Christianity is a Religion, Not a Status Symbol

(Original post: November 7, 2010)

I’ve been meaning to write this for a very, very long time, and I think I’ve finally found the right way to do so. This is in no way an attack on Christianity, God, or the people who worship Him, but rather, it is intended to give anyone who reads it a little food for thought… I think after living in this hick town for so long, many of us become immune to the things going on around us that we’ve gotten used to, like the way Christianity is becoming an exclusive and rather hateful club. There is nothing wrong with Christianity itself, but rather, what some people have done with it.

I don’t think most people that read this will have any reason to be be offended. If you agree with me, you’re most likely of some religious affiliation (or lack thereof) other than Christianity and you know what I’m talking about even better than I do, or you’re a true Christian who knows how to worship with like-minded people without trying to reenact the Crusades. For the record, I’m friends with at least one priest and quite a few very religious people of various ages on here (most of which go to my church), and should any of them read this, I don’t think they’ll see any reason to burn me at the stake. If you are offended, then you’re probably one of the people I’m about to complain about, or you just hate me. If that’s the case, you’re welcome to close out of this whenever.

This really isn’t any different from any other rant, except for the fact that it discusses religion, which is apparently more controversial than Twilight, Taylor Swift, or idiotic teenagers. I’ve done my best to take all religious views into account and avoid suggesting one right way to believe, because there isn’t one. That’s just the nature of religion. However, unless being a jerk and public nuisance is now a religion, I think I’m well within my rights to say that there are wrong ways to act.

That said, enjoy. I hope someone, even just one person, really thinks about this and decides to make a change. Keep an open mind… I don’t expect everyone to agree with everything I say, but this is still a topic that is worth some thought.

What is Christianity?

•  An organized system of beliefs. Christianity unites people around a common set of beliefs about what is right, what is wrong, and what happens after we die (as do all other religions). These beliefs bring people together to worship, gives individuals hope in times of difficulty, and offers a supportive community to help you through your troubles and share in your good fortune.
•  A very personal matter. The whole point of Christianity is to strengthen your personal relationship with God. You do this by going to church, sharing God’s love with those who wish to accept it in a non-confrontational way, and spending time with people who believe the same way you do. However, none of this is important if you don’t honestly believe in God. What really matters in the end is how you pray when you don’t have an audience.

What Christianity is Not

• The only existing/”correct” belief system. Religion is based on faith – believing without seeing. Nobody really knows what happens after we die, how to reach salvation, what kind of all-powerful being is watching over us, or what he/she/it expects of us (if such an entity even exists). Different groups of people have formed different systems of belief to explain life and the purpose for it, and there is no proof that says Christians are the only ones that were right. Just because someone believes differently than you do doesn’t make them the enemy. If you take the time to learn about other religions, you’ll see that most of them are built on a similar foundation as yours.
•  A synonym for morality. The basic values taught in Christianity (don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t treat other people like crap) are also the basic values taught in preschools. Just because someone isn’t a Christian or isn’t affiliated with a religion at all doesn’t mean they’re a bad person. Conversely, not all Christians abide by the basic values taught in Sunday School, as much as nobody wants to admit it. A good Christian doesn’t do drugs, kill people, or rob banks because their religion says those things are wrong, but an atheist doesn’t do those things either just because the basic code of human morality says those things are wrong. A lack of religious affiliation doesn’t automatically mean the person has no moral code.
•  Your get-out-of-jail free card. Christianity teaches that all people are sinners, but God will forgive them for their sins if they pray for forgiveness. For some reason, this is often interpreted as “I can do whatever the heck I want, because as long as I go to church on Sunday, I’m off the hook”. It doesn’t work that way. My non-Christian friends tend to score better in this category than many supposedly Christian people I know, because they believe that nobody’s perfect, but we should still try to be good people as much as possible. More on this later.
•  A status symbol that makes you better than everyone else. Finally, I get closer to the point of this diatribe. In my opinion, there is nothing more un-Christian than believing that your faith (which really isn’t anyone’s business but yours and is not proven to be superior) makes you better than someone else.  Especially around here (again, more on this later), Christianity is almost a fad, like wearing 200-dollar jeans that are cute with a capital Q or having a designer purse. If you have a cross necklace, a whole drawer of youth group t-shirts, and twenty bible verses on your facebook profile, you think you’re cooler than everyone else, that your opinion is more important, or in extreme cases, that you’re our area’s next best thing to Jesus. Give me a break.

A Few Thoughts on This Particular Town

We live in a small town that is heavily influenced by religion, as is the case with probably every other small town in existence. I realize that, which is why I know that in the grand scheme of things, this little rant probably won’t do any good. However, excuses aside, the situation here is getting ridiculous. Especially in the aftermath of the most recent media debacle (which was a big pile of idiocy on both sides, to the point where I can’t really side with either party involved because the thing was so blown out of proportion), you can’t walk ten feet in the local high school (y’know, the public high school that isn’t supposed to be shoving Christianity in your face) without having Christianity shoved in your face. Everyone seems to have this “fight the power” mentality, and now that the teachers can’t preach, the kids are picking up where they left off. Please, people, get over it. So what that some people can’t blatantly pray in public? Praying can just as easily be done in private… you just want to make a statement.

