Christendom has shot itself in the foot.

Why do I have a problem with church, christians, etc.

This is very oversimplified, but is nonetheless an attempt to explain why I have such a problem with modern "christianity".

I have recently been exposed to what the definition of "christian" actually was created to be. What I discovered came to me at some surprise. The term christian was a term not created by the early church to define it's people, but it was a term coined by outsiders (non-believers) to describe those people that were acting in a manner that was similar or identical to Christ.

So one could say quite simply "that is a person acting like Christ did".

Hold that thought for a moment.

Now that is an impacting thought, but not as impacting as the following.

I could use the following to evaluate my own life or anything that claims to be "christian".

"Am I (or is that thing or person) acting like Christ did?"

And I believe that this is the kicker. How much death and destruction has been carried out in the name of Christ? How often in my own life have I done horrible things and still called myself by His name?

Christendom has shot itself in the foot. What does Christianity have to offer from any other global religion? Are there any among us who still act in a manner as Christ did?

So back to the point of this post. And just to simplify here, I am going to make this pointed.

Why do I have such a problem with "church"?

Because, I believe that on a basic level the "church" does not act as Christ did.

The examples for this argument are for another post, but I'm sure if you think hard enough, you can come up with a few.

(This section is theoretical)

But Michael, where is the grace in all this? I am by no means discounting the element of G-d's grace poured out on us. But, I also don't believe that grace can be received if the person or persons are not making every attempt possible to live in such a manner. That is to say that by simply slapping the "christian" bumper sticker on something and than allowing it to sit around and not make any attempt at being Christ-like it will receive no grace, for it's actions are nothing. For one to receive grace, I believe (personal conviction) that one must be actively engaged in Christ-like behavior.

Of course for any of this to really hit home, you would have needed to be exposed to the radically different life that Christ lived while he was on the earth. Unfortunately this is a subject this is often skipped over on Sunday morning in place of sermons on "Jesus and you", and how to get to heaven.

This post is not complete, I just don't feel like typing anymore right now.