think it is so.

PS as you're aware, this is philosophy and religion, not Christian Mumsnetters.

It is very sad, because faith can be an enormous comfort in those hard times. I have a good friend who is deeply religious (Christian). He and his wife lost a baby to pre-eclampsia and for them, the support of their faith and its community helped enormously.

I am not opposed to religious faith. Not at all.

“I am not lumping all Evangelicals of whatever bent into that and am surprised you think it is so.”

Good to know. 👍

This unfortunate thread has been from the outset an extremely thinly veiled attack on “evangelical Christians” (whatever that means) and has been enthusiastically supported by many posters, often inadvertently and amusingly exhibiting their own superiority complexes while they do so.

It’s just trundling on now into the long grass of the abortion vs prolife debate. 🥱

I did not make any "glib" comments.

I said that women have some degree of personal responsibility and I stand by that.

Rape is notoriously difficult to prove, often because no witness(es) is/are present. Whether or not a women is an "indisputable victim" is decided by the law.

I have suggested people read the Ched Evans case, maybe you should too?

A child raped by an adult family member is the very definition of an indisputable victim. The fact that the law often fails these children is neither here nor there.

A child raped by an adult family member is the very definition of an indisputable victim.

Only if it's proved in a court of law.

I have known of a few husbands going through a divorce who have been accused of such activities because the wife wants a better divorce settlement, wanted to punish them, spoil their reputation etc.

How sad to read this in 2025. Women should be vgilant? Maybe, but isn't the point that if male behaviour was expected to be better, or even half-way decent and responsible, there would be less need. The urgent need is to address poor male behaviour, not tell women how to adapt to it.

@pointythings I was also shocked by the way the deleted posts put all of the blame and responsibility on women - the misogyny was astonishing.

that was at 14.42 and I said no such thing. I said that "women had some degree of responsibility". Did you not read that?

Don't you think that women have some degree of responsibility for their own health and well-being?

Unfortunately the post isn't there to bear this out.

I'm not talking about Ched Evans, I'm talking about the situation of a child (who by definition of the law cannot give consent at 13) becoming pregnant by an adult and their access to abortion. This happens, more often than becomes public.

And yes, your now deleted comments were very, very off and victim blaming.

I agree with you in part.

Yes, poor male behaviour needs to be addressed but in the meantime women need to be vigilant

We have an increase in pornography and Only Fans Accounts.which gives men a poor impression of women.

And who has most of the OF accounts - women.

I rest my case.

In the law of this country, unless there is a successful prosecution of such a case it didn't happen,

You can complain all you like about it but the legal system works on proof not truth.

And yes, your now deleted comments were very, very off and victim blaming.

That's your opinion.

It seems to be the opinion of MNHQ too, as they were deleted.

In the situation I'm talking about, a pregnant child victim does not have time to wait for a court date which could take years, even if the offender was then convicted. You take an unqualified "all abortion is bad" position. Asking how you justify it in the case where a girl or woman was raped and has a short window to decide what to do, not on court schedule, is valid.

@Uricon2 You take an unqualified "all abortion is bad" position

I most certainly did not.

I went to great lengths to explain why in some circumstances it was the lesser of two evils and gave the relevant medical conditions behind that, such as malignant hypertension, and eclampsia.

I mentioned serious foetal abnormalities, the negative effect on the mother both physical and mental.

I also said that mothers with kidney/heart disease, adverse genetic factors (such as cousin to cousin marriages) etc should be given all the relevant information so they could make an informed choice about continuing with the pregnancy.

It seems that Mumsnet in their wisdom has deleted that post.

@Uricon2 Asking how you justify it in the case where a girl or woman was raped and has a short window to decide what to do, not on court schedule, is valid.

I am not responsible for how the legal system deals with such cases, so please stop asking me.

We already have a "grooming gangs" scandal that this government is reluctant to investigate. So instead of berating me about what you think my opinions are, why not take responsibility and action and lobby your MP about the delay in the reviews they have been promising us??

@tigerstripesarefab you are disingenous. I read your posts. I know what you said about rape victims and the clothing that might encourage it and you still cannot come up with a straight answer to a straight question about whether child victims of rape should have access to abortion.

@Uricon2
I really don't know why you are persisting in badgering me.

You have called me mysogynistic and now disengenous.

If that's what you think of me why does my opinion matter and why do you continue to engage with me ?

I get this. I've been to some prosperity gospel type services at friends churches where the message was very if you have enough faith then everything will definitely come up roses. I just remember thinking but plenty of bad things do happen to good people. How will this make people feel if misfortune befalls them?

It was one of the big evangelical churches about 20 years ago - held in a school hall rather than in a church, very full on. We went once and I was pretty freaked out - lots of people throwing themselves around in rapture. And I do think the message was that if you stuck with them it would bring you success, prosperity, good health. It built up a huge following in the town and I suspect it attracted people who found that message attractive, rather than any connection with God.

It sounds awful. Was this in the UK?

Yes.

There are such churches in the UK. Equally there are many thoughtful, inclusive and welcoming churches in the UK. I respect them and those who attend them. The extreme evangelical kind of Christianity that has wafted over from the US - not so much.

By the same token I respect faith communities who have moved on from the simplistic doctrine of the Middle Ages and have worked to integrate their faith into the world they live in. The ones who want to stay in the 14th century - the Taliban, Iran, Saudi Arabia, extreme Hasidic Judaism - absolutely not.