@#16 Lamplighter... Well, as I heard one pastor preach, "If you ever go to a church and they tell you 'you can't do this' or 'you must do this' then RUN...Get out of there! Because they've just destroyed Christianity by turning it into a religion, and it's not. Christianity is a relationship. Deitric von Bonhoeffer who was a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany, led a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. While in prison he started writing a book about how the Nazis had managed to infiltrate the preaching of the Lutheran church by twisting the arms of the pastors. Bonhoeffer noted that the church was too organized and "religious." His title for the book was, "Religiousless Christianity."
Religion, with it's rules and regulations, is something Jesus called out as wrong. From the people who tried to stone a woman, because according to "religious rules" that's what you were supposed to do to an adulterer, to the people who shunned a woman bleeding for months which under Jewish law meant she was "unclean" and therefore an outcast, to constantly associating with outcasts, hookers, thieves, and those types that the religious deemed unworthy, Jesus called out those following religious "rules" in their mistreatment of people (especially women, since they were the most mistreated, of course.)
He was very much against the legalistic nature of man-made religious stuff. He often got ticked off at the bad religious leadership:
Luke 11:43, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the front seats in the synagogues, and the respectful greetings in the market places"
Matt. 7:4, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
Luke 12:1, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."
Matt. 23:23-24, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness"
Matt. 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers"
Those are just a few examples.
Religion is interested in getting people to serve an organized church.
Religion is fueled by fear. It causes people to focus on not wanting to end up in hell. Fear takes the focus off of Love.
Religion doesn't encourage questions.
Religion focuses on how we should be doing things.
Religion grades righteousness. It enslaves people into performing religious acts, and if you miss a prayer or a Bible study, you feel guilty about it. But "doing" religious stuff to curry God's favor isn't what Jesus taught. Since He taught that it's about a *relationship* between God and His children, that love is unconditional, and "doing" things isn't going to make you loved or not. I mean, do you love your own children or family any more or less based on what they "do?"
Religion causes judgement of others. It can make someone look down on a drug addict, or look up to a religious leader. A comparison game. Jesus was constantly hanging out with those who, even today, people consider "lower than."
So, when I hear people today complain about Christians, they often have legitimate concerns because I hear them cite Christians behaving in a "religious" sort of fashion (as per above's use of the word "religion.") They cite bigotry, or people being judgemental, or cultism, or supporting the mistreatment of a type of people, or any manner of complaints. Complaints that, even back in the day, Jesus also complained, and spoke out about. Sometimes quite harshly.
Oh, and as an aside...the same pastor I mentioned above also said, "And when anyone walks in through those doors, PLEASE never ask them 'are you saved?' That is none of our business. When they walk in they are family." Which is probably why a lot of atheists and people who weren't Christian felt welcome (with some citing how "judged" they felt in other places of "worship.")
