• MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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    13 days ago

    After decades in the US, I’m yet to meet a real Christian.

    Nice to meet you! Haha. U.S Christian anarchist here. I’m absolutely not perfect obviously, but I understand exactly where you’re coming from. It hurts my heart every day.

    I am trying to figure out how to speak out against this “Amerikristian” cult in some kind of effective way. I think a lot of people simply don’t know any better because the propaganda has been so thorough. The churches preaching " Supply-Side Jesus " get funding from wealthy benefactors, guilt people into tax-free volunteer labor, and lure desperate followers.

    My church that, also wasn’t perfect, but was tiny and doing its best to spread the Gospel, closed up and got swallowed by the megachurch next door when the landlord raised their rent exponentially. Many others are the same.

    There’s no profit in actually helping your neighbor. (After all, many would argue that the ideal of profit maximizing, is in fact, theft.)

    Churches used to be incredibly pro-human. They were considered annoyingly leftist by the moneyed interests of the gilded age, hence why they were warped into the monsters we know now.

    (Highly recommend Behind the Bastards: “How the Rich Ate Christianity”)

    Christians are still here. Gently rebuking misinformation and trying to free hearts and souls from this wretched machine. It’s hard to tell whom to trust. Like in the days of the “Early Christians” of old.

    A leftist Christian is often a target of persecution, both from American cultists, and others with kneejerk hatred for Christians perpetuated by those cultusts.

    We aren’t as loud. We’re drowned out. We’re not wearing stupid red caps or hating on people, we’re trying so hard to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We’re trying to save God’s planet and people from greed and destruction.

    We’re trying to explain why swearing oaths to an idol of stars and stripes is at odds with Jesus. Why the State is inherently an instrument of evil, especially when it wields and prints bibles it’s too wicked to understand.

    Why a God of incomprehensible love weeps when we call for blood and justify killing, displaying the ludicrous arrogance of pretending we have no sins ourselves and “they deserve it.”

    “Narrow is the path.” (Matthew 7:14) But we’re still here. Don’t lose heart. Love is the greatest act of defiance against “The principalities, and powers, and rulers of this dark world.” (Ephesians 6:12)

    We believe in a God that is greater than oppressive states, borders, violence, markets, or politics, or greed.

    That said, I sincerely wish you and anyone reading this a Merry Christmas with all the love in my heart.

    • yeahiknow3@lemmings.world
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      13 days ago

      Let me just say: respect. People like you restore my faith in humanity. Although I’m an atheist, I have an affinity for the teachings of Jesus. He wanted us to be the best versions of ourselves, and it upsets me to see his memory dragged through the muck of these for-profit cults.

    • dethedrus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      13 days ago

      Great call on the BtB episodes on ‘Muscular Christianity’.

      Also the welding of bits of evangelicism, Catholic anti-abortion tenets and the republican party in the 60s in their episodes on Phylis Schlafly is both eye opening and horrifying. She’s one of the greatest political operatives of the modern era, and we’re paying the price for it.