That said, of course you are well within your rights to worship however you see fit, without going to extremes. If you want to pray quietly before you eat lunch, go for it. However, please don’t stand up on the table and try to get the whole cafeteria to recite the Lord’s Prayer with you. In addition, pretending to be a Christian just to boost your image or warping it to suit your own needs is unacceptable. Below is a list of things that you, as citizens of the armpit of the Bible belt, should seriously stop doing.

•  Shoving your religion in everyone’s faces. Like, holy crap people. We get it. You go to church. Congratulations. Whether we go to church or not, we have no interest in hearing you talk or seeing your decked out in church-related paraphernalia from head to toe. If someone says “I like your necklace”, don’t assault them with a 20-minute monologue about how they got it at their church’s ministry fair, and Hey! Would you like to go to church with me on Sunday? It’s so much better than your church! If you’re told to write an essay about the most influential person in your life, and you pick God, fine. However, make sure you write an essay, not a sermon. You’re not going to convert your whole English class. Also, don’t just do it so everyone can think you’re awesome because you wrote about God. That’s just annoying, and we really don’t think you’re cool. We think you’re trying to get attention. Unfortunately, it works.
•  Disliking/attacking others simply because they believe differently than you do. Refer back to what Christianity is and isn’t. Just because someone has a different belief, or no belief at all, doesn’t make them a bad person. I’m sick of seeing people verbally or even physically assaulted for having the guts to say that maybe there isn’t a God. Calling someone an idiot for not believing in your God isn’t very Godly, IMHO.
•  Hating on other denominations. This goes hand-in-hand with that last point. The only thing stupider than a Christian hating on an agnostic is a Catholic hating on an Episcopalian. Sheesh, they’re both Christians. They believe basically the same things, but they just have slightly different rules and views. So you can take communion in the Episcopal church without being confirmed… who cares? It’s not heresy.
•  Being a Christian only when it suits you. I absolutely can’t stand people like this. They’re a Christian when they’re hanging out with their friends at youth group, but when they run into the new girl their ex-boyfriend is dating, all Christian values go out the window and that poor girl ends up needing extensive plastic surgery. They’re a Christian when they’re rallying in front of the courthouse for some doofus, but later, they’re cussing someone out for looking at them funny. … Oh wait, I forgot, God will forgive you for that, right? Which brings me to my next point….
•  Using your supposed religion to justify your inappropriate actions. Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes, we all say things we don’t mean, we all lose our temper. However, this attitude that some people have that they can get away with being deliberately malicious because God will still love them is ridiculous. Sure, maybe God will still love you, but I’m sure He’s thinking “Why did I put all the opinionated, violent rednecks in the same town?” I mean, seriously. I have actually heard someone say “I didn’t mean to cheat on you… and even if you won’t forgive me, Jesus will!” Hey, here’s an idea… don’t cheat on him in the first place. I hope he dumped her.
•  Being a bandwagon Christian. It’s like being a bandwagon football fan… you cheer for the team and own every item of clothing on earth with the team logo on it, but you can’t name a single player. Don’t go posting Bible verses or Christian song lyrics just because everyone else is doing it. It’s kind of stupid when someone asks you what that Bible verse you posted means and you have no clue. Just saying.
•  Being really, really obviously fake. If you’re going to try to present yourself as a Christian, try actually wearing clothes in public (no, those three-inch-long shorts and that spaghetti strap tank top don’t qualify), not wearing ten pounds of makeup, and not performing sexual acts in public places. Really. People who do that just crack me up.
•  Trying to convert everyone you see. If someone actually tells you that they aren’t Christian instead of running for their lives for fear of being ostracized from society, don’t attach to them like a leech for the rest of their life trying to get them to go to church. If they want to “find Jesus”, they’ll go find him themselves. If someone doesn’t believe in God, they either have a very logical reason that you don’t need to know and have no hope of changing, or they just don’t care, in which case you’re wasting your time. Nobody is going to find Jesus when you’re harassing them during Chemistry. Stop trying.
•  Taking everything people say about religion super-personally and trying to save the world with Jesus. Chill out. Just because someone doesn’t believe in your God doesn’t mean they hate you as a person. Just because someone is using profanity in public doesn’t mean it’s your job to get them to shut up. Just because someone looks depressed doesn’t mean they need to hear the word of God to cheer them up. If someone wants your help, they’ll ask for it, and just because they don’t agree with you doesn’t mean they hate you.
•  Purposely instigating religious arguments. Religious arguments can be interesting, and they have their place, but an offhand comment during an English class shouldn’t result in another installment of the Crusades. And for the record, this is not intended to instigate a religious argument. I realize one may result, but if you want to argue your right to write Bible verses on the mirror in the bathroom or lead your entire homeroom in prayer, message me instead of posting it on here. I’m really not trying to start world war three, though… I’m just saying some things that need to be said, and killing a really boring afternoon. Unhand the torches and pitchforks, please.

On the other hand…

I am in no way denying your right of free speech in general. If, after reading this, you still know deep in your heart that you are a true Christian who doesn’t do those things I just mentioned, good for you. I know true Christians do still exist in amongst all the attention-seeking bozos, and I’m not denying for a second that you might be one of them. Feel free to  wear your youth group t-shirt with pride, post a Bible verse every once in a while, or tell me how much fun you had on your church retreat. As long as you keep it to a minimum and you don’t flip out if someone disagrees with you, there’s nothing wrong with being comfortable in your religion. The Christian faith, as it as originally intended to be followed, is a wonderful belief system to have… it’s just not the only one. Religious tolerance, kids. Do something different.

Advertisement